LIVE from MADISON SQUARE GARDENS, NYC
(a tribute to him and his music/ 2001)
A mere couple of nights after the interview with Michael was broadcast in the UK, then came this belatedly televised tribute concert to him, celebrating the 3 extravagant decades in which he's changed pop music for the better, forever.
Not sure when it was filmed: the credits at the end hinted this was in fact shot in 2001 (way before the interview was conducted)� and the feasibility study of the hairstyle Michael has on this concert footage supports the theory, much shorter here than it is these days.
So how can a concert of special guests justifiably pay homage to Jackson? How about by giving Gloria Gaynor a bell (on the phone, mintlaffs) and camp disco outfit, and asking her to sing us a song. Ha-Ha, and guess which one she sung? To add tacky insult to injury, Destiny's Child performed 'Bootylicious.' In tribute to Jackson, obviously.
Jesus, this was worse than the Brit Awards! Until�
Jacko invaded the stage with� bloody hell� the Jackson Five!! Even if his brothers looked to be miming and slapping their thighs with their guitars instead of playing them, it didn't matter. As they always had been in their prime, they were Michael's backing band. Once MJ sweet-talked and moon-walked into his classic hits, this concert suddenly bore some of the coolest concert footage I've seen since the man himself began to cryogenically freeze himself to sleep.
Interestingly, nothing from his more recent albums was performed (his last album was a commercial flop), allowing 'The Way You Make Me Feel' to standout.
Cliff Richard? Peter Pan of Pop? No way! Michael Jackson IS Peter Pan (hey, he said it himself), and his alien dance grooves are magic of the most unbelievable kind.
His comeback should have begun here. (STEVE RUDD)