文/Jim Farber《紐約每日新聞》 
為了慶祝Michael Jackson五十歲的生日，讓我們一起玩一個遊戲吧-叫做“假裝”。你所需要做的就是表現得像過去生的這十幾年來沒有發生過一樣。
不，15年或者20年吧。相信我，這可能會是我們給他最好的禮物。
而1988年標志著不幸的開始，整形手術、醜聞和怪異的事情不斷充斥著新聞，這幾乎抺掉了之前Jackson生活中里程碑式的絢爛光煇。如果你對此感興趣，那麼你不儘需要排除這個巨星生活中混亂因素的干擾，也需要排除他對自身現象的數字化方面的關注，——這包括巨大的銷售量、紀錄和財富。這些因素導致Jackson的事業聽起來更像是一個體育盛事，而非一個打動人心的文化和藝術和藝術領域的神像，這才是他原本的模樣。
回想還在Jackson 5時期Jackson的第一批錄音，那些Motown單曲至今仍出現在他的生活，並且也是第一次鞏固了他的傳奇地位。當那些歌曲第一次上榜時-從1969年的《I Want You Back》開始，它們不僅僅是讓人們為它們持久的旋律、高潮迭起的演出、前所未有的能量感到驚奇，它們更加會讓我們不禁去想：一個年僅11歲的孩子怎麼會唱出這樣具有經歷感的歌曲？（或者更確切的說是一個9歲的孩子，因為一開始Motown就隠瞞Jackson的真實年齡，將他說大了二歲。）
Jackson因嗓音超過了他的四個哥哥成為主唱，這嗓音勾起了人們的思念和注意力。砍苗高潮中他所喊出的三個聲音逐漸加大的"oh!"暗示了一種兩性經驗、一種若有失和世事的充分領悟，而這一切只可能來自於一個經歷了長久豐富生活的人。
一個長著稚氣面孔的孩子怎麼能夠明白著所有的事情呢?
答案是，他並不明白。但是他的天賦明白。僅僅是他的嗓音便已經具備了一個成熟男人的力量和需求。Motown那些神奇的製作人將這個力量與音樂聯繫在一起，這使他們之前所有的成就蠻的十分巨大。他們加快了Motown常規的頻率，加強了樂器伴奏，並對樂曲進行不斷的潤色，這一切創造出了三分鐘內可以塑造出的偉大天才。
緊隨其後的單曲《ABC》和《The Love You Save》—一重複著相同的模式，但是也具有他們各自獨特的曲調和高音區，這些歌使Jackson樂團的狂熱造隨著隊伍不斷壯大。在他們的第一首民謠中-20世紀70年代的《I'll Be There 》最小的成員Michael Jackson唱出了這首歌觸動人心的旋律，這讓人相信他的天賦將永久持續(20年後瑪麗亞凱莉翻唱了此歌)。
正是由於也的早熟，人們逐漸開始往Michael身上投射一種略帶負擔的魔力感。他成為那個古老而極其浪漫的傳言的最理想載體-一個古老的智慧的靈魂在一個毫無可能的年輕軀體上得到了重生。
這種在音樂中體現出的完全而純粹的強烈感情，本應是Jackson事業的至高點。並不是因為從那時起往後的幾年中沒有巨大的成就，而是再沒有任何事物可以那樣純粹、快速和與眾不同。儘管如此，Jackson之後很多的里程碑式的成就都遠遠超越了絻大多數明星在藝術上的頂峰。
1972年，開始以《Got to Be There》這樣略帶哀傷的歌曲和《Rockin' Robin》這樣充滿活力的歌曲進行獨唱的嘗試。隨後，他和他的哥哥們開始逐步走向更為成熟化的音樂，例如DISCO金曲《Dancing Machine》和70年代金曲《Shake Your Body》或《Can You Feel It》。
而此時仍十分年輕的Michael(那時僅22歲)還沒有完全開始獨唱事業，直到1979年《Off The Wall》的行發行。這個由昆西製作的唱片曲風收錄了像《Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough》這樣讓人感受舞池快感的歌曲和《Rock With You》這樣極具感性的作品。
我們都知道接下來發生了什麼。
《Thriller》改變了這巨星的形象，而幾年後Michael決定改變他自己的容貌。但是當人們開始慶祝這張專輯的25週年慶時，它的數字再次成為了新聞頭條-七首排行榜前10的歌曲，專輯居於榜首長逹37週。
而像在《Beat It》和《Billie Jean》這些歌曲中，Jackson所做的並不僅僅是他自己的經過完美抅思、得到豐厚回報和流行率的部份。他極富熱情和煽動力的表演不僅顯示了他作為一個偉大歌手的能力，也展示了他對打動人心的掌控能力。
而當你逹到這一高度時，僅有一條眾所皆知的路可以選擇。
接下來發生的事情，使我們只能呆呆的看著、嘲弄著、永久的畏懼著。但是只要現在這一時刻，讓我們為沒有任何包袱的Jackson慶祝，甚至這些包袱都是他自己背上的。回去在炫目的燈光下聆聽他最為動人的歌聲，這不僅僅是給了Jackson一份禮物，你同樣也給了自己一份豐厚的禮物
JIM FARBER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, August 28, 2008
To celebrate Michael Jackson's 50th birthday, which is tomorrow, let's play a game. It's called Pretend. All you have to do is act like the last 10 years of his life never happened.
No, make that 15,
or even 20. Believe me, it's the best present we could possibly give him.
After all, 1988 marks the start of the surgeries, scandals and oddities
that have nearly obliterated the monumental dazzle and soul of all that
occurred in Jackson 's life before. To bask in that, you have to clear away not
only the more unsettling aspects of the star's life, but also his own tendency
to focus on the bare numerical aspect of his phenomenon - all those loudly
trumpeted sales records, chart figures and financial windfalls. Such factors
make Jackson 's career sound more like a sporting event than the emotional,
cultural and artistic juggernaut it truly is.
Think back to Jackson 's very first recordings as part of the Jackson 5, those Motown singles that still loom over his life and which first cemented his legend. When those songs first hit - starting with "I Want You Back" in 1969 - they didn't just astonish with their indelible melodies, orgasmic playing and unprecedented energy. They made us wonder: How could a voice of such experience come pouring out of an 11-year-old boy? (Or, rather a 9-year-old boy, since Motown at first lied about Jackson 's age, lopping two years off the top.)
Jackson's lead vocal, soaring above his four brothers, held such yearning, such gripping need, it brought you up short. His three escalating cries of "Oh!" that crown the song's apex implied an experience of sexuality, awareness of loss and knowledge of consequence that could only come from someone who'd lived a long and rich life.
How could this baby-faced child possibly understand all that?
The answer is, he didn't. But his talent did. The voice alone had the power and need of a fully realized man. Motown's magic-makers matched that force to music that took all their previous achievements to the 10th power. They sped up the usual Motown beats, intensified the instrumentation and perfected the melody, together creating something with as much genius as three minutes could hold.
The singles that chased that initial one - "ABC" and "The Love You Save" - repeated the formula but featured their own individual tunes and high-flying vocals, which only escalated the mania behind the Jacksons ' gestalt. On their first ballad single - 1970's "I'll Be There" - the youngest Jackson skirted the maudlin potential of the song (exploited 20 years later by Mariah Carey's version) to make a fully believable statement of constancy.
Given his precociousness, it's small wonder people began to project a burdensome sense of magic upon Michael. He became an ideal vessel for that hoary and highly romanticized notion of the wise old soul reborn in an impossibly young body.
In terms of sheer intensity, that may well have been Jackson 's high point . It's not that he didn't have many amazing achievements in the years since. It's just that nothing could ever be that pure, fast or new again. Even so, many of Jackson 's later milestones would tower in artistry over most stars' peaks.
In 1972, Jackson began a solo career with keening singles like "Got to Be There," and energetic ones like "Rockin' Robin." Later, he and his brothers began to mature their sound with the huge disco hit "Dancing Machine" and increasingly knowing '70s smashes like "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" or "Can You Feel It."
Still, the terribly young Michael (then 22) didn't come entirely into his own as a solo artist until 1979's "Off the Wall." That Quincy Jones-produced album moved gracefully from the dance-floor bliss of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" to the fleet sensuality of "Rock With You."
We all know what happened next.
"Thriller" changed the face of pop, years before Michael decided to change his own face. But when it came time to celebrate the album's 25th anniversary late last year, once again the numbers hogged the headlines - the seven top 10 singles, the 37 weeks the album ruled over the rest of the top 200.
But in songs like "Beat It" and "Billie Jean," Jackson did more than simply take his part in some perfectly conceived and richly rewarded, pop productions. He gave performances of heat and sensitivity that both marked him as a great singer and reestablished his hold on soul.
When you hit such a high, there's only one proverbial way to go.
What followed has been gawked at, mocked and flinched over ad infinitum. But just for the moment, let's toast Jackson without all that baggage, even if he did pack much of it himself. Go back and listen to his finest work in a more elevated light and you won't just be giving Jackson a present. You'll be giving yourself one, too.
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