Michael Jackson HIStory: Continues

Michael Jackson's 1995 double album HIStory didn't reach the level of market saturation that the self-proclaimed King of Pop expected from himself. The reasons were many, but the pairing of new material with an album of greatest hits had blunted the public's perception of the set as a new release. So Jackson went back into the studio and remixed eight of the songs and added five new tracks. However, this only served to confuse the non-fanatic portion of Jackson's audience further. It's a shame, since Jackson shows no letup in intensity here. "Morphine" is tough and edgy and even more frightening in light of the circumstances surrounding his death. "Blood on the Dance Floor" is a solid club track, and the classic club mix of R. Kelly's "You Are Not Alone" brings a new dimension to one of the original album's best-known songs.