Waiting for Michael Jackson’s New Single Was Better Than Hearing It

Well, this isn’t exactly taking the gloves off.

Michael Jackson’s long-awaited reentry into the pop arena should have been a contender--something with the brass and sass to remind people that he’s a great record maker, not the Wacko Jacko who kept the tabloids humming during his hiatus from music.

But the most notable thing about the first song released to radio from his upcoming album is its credit of five songwriters behind such lines as “I cannot explain the things I do for you/ Girl you know it’s true.”

Propelled by a hand-clap beat and wafted by a hint of disco strings, “You Rock My World” makes an amiable impression and immediately fades into the wallpaper of contemporary pop radio.

Rodney Jerkins’ sumptuous, languid production gleams with digital clarity; the relaxed tempo steers the King of Pop mainly into an easygoing vocal range and the track avoids trendy hip-hop touches--if anything, it seems designed to evoke the more innocent era of “Off the Wall.”

It’s pleasant enough as anonymous fluff goes, but at this point in a precarious career, the erstwhile pop provocateur should be shooting for another “Thriller,” not filler.