This is Michael Jackson, the philanthropist. He’s at his most caring, and perhaps most daring, while singing shamelessly a hymn to wish home all the missing children of the world with the help of a backing choir, woodchip snares and Disney-like orchestration.
Schmaltz, poured warm and heavy, can be a sweet thing in small melodic doses. Here that melody is led by a sing-along chorus you’ll have to listen to a few times, if not lose a child, to fully appreciate. The bridge, where “no one can find thee”, is instantly accessible.
My only complaint about the song is the fact that they; mixing engineer Bruce Swedien or whoever it was; used the children’s “ladybug” dialogue clip more than once; an annoying artistic decision, or mishap, that sort of puts a damper on an otherwise surreal soundscape.
my rating : 3 of 5
2001
