JohnC
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As we pass the seventh year of a world without Michael Jackson, the yearning for new old music from his archive has not waned among the fan community. With two posthumous albums (one of which was severely botched) and some half-assed anniversary sets, one wonders if the King of Pop will ever be given the intellectual appreciation his music deserves.
The saddest part is that we have a pretty good idea of what’s in his vault. Former collaborators have come forward with a wealth of information and fans have lapped it up. While the impression is given that many tracks vocally incomplete, there is still a good amount that could be configured into some quality productions.
The Michael Jackson Estate, if you’re listening…
Chicago 1945
A song whose name is something of a legend in the MJ fan community. Although not connected to Smooth Criminal or Al Capone (as has incorrectly always been the rumour), it tells the story of the disappearance of two girls after going out one night. It’s a good representation of the lyrically darker themes Michael was exploring during the early Bad sessions along with the former mentioned songs and Do You Know Where Your Children Are – although he didn’t write this one. Steve Porcaro of Toto fame, who wrote the legendary Human Nature and the wholesome For All Time, penned this song for Michael during the Bad sessions. When the second posthumous album’s production began (Xscape, 2014), Porcaro was asked for permission to release the track, which he rejected out of the inevitability of it being remixed. While it’s sad that this means we won’t be hearing it anytime soon, it’s hard not to respect someone for maintaining that level of integrity.
Willing and Waiting
When Michael’s assistant engineer – who has heard almost every song from Michael’s golden era – lists an outtake as one of his favorites in a line-up including Jackson’s biggest hits, you know it must be something special. “A very pretty song - but I think Michael was looking to push things pretty hard on HIStory, Willing and Waiting was maybe a bit softer than the direction he was going” says Brad Sundberg. He also goes on to say that Babyface was “heavily involved” in its production. Given the amazing collaboration Michael had with On The Line and Slave To The Rhythm, I think we can safely assume that this is another track for the posthumous pipeline.
Al Capone (with Roger Troutman)
So far one of the gems the Estate has satiated the fandom’s lust for is the release of Al Capone (Bad 25, 2014). While it’s obviously a foetal version of Smooth Criminal, it still maintains enough uniqueness to be a stand-alone track. In 1986, nearing the Bad album’s completion, Michael sought out the legendary composer and Zapp band member, Roger Troutman. “Michael Jackson called me to work on Bad. He said he was impressed with my song ‘The Dance Floor’ and liked its guitar sound. I actually went to his house and worked with him.” Roger told Spin magazine in 1988. John Barnes recalls year later, “He worked with us on several early Bad tracks. It wasn't kept, but it felt and sounded great. Al Capone had Roger as a guest musician. The track was mostly done when he came in”. So, there you have it, imagine the version released on Bad 25 with another one of the greatest musicians that has ever lived and you might have a close approximation of this forgotten collaboration.
Hot Fun In The Summertime (2012 Reworked Version)
It seems that the Beatles weren’t the only catalog that Michael owned and liked to record from. Early reports of the Xscape album spoke of a posthumous collaboration with D’Angelo and Mary J. Blige. In addition to that, Questlove (drummer - The Roots) and Jesse Johnson (guitarist - The Time), Pino Palladino (percussionist), Eric Leeds (saxophonist – Prince, Madhouse) and John McClain as executive producer. Ultimately the track wasn’t finished in time for the album.
So why would we want the remix over the original? Michael Jackson and Prince never worked together, despite various opportunities arising over the years, leaving a gaping hole in pop history. While D’Angelo isn’t the carbon-copy of Prince that many have touted him to be, he’s the next best thing! Throw in Eric Leeds (an essential ingredient to any Prince production), a member of The Time and a metronomic drummer and nerd of the two icons - and you’ve got the right shade of purple. John McClain has also produced arguably the best posthumous productions (Behind The Mask, Do You Know Where Your Children Are 2010, This Is It) that have kept pretty faithful to the original compositions – how the catalog SHOULD be treated. The original version has been confirmed by engineers as incomplete, so this is one case where it would make sense to have an amazing singer like Mary J. Blige to fill in the gaps.
Monster
In 2010, we saw the release of MICHAEL, the first posthumous effort by the Michael Jackson Estate. It didn’t come without its problems – songs were almost completely rerecorded, the configuration was a tad unconventional and the vocals for three songs sounded more like a Michael Jackson sound-alike, Jason Malachi, than it did Michael Jackson. One of the contentious songs shares a title with what could be one of the greatest tracks Michael never released. “Now, I guess Monster is the name of it - the hook I recorded, he sang "you created a monster"”, bassist and producer of Break of Dawn, Blue Gangsta and A Place With No Name tells the MJ Cast in a recent interview. He continues, “There was an orchestra laid out, huge amount of percussion... It was very experimental. It sounded like a very personal Michael Jackson song to me. It was like one of his SGT Pepper songs, that he went kind of 'art' instead of hitting us with 'pop'. He reached down to a different place with this song, it's more challenging to listen to.”
Apocalypse Now
During the Bad sessions, Michael would often think about adapting a military style dance routine, which he would later claim that Janet used for Rhythm Nation. He first used this in the 4D Disney experience, Captain EO (1986) and much later in They Don’t Care About Us (first recorded circa. 1990 with Bryan Loren). Drummer John Robinson recalls a percussion-oriented track that came about during the Bad sessions which he reveled to Rhythm Mag "There was a track I did called "Apocalypse Now" that I wrote six and a half minutes of military drum cadences for. I brought in Don Williams, Dan Greco and Bob Zimmitti. We recorded with four field snares, four piccolo snares, two sets of piatti and one gran casa. It was a very hip tune, but it never made the record”. With so many of Michael’s ideas carried throughout various projects, it would surely be a fascinating listen to hear one of the origins of Michael’s more mechanical-genre dance tracks.
Off The Wall – Uncut Album
As the multitracks slowly begin to creep out of the hands of collectors and producers from the session of this pinnacle album, we’re discovering that what made it onto the album is but a mere fraction of what was recorded. The extra adlibs from Rock With You, the guitars and party chants on Off The Wall, the full 7 minute version of Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, scratch vocals to I Can’t Help It, unused string prelude to She’s Out of My Life, the list goes on and on… The recent 40[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary edition would have been the perfect opportunity to put out a fresh take on the classic, which could have been the favored version over the original! But we got chalk.
Quotes from Brad Sundberg and John Barnes have been taken from their Facebook posts. Source on Steve Porcaro is from an In The Studio With Michael Jackson seminar.
The saddest part is that we have a pretty good idea of what’s in his vault. Former collaborators have come forward with a wealth of information and fans have lapped it up. While the impression is given that many tracks vocally incomplete, there is still a good amount that could be configured into some quality productions.
The Michael Jackson Estate, if you’re listening…
Chicago 1945
A song whose name is something of a legend in the MJ fan community. Although not connected to Smooth Criminal or Al Capone (as has incorrectly always been the rumour), it tells the story of the disappearance of two girls after going out one night. It’s a good representation of the lyrically darker themes Michael was exploring during the early Bad sessions along with the former mentioned songs and Do You Know Where Your Children Are – although he didn’t write this one. Steve Porcaro of Toto fame, who wrote the legendary Human Nature and the wholesome For All Time, penned this song for Michael during the Bad sessions. When the second posthumous album’s production began (Xscape, 2014), Porcaro was asked for permission to release the track, which he rejected out of the inevitability of it being remixed. While it’s sad that this means we won’t be hearing it anytime soon, it’s hard not to respect someone for maintaining that level of integrity.
Willing and Waiting
When Michael’s assistant engineer – who has heard almost every song from Michael’s golden era – lists an outtake as one of his favorites in a line-up including Jackson’s biggest hits, you know it must be something special. “A very pretty song - but I think Michael was looking to push things pretty hard on HIStory, Willing and Waiting was maybe a bit softer than the direction he was going” says Brad Sundberg. He also goes on to say that Babyface was “heavily involved” in its production. Given the amazing collaboration Michael had with On The Line and Slave To The Rhythm, I think we can safely assume that this is another track for the posthumous pipeline.
Al Capone (with Roger Troutman)
So far one of the gems the Estate has satiated the fandom’s lust for is the release of Al Capone (Bad 25, 2014). While it’s obviously a foetal version of Smooth Criminal, it still maintains enough uniqueness to be a stand-alone track. In 1986, nearing the Bad album’s completion, Michael sought out the legendary composer and Zapp band member, Roger Troutman. “Michael Jackson called me to work on Bad. He said he was impressed with my song ‘The Dance Floor’ and liked its guitar sound. I actually went to his house and worked with him.” Roger told Spin magazine in 1988. John Barnes recalls year later, “He worked with us on several early Bad tracks. It wasn't kept, but it felt and sounded great. Al Capone had Roger as a guest musician. The track was mostly done when he came in”. So, there you have it, imagine the version released on Bad 25 with another one of the greatest musicians that has ever lived and you might have a close approximation of this forgotten collaboration.
Hot Fun In The Summertime (2012 Reworked Version)
It seems that the Beatles weren’t the only catalog that Michael owned and liked to record from. Early reports of the Xscape album spoke of a posthumous collaboration with D’Angelo and Mary J. Blige. In addition to that, Questlove (drummer - The Roots) and Jesse Johnson (guitarist - The Time), Pino Palladino (percussionist), Eric Leeds (saxophonist – Prince, Madhouse) and John McClain as executive producer. Ultimately the track wasn’t finished in time for the album.
So why would we want the remix over the original? Michael Jackson and Prince never worked together, despite various opportunities arising over the years, leaving a gaping hole in pop history. While D’Angelo isn’t the carbon-copy of Prince that many have touted him to be, he’s the next best thing! Throw in Eric Leeds (an essential ingredient to any Prince production), a member of The Time and a metronomic drummer and nerd of the two icons - and you’ve got the right shade of purple. John McClain has also produced arguably the best posthumous productions (Behind The Mask, Do You Know Where Your Children Are 2010, This Is It) that have kept pretty faithful to the original compositions – how the catalog SHOULD be treated. The original version has been confirmed by engineers as incomplete, so this is one case where it would make sense to have an amazing singer like Mary J. Blige to fill in the gaps.
Monster
In 2010, we saw the release of MICHAEL, the first posthumous effort by the Michael Jackson Estate. It didn’t come without its problems – songs were almost completely rerecorded, the configuration was a tad unconventional and the vocals for three songs sounded more like a Michael Jackson sound-alike, Jason Malachi, than it did Michael Jackson. One of the contentious songs shares a title with what could be one of the greatest tracks Michael never released. “Now, I guess Monster is the name of it - the hook I recorded, he sang "you created a monster"”, bassist and producer of Break of Dawn, Blue Gangsta and A Place With No Name tells the MJ Cast in a recent interview. He continues, “There was an orchestra laid out, huge amount of percussion... It was very experimental. It sounded like a very personal Michael Jackson song to me. It was like one of his SGT Pepper songs, that he went kind of 'art' instead of hitting us with 'pop'. He reached down to a different place with this song, it's more challenging to listen to.”
Apocalypse Now
During the Bad sessions, Michael would often think about adapting a military style dance routine, which he would later claim that Janet used for Rhythm Nation. He first used this in the 4D Disney experience, Captain EO (1986) and much later in They Don’t Care About Us (first recorded circa. 1990 with Bryan Loren). Drummer John Robinson recalls a percussion-oriented track that came about during the Bad sessions which he reveled to Rhythm Mag "There was a track I did called "Apocalypse Now" that I wrote six and a half minutes of military drum cadences for. I brought in Don Williams, Dan Greco and Bob Zimmitti. We recorded with four field snares, four piccolo snares, two sets of piatti and one gran casa. It was a very hip tune, but it never made the record”. With so many of Michael’s ideas carried throughout various projects, it would surely be a fascinating listen to hear one of the origins of Michael’s more mechanical-genre dance tracks.
Off The Wall – Uncut Album
As the multitracks slowly begin to creep out of the hands of collectors and producers from the session of this pinnacle album, we’re discovering that what made it onto the album is but a mere fraction of what was recorded. The extra adlibs from Rock With You, the guitars and party chants on Off The Wall, the full 7 minute version of Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, scratch vocals to I Can’t Help It, unused string prelude to She’s Out of My Life, the list goes on and on… The recent 40[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary edition would have been the perfect opportunity to put out a fresh take on the classic, which could have been the favored version over the original! But we got chalk.
Quotes from Brad Sundberg and John Barnes have been taken from their Facebook posts. Source on Steve Porcaro is from an In The Studio With Michael Jackson seminar.