Michael Jackson - Number Ones

Numbers Ones is a DVD I purchased only because it has the videos Man in the Mirror, You Rock My World, and Dirty Diana, which are all songs omitted from the History DVDs. The videos on this DVD are quick edits, or the versions seen on TV and the other videos are all available on either of the History DVDs* in full version short films. Number Ones has no extras, not even a discography feature. It has a run-time of 91 minutes and is a single sided disc. Also, there are no subtitles, for those who may want the words to the songs to flash across the screen.

The videos on the DVD are as follows:


Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough: This is from his Off the Wall album and is the same video shown on both TV and "Greatest Hits History". It's classic disco, and typically retro with the strobes and flashy objects in the background. The clarity is decent and is what you get on any other viewing (whether another DVD or on TV if VH1 decides to play it during another of their Michael Jackson marathons.) The audio is great though. The song is not one of my favorites of his, but for a disco song, it's "okay". It was one of his earlier most popular songs when it debuted, so compared to others of the like, it must have been "really something". And hey, we get to see Michael in one of those goofy giant bow ties that was worn in the 70's with suits.


Rock With You: This is another from Off the Wall. again, it has a disco sound, but this one I favor more than the previous song/video. Michael is wearing a shiny sequin outfit from his top to his boots. I like this video because he is all smiles, and it makes me think of little J5 Michael. The video is simply done, it is just him in a darkened room with a green strobe behind him, and at several segments there are two of him on the screen. He sings of wanting "to rock with you...all night..."


Billie Jean: This video is also shown on History Volume 1. It is not the Motown 25th performance, but instead is the music video where a man is following him to find the truth about he and Billie Jean, and the walk lights up underneath Michael's footsteps. This is one of his best and most popular songs (a song that caused an outdoorsy, Black-Sabbath & Led Zeppelin loving, backwoods man I call "Dad" to become a listener of Michael Jackson's music.), and this video is one of his most classic.


Beat It: This video is another classic Michael Jackson song and vdeo combo. It shows rival gangs meeting up to fight while Michael Jackson is singing lyrics like, "They're out to get you, better leave while you can. Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man. You wanna stay alive, you better do what you can, so beat it." Basically, the song is "yeah you don't want to chicken out, but hey...why not just get along". while a knife fight ensues, Michael comes out in his red jacket and they all find unity...in dance. It's an awesome song from his Thriller album, and the video is classic.


Thriller: Shows Michael on screen where he turns into the cat-like werewolf, then cuts to off-screen Michael in a theatre with his date (Ola Ray) where she gets scared of the film and wants to leave. Cut to Vincent Price "rapping" about boogers in the night while zombies crawl out of their graves....and then Michael himself turns into a zombie. Then, they all do the dance that everyone over the age of 20 automatically thinks of when they hear the words "Michael Jackson's Thriller". This short film/video plays just like a movie, is "monstrously" long for a music video, but was the coolest one out there at the time. Even though the sound, and the shoot is a bit dated, this is still a bit of a timeless video because it's ...what? ...about 25 years old?? Well, my daughter (age 8) loves both the song and video.


Bad: This is not the extended version short film which shows Michael (as Daryl) coming in on a train from his private school during a Holiday (shot in black and white). No, this starts where he begins his dance in response to Wesley Snipe's (not shown in this version) "you ain't bad". So, it's in color, and features him in his black leather/sexy biker attire as he sings that "You know I'm bad. I'm bad. You know it. Come on." (The 18 minute version is found on History Volume 1). This song is another of his more catchier ones from the Bad album, back when nobody could touch him. But, this is the weaker version of the video and only features the song and absolutely none of the short film.


The Way You Make Me Feel: This is the video edit version which cuts out the minutes-long beginning that just features Michael talking to an older man about "being himself to get the girl". In the video, he stops to talk to the girl but she passes him by, and so he sings about "the way she makes him feel" that she "really turns him on" and "knocks me off'a my feet". This video is interesting to me, because finally...someone thinner than Michael Jackson. The video girl here has the tiniest waist I've ever seen (think: toothpick). The clarity isn't the best, but I haven't seen a super clear version of this video yet. It plays like it was recorded off of a VHS. The sound, however, is crystal clear which is great because this is such a great song.


Man in the Mirror: This video doesn't feature Michael but instead has Man in the Mirror sung in the background while clips of starving children, police brutality, homeless people, dying children, the Klu Klux Klan, soldiers marching, wars...all heartbreaking images all show in the foreground. It then goes to clips of people helping such as a missionary giving clothes to an African child who's ribs are showing, someone giving food to an African child who's head appears to be too big for his body because he is so deathly thin, Willie Nelson doing Farm Aid, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Red Cross, USA Africa, and more. The song is about how nothing in this world will change, nothing will get better, if we don't first start with changing ourselves. He sings that "I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him him to change his ways. No message could have been any clearer. If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and than make a change." It's a video that I can't watch without getting choked up and I make a point to show it to my daughter often, because it remains her favorite.


Smooth Criminal: This is the worst version of Smooth Criminal, the fast-forward version cut from scenes in the full length short film on Moonwalker. What I love most about the Smooth Criminal (the full version, not this one) is that he showcases several of his moves, and dancing makes up the majority of the video. It has a storyline and it can be followed, and it's nostalgic of the one fraction of the 1980's that wasn't lame. This one has every dance sequence shown in fast-forward and there are extra bits like more guys (the druglords) with guns, but it is so fast that there is no real storyline to this video at all. It shows Joe Pesci in this one, and there is an alternate ending (from the other "music video" version) where Michael gets kicked around a bit. What this video does do is make you focus on the song, since the dancing is out. If anything, I appreciate the song more on this video version, but I'd still rather stick with the extended version (shown on History Vol II) or the short film on Moonwalker. 


Dirty Diana: This is one of my absolute favorite songs of Michael Jackson's. It features Steve Stevens (Billy Idol's former guitarist) on guitar, was on the Bad album, and had a bit more of a rock sound. This is the type of music I wish he would have done more of because he sounds awesome next to an electric guitar. Dirty Diana is about a groupie, and it's shot in front of an audience. As Michael sings about "Dirty Diana" to the audience (while Steve Stevens plays along with awesome guitar), it goes back and forth between them on stage and clips of a woman (groupie Diana) walking down a dark alley. At the end, Michael walks off the stage to go to his limo, opens the door, and there she sits. If someone who had come to me, freshly emerged from under their rock, and told me they had never heard a Michael Jackson song...this is the one I would point them to and beg them to give a listen to. The video, it's not his absolute best if you like the videos to see him dancing. He's in "rock star" mode in this video and so he doesn't really dance here, but it is still a really cool video.


Black or White: This is not the controversial "panther" version but instead os the version aired on TV. Starts off with Macaulay Culkin playing his music too loud for his dad's (George Wendt) tastes and so Macaulay blasts Dad to Africa with his guitar and super amps. Then, it cuts to the familiar Black or White with Michael dancing with African tribal men, Native American men, Indian women, and others while Michael sings about "it don't matter if you're black or white". It's a song about not being prejudiced or racist, and that it shouldn't matter what "color" we are, we are all one. Catchy song with a great message and one that sounds a bit bubblegum enough for my young daughter to love. Also has the metamorphosing at the end.


You Are Not Alone: Features a nearly naked Michael Jackson and a nude (but covered with her arms) Lisa Marie Presley. Michael sings a sweet song with verses like "You are not alone. I am here with you. Though you're far away, I am here to stay" and "though we're far apart, you're always in my heart". He's shown on a stage in an empty theatre singing and it cuts back and forth from this to he and Lisa Marie together. It's been played countless times on TV when it first aired so you may be familiar with it. There are scenes cut from this version, such as a nude Michael with angel wings, and a few more scenes of he and Lisa Marie. It's a really pretty song and the clarity and audio is excellent. I also like the colors used; lots of blacks and reds which looked great on him.


Earth Song: This is an amazing video/short all about greed and destruction of the planet whether from poaching, wars, or deforestation. It was filmed on 4 different continents and features real natives of the area (Masai in Tanzania, Croatians in Croatia, natives to the rain forest they were filming in) It shows each group of people mourning for their losses because of greed (Tanzanians mourning for the elephants who were poached for their tusks, Croatians mourning for lives lost in war, Rain forest natives mourning the loss of their home) which causes them to drop to their knees. They begin to dig their hands into the soil as does Michael who has also dropped to his knees. Suddenly, the song picks up as the wind roars, an electrical charge fills the planet, and things begin to right themselves (elephant grows it's tusks back and comes alive, felled trees right themselves, dead men come back alive, etc). All the while Michael is screaming about " ..what about the Holy Land, torn apart by greed ...What about the common man, can't you set them free...what about children dying...can't you hear them cry.....Where did we go wrong......Someone tell me why.", etc. There is a choir background to the song although they are not shown. It's a really powerful song and video, and was shot for his Heal the World Foundation. Definitely a video worth watching. "Did you ever stop to notice all the children dead from war? Did you ever stop to notice this crying earth, this weeping shore..."


Blood on the Dance Floor: This is not the remix, so it's the better version of the two. It has Michael in a club with a bunch of people, singing that "Susie got your number, and Susie ain't your friend... Look who took you under..with 7 inches in...Blood is on the Dance Floor, Blood is on the knife...Susie got your number, and Susie says it's right" He dances a little bit more in this video and it's not as fast as it was in the other version.


You Rock My World: This is not the extended venison of this song, but it's still really great. It has actors Chris Tucker, Marlon Brando, Michael Madsen, and Billy Drago in it. Michael sees a chick he wants to hit up and Chris Tucker, rightfully sensing that these are bad dudes around her wants to leave. But, Michael wants to put the moves on her (via song and dance) anyway which gets the gangster guys all in an uproar. It's a cool video in that it shows Michael in silhouette for the first part of the song dancing. Also, we get to see Chris Tucker dancing, and the whole stand-off with the bad guys (where he dances with a group) is really cool. The song isn't my favorite, but coupled with the video, it's pretty cool. It has a great cast of some of my absolute favorite "bad guys", and again, it's one of his music videos that plays like a short movie. It actually has a lot of things going on to form a story and isn't your typical "sing and shake my booty" music video. It's a short film, instead.


Number Ones isn't the must-have DVD if someone is only in the market for one of his music video DVDs. I would actually point anyone wanting the beginning tracks to either of the History DVDs, but this one does have the better version of Blood on the Dance Floor, it features Dirty Diana (which isn't found on the other DVDs), and You Rock My World. For those three alone, (and toss in Man in the Mirror) I would recommend this DVD to a fan of Michael Jackson's music or videos. Since it has some of his most popular songs of all on this DVD, I would even recommend it to anyone who thinks his music is "pretty good" and is curious to see his videos. The only downside to this DVD is that it does not have extended versions of several songs (and other DVDs do), and this is not made clear on the cover. Only the song titles are listed on the DVD, and you have to actually purchase it and look inside at the insert to see how long the videos run (to gauge if it's the "long version" or not), so we're left relying on reviews to let us know either way, before purchasing it. It's still a really great DVD to own, because of the aforementioned songs. But, I will deduct a star from my rating because the cover of the DVD isn't very clear on "what you get".


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*Other Films you May Enjoy

Michael Jackson Video Greatest Hits History
Michael Jackson History on Film Volume II
Michael Jackson's Dangerous: The Short Films
Michael Jackson Live in Bucharest (Concert)
Michael Jackson Live in Japan (Concert)
Michael Jackson Moonwalker (VHS)
Making Michael Jackson's Thriller (VHS)
Michael Jackson's This Is It

CDs:
Michael Jackson Number Ones
Michael Jackson This Is It

Books:

The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation 
Moonwalk by Michael Jackson