1 Hidden Gem From Every Michael Jackson Album
2. Blood On The Dancefloor - Superfly Sister
It might sound strange to accuse a remix album of rehashing former glories. That’s kind of the whole point of a remix, after all. The thing is, on Blood On The Dance Floor, even the five original tracks feel like Michael Jackson retreading old ground.
The title cut is like a late-Nineties update on Smooth Criminal, and Morphine brings back Slash for a solo, recalling the guitarist’s iconic intro to Black Or White. Meanwhile, Ghosts and Is It Scary? recall the horror tropes from Thriller.
The trouble is, while it was fun to watch the hottest young star of the Eighties hire John Landis to make a schlocky, B-movie of a music video, it doesn’t work in 1997. Given Jackson’s radical transformation and the accusations levelled at him, there’s something a little icky about him asking, “am I scary for you, baby?”
Which leaves Superfly Sister, a song that finds a lascivious, synth bass groove and rides it for five and a half minutes of sexy funk. All the while, Michael spits ambiguous lyrics that seem to reference both his sister Janet’s marriage and his older brothers’ exploits with groupies. All of which lends a strangely ambivalent feel to this otherwise seductive track.