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Re: Favorite Michael Jackson album
Music And Critical Reception
Stranger in Moscow -
The song was well received amongst critics and music producers. James Hunter of Rolling Stone commented "[Jackson is] angry, miserable, tortured, inflammatory, furious about what he calls, in 'Stranger in Moscow', a 'swift and sudden fall from grace'...HIStory feels like the work of someone with a bad case of Thriller nostalgia. Occasionally this backward focus works to Jackson's advantage: On 'Stranger in Moscow' he remembers the synth-pop '80s while constructing wracked claims of danger and loneliness that rival any Seattle rocker's p??in [sic]".
Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated, "The ballads are lavishly melodic. 'Stranger in Moscow', with odd lyrics like 'Stalin's tomb won't let me be', has a gorgeous chorus for the repeated question "How does it feel?". Fred Shuster of the Daily News of Los Angeles described it as, "a lush, gorgeous minor-key ballad with one of the album's catchiest choruses".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic noted of HIStory, "Jackson produces some well-crafted pop that ranks with his best material...'Stranger in Moscow' is one of his most haunting ballads. Long time collaborator Bruce Swedien, has described "Stranger in Moscow" as one of the best songs Jackson had ever done. Patrick Macdonald of The Seattle Times described "Stranger in Moscow" as, "a pretty ballad interspersed with sounds of rain".
Further praise came in 2005 when it was felt that the song had successfully portrayed "eerie loneliness" and was characterized as beautiful by Josephine Zohny of PopMatters. Tom Molley of the Associated Press described it as "[a] ethereal and stirring description of a man wounded by a 'swift and sudden fall from grace' walking in the shadow of the Kremlin".
Chart Performance
They Don't Care About Us -
In the UK, it peaked at number four and stayed on the chart for three months. The song found particular success in Europe, peaking within the top ten in all states. European highlights came in Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Sweden, in these countries the song became a top five hit and stayed in their respective charts for a minimum of 21 weeks. The lyrical controversy surrounding "They Don't Care About Us" brought commercial disappointment in the US; radio stations were reluctant to play the song. It peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, falling short of the record breaking success of the two previous singles "Scream/Childhood" and "You Are Not Alone".
