Michael -Yes! Invincible - Absolutely!

With 30 years of music history to his credit, Michael Jackson proves that he is indeed the "King of Pop" and might even be invincible. Few artists could incorporate so many trademark sounds and still manage to sound fresh and current. If nothing more, Michael is at least unique.

Most people can't distinguish one hip hop or rap artists from another. All the boy bands seem to be modeled after a record company's idea of what young people should see and hear. As for the current crop of females, most seem to be modeled after Destiny's Child or Britney Spears. The girls look alike, sound alike, and dance alike. The exception is, of course, the inimitable Janet Jackson -- true pop royalty.

Whatever he does, Michael sounds like Michael. And, whether one is a fan of his music or not, his music stands out from the overly sampled and overly produced synthesized potpourri that dominate BillBoard's Top 40.

"Invincible" works for me because it doesn't ignore Michael's past successes. Yet, to his credit, he does not ignore modern day trends. He integrates the past with the present while also managing to suggest a certain musical vision -- a direction for what we might hear tomorrow.

It's understandable that most of the writers who review Michael's music are initially critical. Michael is, after all, always ahead of what everyone else is doing. It's why people who couldn't appreciate "Billie Jean" or "Thriller" when they first came out, can listen it today and find the beat irresistible. And those who once considered "She's Out of My Life," as too syrupy, now respect it as a great and enduring love ballad.

I'm not quite certain what Michael did to get the great string sound on "You Rock My World," but it's different from anything he's done in the past, and certainly different from what anyone else is doing.

There's even a Rod "Twilight Zone" Serling sort of rap in the middle of "Threatened." Another bit of recording magic no one else has even attempted.

And let's not forget the guitar virtuosity of Carlos "Supernatural" Santana who once again manages to make his guitar cry -- this time for Michael's ballad, "Whatever Happens."

"Butterflies" will be around for a long time. It reminds us all of the innocence of young love -- it's spiritual naivete.

No one can deliver a tasteful touch of gospel like Michael. He does it again in "Speechless."

A true artist realizes that he or she must experiment to grow. Risks are mandatory -- sensible risks but risks nonetheless. And while NSync, Britney, and other dancing divas have already grown stale, Michael dances on -- if not to a new beat, at lest to his own beat. So, perhaps, all things considered, he is indeed Invincible.

-- Robert A. Daniels