Originally published June 18, 1995

There's an elaborate trailer now playing movie theaters that announces the return of Michael Jackson, whose two-CD HIStory - Past, Present and Future - Book I hits stores Tuesday.

The $4 million production speaks volumes about this master of public relations and the media onslaught he's engineered: Our benevolent, if recently beleaguered, King of Pop is shown in full military garb, striding amid hundreds of Eastern Bloc-ish soldiers past delirious fans to an enormous metal likeness of himself.

He is purposeful. He is on a mission. And this time, it's personal. A valiant warrior, Jackson is loaded with ammo, gearing up for the most important campaign of his life.

The symbolism is no accident: The rehabilitation of Michael Jackson is as precise as any military operation. It's a rescue mission in which every possible promotional device will be used to lure back old fans and create a new generation of admirers.

"Don't stop 'til you get enough" is the Epic Records battle cry: The label plans to release nine singles and promote HIStory through Christmas 1996. By that time, the few consumers who haven't already purchased the set - which lists for $32.98 but will probably retail for $22 to $25 on CD ($19 to $22 on cassette) - are likely to fork over the dough just to be done with it.

HIStory is music - 15 digitally remastered greatest hits, 13 new originals, and two covers. But it's much, much more. It's Michael Jackson's do-or-die attempt to erase the memory of those 1993 child-molestation allegations, settled out of court, that drove him to painkillers and derailed his plan for a movie career.

In his new songs, Jackson casts himself as a victim of police brutality, screams "stop pressuring me," and counsels listeners that "just because you read it in a magazine or see it on a TV screen don't make it factual. " Through high-gloss dance-pop numbers destined to be hits and more sedate selections, he breathes the fire of the wrongly accused, marshaling all his artistic resources to clear his name.

Operation Michael has three goals: to make people forget about the sordid allegations, to remind fans of Jackson's stellar previous work (among the oldies are five cuts from his 44-million-selling Thriller), and to prove that the 36-year-old star, whose last album was 1991's uneven Dangerous, remains a viable pop artist.

The movie-theater trailer was just the beginning: The video for "Scream," the single that pairs Jackson with little sister Janet for robotron dance sequences, cost between $7 million and $10 million to make - lots of money for a spaceship set that looks left over from "Captain Eo" days. Epic says its promotional budget for HIStory, including videos, is around $30 million.

The record wasn't cheap to make, either: In addition to Janet, there are guest appearances by the ultra-hot Boyz II Men, renegade rapper Notorious B.I.G. and guitarist Slash from Guns N' Roses, among others. The project's top-shelf team of producers included Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin and R. Kelly. Plus, there's a cameo by part-time rapper and Orlando Magic big man Shaquille O'Neal.

That's not all. You can't tell the players without a scorecard, so Epic has included a 56-page booklet that lists HIStory's credits. That's provided you can find them among the list of Jackson's awards, the text of the speech President Ronald Reagan made when he gave Jackson a Presidential Award in 1984, and the lavish celebrity testimonials (including one from Steven Spielberg and two from good friend Liz Taylor).

Just the fact that Jackson has submitted his resume should set off alarm bells: What is this guy afraid of? What further horror could possibly be visited on his reputation?

Oh, just the suggestion that he's a wee bit passe.

The King of Pop, it seems, is a coward. Not content to let his new stuff speak for itself, he's stacked the deck by packaging it with proven hits and giving it a send-off unparalleled in the history of pop-music hype.

Lots of artists (Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith) have added a few new songs to their greatest-hits packages, but Jackson takes the tactic to an absurd extreme. Half of HIStory's 30 cuts are oldies (and yes, there are some questionable omissions, including "Dirty Diana" and five other Top 10 hits), and two more songs are covers (the Beatles' "Come Together" and the Charlie Chaplin tribute "Smile").

On the marketing honcho's memo pad, the combination of old and new looks like genius. It's a gentle way to reintroduce this maligned commodity, whose success has lately been measured in units sold, not artistic breakthroughs.

In the record store, however, this package could feel manipulative. Subtract the hits, and you've got an indulgent, album-length tirade with a little something for every slice of the market: hip-hop, show tunes, rock and power-ballads.

HIStory arrives at a time when Jackson's commercial viability is in question. His Thriller/Bad audience has grown up and may no longer be interested - though Epic is counting on the fact that only a fraction of Thriller's sales were on CD, so many will buy HIStory just to own the hits in digital form.

What's more, the success of earnest pseudo-rockers such as Hootie and the Blowfish signals that the era of mega-starpower pop may be over. Hype on the Jackson scale will no doubt generate news stories, but getting people to like the product is another thing entirely. That's one thing the Epic campaign can't control.

"Scream," which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard singles chart, is too snarly-angry to connect with a wide audience. Its dated rhythm bed and melody- free tag line will turn listeners away after just a few spins. There are more substantial singles on the record. But there's also a lot of fluff - the title track, for example, and "Childhood (Theme From Free Willy 2)" - that begged for the editing-room floor.

Jackson works overtime to prove he's a good guy who's the victim of evil schemes. But what a persecution complex: In HIStory's variations on victimhood, he's hounded by salivating journalists ("Tabloid Junkie"),

stalked by the KGB ("Stranger in Moscow"), and a mark for extortionists ("Money").

Jackson has struck the victim pose before - what was "Billie Jean," after all? - but now he's playing the role with Broadway gusto, using the negative events of the last two years as fuel. On HIStory's best cuts, the street- corner-sassy "They Don't Care About Us," the new-jack kick "This Time Around," and the hip-hop-centered "Money" (which soars on the strength of its animated "Thriller"-esque chorus), Jackson proves he can still wring drama from conflict.

But his righteous fire gets tiresome. He complains. He whines. Where once he was dedicated to buoyant pop (think "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " or ''Beat It"), he now carries weighty adult concerns on his shoulders, and they nearly crush his songs.

In graphic detail, he sings about the death of an abused girl, "Little Suzie," suffocating us in his good intentions. He asks, in a cloying sob meant to elicit sympathy, "Where is my childhood? " And on the cluttered title track, he uses audio snippets of historical events to suggest that every day we are "leaving our legacy. " Deep thoughts from a guy whose claim to fame, just a few years back, was the ability to tease an exuberant, unapologetic pop hook from thin air.

Jackson should be asking "Where are my melodies? " There are a few stray addictive refrains scattered around. And every once in a while - particularly on the choruses that brighten "Money" and "Tabloid Junkie" - Jackson offers a glimpse of his old, effortless form. But, like the sedentary ''Scream," much of the up-tempo stuff never gathers momentum.

Maybe that's why Jackson gravitates toward the schmaltz that dominates the second half of HIStory. "Little Suzie" and the Chaplin tribute "Smile" are surrounded by studio-orchestra splendor. And the R. Kelly ballad "You Are Not Alone" comes from the Generic Production Number factory, complete with Quiet Storm strings. (Ever the trouper, Jackson sings it with overweening concern, as if he's comforting Bubbles or another of his animal companions. )

Jackson actually carries off "Smile," but the best part comes after the big finale, when he's heard singing and humming and whistling along with a cloppety-clop, stride-style piano track. As the music ends, Jackson laughs under his breath. It's as though, after spending more than 70 minutes shouting histrionic invective, he's finally able to breathe easily. Suddenly less seems at stake.

This was the place to start, not end - with a serious downsizing of the Michael Jackson mythology. Though his answering-the-charges vitriol might have provided him a therapeutic outlet, it didn't always yield memorable music.

The Life of Michael Jackson: From Child Star to Superstar

Aug. 29, 1958: Michael Jackson - seventh of Katherine and Joe Jackson's nine children - born in Gary, Ind.

October 1969: Motown releases Jackson 5 debut single, "I Want You Back"/"Who's Loving You. " Two million copies sold in six weeks.

January 1972: Got to Be There, Jackson's first solo album, released. Includes "Rockin' Robin. "

August 1972: "Ben," Jackson's ode to a rodent, is released.

October 1978: Jackson makes acting debut as scarecrow in The Wiz. Film's soundtrack contains hit "Ease on Down the Road," duet with co-star Diana Ross.

August 1979: Off the Wall released; 8 copies sold. Includes "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You. "

Dec. 1, 1982: Thriller released; 44 copies sold. Includes "Beat It" and ''Billie Jean. "

May 16, 1983: NBC airs Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. Introduces 47 million American TV viewers to sight of Jackson moonwalking.

July 6-8, 1984: Jackson family Victory Tour opens in Kansas City.

Jan. 27, 1984: Jackson suffers second and third degree burns to scalp while filming Pepsi commercial in L.A.

Jan. 28, 1985: "We Are the World," Michael Jackson-Lionel Richie co- production to benefit Ethiopian famine victims, recorded.

April 1987: Michael leaves Jehovah's Witnesses.

Aug. 31, 1987: Bad released; 22 copies sold. Includes "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana. "

June 23, 1989: 2300 Jackson St. - first Jackson family album in five years - released to lukewarm reviews.

Nov. 21, 1991: Dangerous released; 22 copies sold. The album - by the self- proclaimed "King of Pop," includes "Remember the Time" and "Black or White. "

Feb. 10, 1993: Jackson talks to Oprah Winfrey in 90-minute prime-time TV special. Tells an estimated 85 million viewers that heavy makeup is to diguise loss of pigmentation caused by vitiligo, that he suffered physical and emotional abuse as a child and that he considers Brooke Shields his girlfriend. Deflects questions about his virginity.

Aug. 17, 1993: Los Angeles police open criminal investigation of Jackson based on charges he sexually abused a 13-year-old boy.

Aug. 24, 1993: Jackson begins Asian leg of Dangerous world tour.

Sept. 14, 1993: Civil suit filed by Jordan in L.A. Superior Court accusing Jackson of sexual battery, infliction of emotional distress, fraud.

Nov. 12, 1993: Jackson cancels remainder of tour to seek treatment for dependency on painkillers.

Nov. 14, 1993: Pepsi dumps Jackson as corporate spokesman.

Dec. 20, 1993: Johnnie Cochran Jr. joins Jackson legal team.

Jan. 26, 1994: Jackson pays this teenage accuser undisclosed sum in out-of- court settlement of molestation case.

May 26, 1994: Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley.

May 31, 1995: "Scream," first single from HIStory - Past, Present and Future - Book I, goes on sale. Enters Billboard at number 5, after selling 54,000 copies in first week.

Sept. 24, 1994: L.A. prosecutors announce that they will not file criminal charges against Jackson.

June 20, 1995: The two-CD HIStory, containing Thriller-era hits, Beatles cover and 12 new songs, released.