Dangerous tour 1993: Anyone know the reason for dropping Beat It?

[fraroc04]

One of the main things about the second leg of the Dangerous tour was that the setlist was shortened a bit. While Dangerous was added, Working Day and Night and Beat It were both dropped. I understand the reason why they dropped WDAN, probably because it's been part of the set since the Triumph tour and it's a bit overplayed and was probably dropped to make room for more songs from Dangerous, like the title track that was added in '93.

But Beat It? That song is one of Michael's most legendary hits from the best selling album of all time, people expect to hear that song because of how big of a hit it was around the world. In fact, we now know that it was rehearsed in 1993 with the new footage that was leaked. My personal theory was that there were multiple reasons why it was dropped.

1. No Jennifer Batten: She decided to take a leave of absence in 1993 to do something else and Michael got a second female guitarist to take her place. I'm going to be honest here, Jennifer's replacement was not even HALF the guitarist she was. When she did the Beat It solo in that rehersal video, I cringed so much because she totally screwed it up. She got a lot of notes wrong and really could not tap or do the EVH "Hummingbird" picking at all. I don't know if Michael knew a lot about guitars or not, but I'm sure he could tell that it wasn't the same without Jennifer.

2. The stress of the Jordie Chandler allegations: I know that Michael rarely dances a lot in rehersals, but you could just see it in Michael's eyes in that new footage, he was thoroughly stressed out over what he went through with that whole ordeal and that being on stage was the absolute LAST thing that he wanted to do in that point in time, you can tell it in the 1993 performances. Because of that, Michael wanted to limit the amount the songs he was doing so he won't have to spend as much time onstage.

What do you guys think?

 

[1nn5]

For the guitarist, be sure Michael knows who must be on stage, I don't think that he made the wrong choice when he selected the second guitarist. You also should ask, why Bad and TWYMMF are removed, last shows in Tokyo Michael performed both songs and in the rehearsals he performed them.

 

[analogue]

I'm sure it was the stress of the allegations. Michael wasn't emotionally in the right state of mind to handle such physical performances like Working Day And Night and Beat It. The 1993 leg of the Dangerous Tour is sad to watch

 

[fraroc04]

I'm sure it was the stress of the allegations. Michael wasn't emotionally in the right state of mind to handle such physical performances like Working Day And Night and Beat It. The 1993 leg of the Dangerous Tour is sad to watch

Looking at that footage, Michael was definitley on autopilot on the 1993 shows....I'm sure he loved performing for his fans, but he really wanted to get the show over with quickly.

 

[innuendo141]

Wasnt Jennifer sick for the 3rd leg? She was integral to both Beat It and WDAN

 

[1nn5]

Wasnt Jennifer sick for the 3rd leg? She was integral to both Beat It and WDAN

as I know his father died In 1993.

 

[mj_frenzy]

One of the main things about the second leg of the Dangerous tour was that the setlist was shortened a bit. While Dangerous was added, Working Day and Night and Beat It were both dropped. I understand the reason why they dropped WDAN, probably because it's been part of the set since the Triumph tour and it's a bit overplayed and was probably dropped to make room for more songs from Dangerous, like the title track that was added in '93.

But Beat It? That song is one of Michael's most legendary hits from the best selling album of all time, people expect to hear that song because of how big of a hit it was around the world. In fact, we now know that it was rehearsed in 1993 with the new footage that was leaked. My personal theory was that there were multiple reasons why it was dropped.

1. No Jennifer Batten: She decided to take a leave of absence in 1993 to do something else and Michael got a second female guitarist to take her place. I'm going to be honest here, Jennifer's replacement was not even HALF the guitarist she was. When she did the Beat It solo in that rehersal video, I cringed so much because she totally screwed it up. She got a lot of notes wrong and really could not tap or do the EVH "Hummingbird" picking at all. I don't know if Michael knew a lot about guitars or not, but I'm sure he could tell that it wasn't the same without Jennifer.

2. The stress of the Jordie Chandler allegations: I know that Michael rarely dances a lot in rehersals, but you could just see it in Michael's eyes in that new footage, he was thoroughly stressed out over what he went through with that whole ordeal and that being on stage was the absolute LAST thing that he wanted to do in that point in time, you can tell it in the 1993 performances. Because of that, Michael wanted to limit the amount the songs he was doing so he won't have to spend as much time onstage.

What do you guys think?

It seems that no official explanation was ever given for the withdrawal of ‘Beat It’ from the 1993 leg of the ‘Dangerous’ Tour.

Personally, I do not think that it had to do with the song’s physical demands, considering that there were (at the same time) other, more strenuous/demanding, physically & vocally, performances of songs that MJ decided not to remove from the 1993 leg (‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, etc.).

Also, I do not think that the withdrawal of ‘Beat It’ had to be linked to Jennifer Batten’s absence. I mean that, even if she had posed her own reasons not to accompanny MJ on stage, she could have been very easily replaced by another female guitarist. The claim that there were possibly no other guitarists at that time that could have managed to effectively accompany MJ on stage (during certain songs) sounds illogical to me.

Moreover, it is said that she wanted to pursuit her own career at that time (she even released her own record in 1992) &, as a result, people associate it with her absence from the 1993 leg. To me, parting company with MJ (the most succesful artist during that period) so as to follow her own carreer, with a view to becoming in this way famous, sounds a bit of a paradox.

 

[barbee0715]

Also, I do not think that the withdrawal of ‘Beat It’ had to be linked to Jennifer Batten’s absence. I mean that, even if she had posed her own reasons not to accompanny MJ on stage, she could have been very easily replaced by another female guitarist.



Moreover, it is said that she wanted to pursuit her own career at that time (she even released her own record in 1992) &, as a result, people associate it with her absence from the 1993 leg. To me, parting company with MJ (the most succesful artist during that period) so as to follow her own carreer, with a view to becoming in this way famous, sounds a bit of a paradox.

I have no idea why they would remove Beat It-If I had to gander a guess, I would think they would want to shorten the show due to the allegations and the toll it was taking on Michael's health.

But the loss of Jennifer (especially if the new female guitarist was not as good) would be an excellent reason to drop that certain song-wouldn't that be the best time to try to pursue your own solo career-when you are in the middle of a gigantic successful tour? Strike when the iron is hot?

Isn't that why Sheryl never returned to pursue her own career-and likewise, that's the reason Siedah didn't go in the first place-because she was releasing her own solo album.

 

[Michaels Lover]

But the loss of Jennifer (especially if the new female guitarist was not as good) would be an excellent reason to drop that certain song-wouldn't that be the best time to try to pursue your own solo career-when you are in the middle of a gigantic successful tour? Strike when the iron is hot?

why would they hire a guitarist who couldn't play good enough??

 

[barbee0715]

why would they hire a guitarist who couldn't play good enough??

Isn't she the one that was playing on that Dangerous Rehearsal posted recently? I thought she was fine. It's just a theory that maybe she's not quite at the same par as Jennifer-and therefore, easy to drop that song.
I thought everybody was just speculating here.

 

[Michaels Lover]

Isn't she the one that was playing on that Dangerous Rehearsal posted recently? I thought she was fine. It's just a theory that maybe she's not quite at the same par as Jennifer-and therefore, easy to drop that song.
I thought everybody was just speculating here.

yeah, but I don't think he would drop a song because someone couldn't play an instrument good enough. he would get a replacement better than that

 

[fraroc04]

It seems that no official explanation was ever given for the withdrawal of ‘Beat It’ from the 1993 leg of the ‘Dangerous’ Tour.

Personally, I do not think that it had to do with the song’s physical demands, considering that there were (at the same time) other, more strenuous/demanding, physically & vocally, performances of songs that MJ decided not to remove from the 1993 leg (‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, etc.).

Also, I do not think that the withdrawal of ‘Beat It’ had to be linked to Jennifer Batten’s absence. I mean that, even if she had posed her own reasons not to accompanny MJ on stage, she could have been very easily replaced by another female guitarist. The claim that there were possibly no other guitarists at that time that could have managed to effectively accompany MJ on stage (during certain songs) sounds illogical to me.

Moreover, it is said that she wanted to pursuit her own career at that time (she even released her own record in 1992) &, as a result, people associate it with her absence from the 1993 leg. To me, parting company with MJ (the most succesful artist during that period) so as to follow her own carreer, with a view to becoming in this way famous, sounds a bit of a paradox.

Jennifer doesn't seem like the kind of person who wanted to use the fact that she played with MJ in order to make her famous, I never got that vibe from her.

If anything, it almost seems as if she wanted to sort of get away from the MJ gig for a little bit so she could make a name for herself instead of being forever known as "that chick with the big white hair and crazy headdresses that plays guitar in Michael Jackson's band" and her three solo albums really prove that she is a true and very talented artist.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

I've heard Jennifer had persuited other projects of her own in 1993. As for the dropping of Beat It, I haven't found a reasonable explanation why.

 

[innuendo141]

Judging by Buenos Aires, that second female guitarist was miming black or white. Have to rewatch, but i remember seeing her do a song and she was NOT playing

 

[mj_frenzy]

I have no idea why they would remove Beat It-If I had to gander a guess, I would think they would want to shorten the show due to the allegations and the toll it was taking on Michael's health.

But the loss of Jennifer (especially if the new female guitarist was not as good) would be an excellent reason to drop that certain song-wouldn't that be the best time to try to pursue your own solo career-when you are in the middle of a gigantic successful tour? Strike when the iron is hot?

The fact that no official explanation was ever given gave rise to various speculations (show’s duration, for example). In my view, almost any of these speculations could not be far from reality, although I strongly maintain that Batten’s absence does not constitute a valid reason for removing one of the biggest hits from the concert’s track list.

Also, I seriously doubt that the biggest performer of that period had a hard time finding an up to par female guitarist so as to perform his biggest hits (even when it came to a field where good female guitarists were not in abundance).

Jennifer doesn't seem like the kind of person who wanted to use the fact that she played with MJ in order to make her famous, I never got that vibe from her.

If anything, it almost seems as if she wanted to sort of get away from the MJ gig for a little bit so she could make a name for herself instead of being forever known as "that chick with the big white hair and crazy headdresses that plays guitar in Michael Jackson's band" and her three solo albums really prove that she is a true and very talented artist.

Getting away from MJ for a little bit (so she could make a name for herself) could be very tricky & risky. For example, if her replacement was even better than her, then she probably would never again have participated (as a lead guitarist) in MJ’s concerts.

Also, the fact that she collaborated with Jeff Beck at that time can in no way be considered a move for becoming even more famous, especially after her participation in MJ’s concerts.

That’s why, the fact that she left MJ in 1993 (&, in that way, choosing not to be in the limelight anymore, or, at least, for a short period of time) in order to make a name for herself does not make sense to me.

 

[fraroc04]

How have I only just learned that he performed Dangerous on the Dangerous tour?? I feel like a right amateur fan now.

How many times did he perform this on the Dangerous tour?

Only for the 1993 leg.

 

[Michaels Lover]

Off to Youtube to check it out.

Was it the AMA version with the pre-chorus included?

yes it is. exactly the same as AMA. btw, there's a whole concert available from 1993. it's from Buenos Aires. just in case you want to see the whole concert and not just Dangerous

 

[Tony R]

How have I only just learned that he performed Dangerous on the Dangerous tour?? I feel like a right amateur fan now.

How many times did he perform this on the Dangerous tour?

You and me both mate!

 

[Michaels Lover]

Thanks. I've always preferred the AMA version, never liked the fact he took out the pre-chorus and bridge section for the 95 MTV awards and HIStory tour.

Love the pic in your signature btw.

Thank you

 

[analogue]

The 93 version of Dangerous is my favorite, because it includes the bridge from the album version

 

[michael555]

Just watch the 93 Beat It rehearsals... i think that it answers your question
Plus, i think that MJ wanted a much shorter show due to his conditions at that time :/

 

[fraroc04]

Just watch the 93 Beat It rehearsals... i think that it answers your question
Plus, i think that MJ wanted a much shorter show due to his conditions at that time :/

Becky Barksdale (I found out who that was) definitely paled in comparison to Jennifer Batten and I think MJ knew this.

Then again, I don't blame Becky because she's a blues oriented guitarist. She was inspired by players like Stevie Ray Vaughn while Jennifer Batten was undoubtedly inspired by EVH, Steve Vai, and Jeff Beck.

 

[wonderouzdj2]

Thanks. I've always preferred the AMA version, never liked the fact he took out the pre-chorus and bridge section for the 95 MTV awards and HIStory tour.

Love the pic in your signature btw.

Yea love the pre-chorus!