The King of Pop left behind some unreleased music when he passed in 2009. Songs which were not released in his 2010 release of an album called “Michael” were re-listened to, and eight were handed to top producers such as Timbaland and Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon.  It is their genius work that later became this number one album, XSCAPE.

The album is bittersweet. It’s bitter in the respect that these songs are no longer Jackson’s work and that they were previously turned down for release earlier in his career.  Yet, it’s sweet because it is new music from The King of Pop – who is without a doubt one of the best artists of all time.  Jackson was one of those artists who would record around 50 songs per album and choose his favorites (the best ones). With that said, these songs could have definitely come out before his tragic death.

There are two versions of the album. One version is just the eight new songs which include “Love Never Felt So Good”, “Loving You” and “Xscape”.  The other version, the deluxe album, comes with the eight new songs, the eight original versions of the song and a half hour documentary on the making of the album (plus outtakes).

At its best, the song, “Loving You” really stands out on this album. It is a romantic song where you can really tell his passion for the woman he is talking about. Yet, the reworking of America’s classic “Horse with No Name” was not the best. Michael’s version is called “A Place with No Name”. The version on the album really didn’t stay true to the original classic song; it is probably the weakest track on the album overall.

There is so much more material that hasn’t yet been heard by anyone. Maybe there will be new albums like this in the future. Jackson’s music will live on forever.

XSCAPE is out now.   Check it out for yourself!