Al Capone

Remington Steele

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I must say I'm fascinated with "Al Capone". :wub:

"Smooth Criminal" (among "Black or white") was always my absolute favorite of MJ.

Now I'm really confused: Could it be that "Al Capone" is even (clearly) more catchy than "Smooth Criminal"?? Or am I mistaken because the song is so "new"?

What's your opinion?
 
You're mistaking because it's so new. I had the same feeling the first 20 times I heard it.
 
I think there was this general feeling of "OOOOOOHHHH MYYYYY GODDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!" when the snippets first came out. There's always an undeniable excitement that comes along with hearing new Michael music. Add to that the fact that Al Capone is an almost mythical song title that's been speculated about and desired by the fanbase for a ridiculous amount of time, the fact that we were FINALLY hearing it and it more than lived up to the tremendous hype surrounding it provided just an inexplicable feeling of euphoria. To the point where people were indeed saying, and believing, that it is better than Smooth Criminal. And there's nothing wrong with that, especially in that moment.

Taking a step back now, I'm fairly certain we all realize what a masterpiece Smooth Criminal turned out to be and how amazing it is that we get to hear an early draft of what that song would eventually become. There's really nothing quite like the feeling I got when I first listened to Al Capone, and I'd like to hold on to that feeling and cherish the memory of experiencing it with all of you fine folks. Let's do it again when we get Chicago 1945. :)
 
Well written cmstrike. As far as I'm concerned, I have not listened to snippets before though... and while I knew about the expectation of "Al Capone" for all those years, I didn't really have that in mind when I first listened to it.

I think it really might be a matter of personal taste which song you like better. To me it seems though "Al Capone" is more simple, I like it more... e.g. the climax of each song -

Smooth Criminal: "Annie are you ok, are you ok Annie"

Al Capone: "cause the madman is OUT TONIGHT"

- it seems to me I like the SC part but I LOOOVE Michael's "OUT TONIGHT!".
 
Well written cmstrike. As far as I'm concerned, I have not listened to snippets before though... and while I knew about the expectation of "Al Capone" for all those years, I didn't really have that in mind when I first listened to it.

I think it really might be a matter of personal taste which song you like better. To me it seems though "Al Capone" is more simple, I like it more... e.g. the climax of each song -

Smooth Criminal: "Annie are you ok, are you ok Annie"

Al Capone: "cause the madman is OUT TONIGHT"

- it seems to me I like the SC part but I LOOOVE Michael's "OUT TONIGHT!".

I agree, and there are definitely certain aspects of Al Capone that I think I like better. The entire "Too bad..." section just before the chorus is something I really, really love.
 
I must say I'm fascinated with "Al Capone". :wub:

"Smooth Criminal" (among "Black or white") was always my absolute favorite of MJ.

Now I'm really confused: Could it be that "Al Capone" is even (clearly) more catchy than "Smooth Criminal"?? Or am I mistaken because the song is so "new"?

What's your opinion?

Personally, Smooth Criminal is still the better song. It's a masterpiece.
 
I agree, and there are definitely certain aspects of Al Capone that I think I like better. The entire "Too bad..." section just before the chorus is something I really, really love.

I agree with you on that one.

In my opinion, SC is a masterpiece, but I think if the element you mentioned from al Capone would be added to SC it would make it even better, perfect in my opinion. I just love the building up of the tension that this part creates!
 
I think that Smooth Criminal is so much better than Al Capone, because AC is new everyone is like *OMGGGGGGGGGGG* but yeah, in a few months everybody is going to say "SC is better" but Al Capone got something very... I don't know, have something that makes you fall in love with that song
 
I love Al Capone. When I listen to Smooth Criminal now I hear a little bit of Al Capone.
 
I love both songs, and I have a feeling that if I had to pick one as my favourite, it would depend on what day you asked me :)
 
I agree with you on that one.

In my opinion, SC is a masterpiece, but I think if the element you mentioned from al Capone would be added to SC it would make it even better, perfect in my opinion. I just love the building up of the tension that this part creates!
Smooth Criminal does follow a similar structure though. After the verses there is a similar tension-building section (the "Annie are you okay? So, Annie are you okay? Are you okay Annie?" part before the chorus kicks in).

What stands out most to me about the two songs at the moment is that whereas Smooth Criminal sounds a bit darker and more mysterious, Al Capone has a slightly stronger sense of urgency. I think this is in part due to the fact that the vocals in Smooth Criminal are a bit more stacatto, whereas MJ just spits them out a bit more fluently on the funkier Al Capone. Also, the structure of Smooth Criminal is different in that there is a section after the chorus (the "Annie are you okay? So, Annie are you okay? Are you okay Annie?" part that culminates in "You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a Smooth Criminal") that brings a bit of closure before the next verse starts. There is no comparable section in Al Capone, as the next verse immediately rolls in after the chorus. Apart from the bridge, there is really no moment where things cool down a bit: the song just keeps going on relentlessly.

I also feel like this is probably not a good moment to make a judgement about the two songs. I have listened to Smooth Criminal my whole life and have only had a day to listen to Al Capone. I do feel that both are different enough to stand on their own as separate tracks though. And I really enjoy listening to the similarities and differences between the two. What a treat to have this track!

PS: Also love the rhythm guitar that comes in near the end (similar to the guitar that drives APOM, btw).
 
I really liked Al Capone but saying it's better than Smooth Criminal is totally wrong. Al Capone kinda sounds like Ain't Nobody and Smooth Criminal like no one else's. It was so wise from Michael to keep it mold it and sculp until its final result.
 
It's true of course that "Smooth" is much more elaborated. Still, "Capone" has elements that have been thrown overboard or changed for it.

Like Michael said himself, a great melody never becomes old. And I loooove Michael's melodic ideas in "Capone", it barely matters to me that the instruments etc. are still on a more simple stage.
 
Smooth Criminal cant ever die out because its basically the finished version of Al Capone plus we have like a million versions of it. multiple live and studio recordings, remixes, acapella, instrumental you name it.
 
Al Capone is as good as it gets in my book. Probably better than any other outake on Bad25 IMO. Impossible to compare it to Smooth Criminal because SC is a final recording. When l hear Al Capone I wonder why he rewrote it! The only track I feel could have been left off the album in 1987 is Just Good Friends... Not bad at all, but one duet on a ten or eleven track LP is enough.

But I do love the album! Played it back to back on a daily basis since Santa gave it to me in 1987!
 
Al Capone is Smooth Criminal's funky cousin and that's all I need to say :)
 
MJ had this talent, feeling what would happen so many of his song when aging... Al Capone really feels and sounds like 1985-1986.... Smooth Criminal had a bit more modern feeling, making it more timeless... He always looked at ways to make his music and preformances more timesless by adding special effects (just compare the lighting thriller jacket from 1988 to the 'virtual ghosts' from 2009...).

He made a good choice. Though...i have to say, that Smooth Criminal was my forst 'enoucnter' with Michael as a small child... i don`t think i would have been a (the same) fan if i hadn`t seen it when i was a little kid, immediately after seeing it, running to my bedroom and trying to imitate the routines and failing miserably at the lean... Thankyou, Michael.. :)
 
I've finally listened to the track and I must say, it is rather catchy. I agree with what most have been saying in that you can truly see the art of how a demo can turn into a masterpiece. I believe this is the first demo of MJ's that was almost entirely redone though, which isn't a bad thing since SC turned into a classic, but it makes you wonder how things would have turned out had he kept the song as it was originally made.

SC comes across as darker which I feel fits the mood for the lyrics, while AC has a little more of an upbeat 80's sound to it. They're similar but sound like two (not so entirely) different songs. I would love to hear a blending of the two, and I'm sure if there isn't one already out there, that there will be plenty.
 
I love the beat of "Al Capone". It was awesome for demo that later turns into "Smooth Criminal".
 
I've finally listened to the track and I must say, it is rather catchy. I agree with what most have been saying in that you can truly see the art of how a demo can turn into a masterpiece. I believe this is the first demo of MJ's that was almost entirely redone though, which isn't a bad thing since SC turned into a classic, but it makes you wonder how things would have turned out had he kept the song as it was originally made.

Just wait untill you hear the Dangerous demo... ;)
 
Like many foresaw, at least to me the magic of "Al Capone" I felt at the beginning has faded a little. Has it faded for you, too?

I'm sad about it, I feel I should listen to it only once a year ^^...
 
Like many foresaw, at least to me the magic of "Al Capone" I felt at the beginning has faded a little. Has it faded for you, too?

I'm sad about it, I feel I should listen to it only once a year ^^...

While the excitement has obviously worn away, I still get very much enjoyment out of it. I can never skip past it if I'm shuffling through my MJ. It still gets stuck in my for days at a time.

I think it's done just fine, to be honest. A lesser song wouldn't have transcended the enormous hype.
 
That's what we said, Remington. It's just a normal since it was new. It can't beat SC.
 
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