80's Guilt #06: Michael Jackson "Man In The Mirror" (1988)

Still drunk... Gettin' a little woozy. But we're up to an easy one... Real quick before I pass out...

Michael Jackson is amazing because he was able to take songs that would have been boring otherwise, songs such as "Say Say Say" or "State Of Shock" or really anything he sang on during the 80's, and add his literal midas touch into turning them into something otherworldly...

Michael Jackson didn't write "Man In The Mirror," so it just as easily could have been a single by Whitney Houston or Phil Collins or Peter Cetera or whatever bullshit they were foisting onto thirtysomething listeners in those days... But MJ had the ability to OWN. He owned everything his name was attached to and made sure every ounce of his own soul was invested into the recording, which is why "Man In The Mirror" was saved from being one of the worst songs of alltime into an exceptional listen.

The part with "nananaaa nananaa..." on its own might have been enough, but mostly in the last two minutes (after you think the song is over), you really get to hear him embrace his soul and pull out these MJ fills... There's a couple other spots on Bad where he starts getting into similar territory, but the "Man In The Mirror" outro is arguably the best point on that entire LP.