Latest on MJJC

Rumours of a re-release?

I agree, it will probably be Hot Fun and 1-2 remixes. Because of the song I think a re-release is more likely in summer than now (if at all)

a bit OT:
I hope they finally concentrate on the most recent tracks (2005-2009) with the next release. If a verse is missing they can easily add a guest artist. It's common now to have multiple features on an album anyway.
A 2nd disc with the version as MJ left them would be nice, though.

And I think they should stick with the original producer for the newer tracks. By now, I think Rodney did the best job overall of all the xscape tracks. Followed by stargate. All the Timbaland tracks have some stuff that needs to be cut for it to be perfect (imo of course). Less developed/older tracks could go to some fitting "outside" producer to work on.
 
Soldierboy said:
He was to be the bonus in Xscape album but replaced it with the duet with Justin Timberlake
Click to expand...

Not true. Those were just fanmade speculations. The song was supposed to be on the main album, not as bonus track, but it wasn't finished in time.
 
Xscape2041 said:
a bit OT:
I hope they finally concentrate on the most recent tracks (2005-2009) with the next release.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, but how? They wanted to do this back in 2010 but they either don't have the tracks or the permission to release them. Of course everyone can be bought, but obviously the price will.i.am and RedOne are asking is extremely high for Estate and Sony. Just imagine if Cascios demanded 1 MIL per track and finally got rumored 5 MIL for 12 tracks (fake tracks), how much money will.i.am and RedOne demanded for their real tracks (will.i.am - 6 songs and RedOne 8-10 songs)! It's all about the money, and eventually all the songs will be released weather Estate and Sony pay more or Will & RedOne lower their asking price.

For now only songs from 2005-2009 that Estate have are Neff-U collaborations and songs that MJ wrote and recorded alone (with musician Brad Buxer and engineer Michael Durham Prince).
 
OnirMJ said:
Absolutely, but how? They wanted to do this back in 2010 but they either don't have the tracks or the permission to release them. Of course everyone can be bought, but obviously the price will.i.am and RedOne are asking is extremely high for Estate and Sony. Just imagine if Cascios demanded 1 MIL per track and finally got rumored 5 MIL for 12 tracks (fake tracks), how much money will.i.am and RedOne demanded for their real tracks (will.i.am - 6 songs and RedOne 8-10 songs)! It's all about the money, and eventually all the songs will be released weather Estate and Sony pay more or Will & RedOne lower their asking price.

For now only songs from 2005-2009 that Estate have are Neff-U collaborations and songs that MJ wrote and recorded alone (with musician Brad Buxer and engineer Michael Durham Prince).
Click to expand...


These tracks would be a very good "start" imo and probably feel typically MJ. Throw in there some RedOne tracks (last I heard he said he would release them if it is for charity) and maybe 1-3 Invincible outtakes + at least 1 will.i.am track and you have a brilliant album. I think will.i.am would agree to at least release one of "his" tracks now (since he wanted to release it on his own album)

"will.i.am - 6 songs and RedOne 8-10 songs" is a bit optimistic though.
From what I read over the years it's more like will.i.am about 4 mostly finished tracks, RedOne probably similar but only with chorus and one verse (he desicribed that was the method he worked with MJ, doing multiple tracks at once).

Fingers crossed they can work it out :)
 
Last edited:
Xscape2041 said:
"will.i.am - 6 songs and RedOne 8-10 songs" is a bit optimistic though.
From what I read over the years it's more like will.i.am about 4 mostly finished tracks, RedOne probably similar but only with chorus and one verse (he desicribed that was the method he worked with MJ, doing multiple tracks at once).
Click to expand...

Will.i.am has 6 songs. No one knows for sure how complete they are. There are some fans speculations but those are just that - speculations. 6 songs were written and recorded - vocally that may be 4 full songs or 6 full songs or something in between or even less than 4 full songs.

My post from another thread:

"They recorded 6 songs together. Some are completed, some aren't. Nobody knows for sure which.

1. Can You...
2. I Will Miss You
3. If We Still Love
4. I'm Dreamin'
5. Still The King
6. The Future

+ Unknown title (John Legend song)

I believe MJ recorded enough vocals for first 6 songs to be released. The ones that have full vocals as solo versions and the ones that haven't full vocals as duets. For John Legend song, I really don't know what to think, but if MJ didn't record any vocals, it would be cool to hear John Legend's demo for Michael."

For RedOne tracks, I heard that they wrote/recorded 8-10 songs. Nothing is confirmed and no one knows for sure. When I say songs I mean songs - not vocals. Maybe there are few songs that are vocally complete. Other songs are probably, like you said, one verse and a chorus - which is still releasable as a duet. I'm sure there are also tracks that have no vocals recorded, but I would still like to hear those - as finished instrumentals and demos.
 
OnirMJ said:
Will.i.am has 6 songs. No one knows for sure how complete they are. There are some fans speculations but those are just that - speculations. 6 songs were written and recorded - vocally that may be 4 full songs or 6 full songs or something in between or even less than 4 full songs.

My post from another thread:

"They recorded 6 songs together. Some are completed, some aren't. Nobody knows for sure which.

1. Can You...
2. I Will Miss You
3. If We Still Love
4. I'm Dreamin'
5. Still The King
6. The Future

+ Unknown title (John Legend song)

I believe MJ recorded enough vocals for first 6 songs to be released. The ones that have full vocals as solo versions and the ones that haven't full vocals as duets. For John Legend song, I really don't know what to think, but if MJ didn't record any vocals, it would be cool to hear John Legend's demo for Michael."

For RedOne tracks, I heard that they wrote/recorded 8-10 songs. Nothing is confirmed and no one knows for sure. When I say songs I mean songs - not vocals. Maybe there are few songs that are vocally complete. Other songs are probably, like you said, one verse and a chorus - which is still releasable as a duet. I'm sure there are also tracks that have no vocals recorded, but I would still like to hear those - as finished instrumentals and demos.
Click to expand...

Thanks, you may be right. From what I read though, I suspect I will miss you and still the king are the least developed tracks. In interviews it sounded more like they were in the early stages with these songs, like will.i.am trying to "sell" the idea to MJ. Would be an "in your face" album title though, "still the king". :)
Would love to know more details (or any details) about the RedOne tracks. I suspect the sound of them could be kind of similar to the earlier Lady Gaga tracks...
 
Xscape2041 said:
Would love to know more details (or any details) about the RedOne tracks. I suspect the sound of them could be kind of similar to the earlier Lady Gaga tracks...
Click to expand...

Yeah, me too. I think the sound may be similar to her The Fame album. It's the same period of time.
 
Xscape2041 said:
Thanks, you may be right. From what I read though, I suspect I will miss you and still the king are the least developed tracks. In interviews it sounded more like they were in the early stages with these songs, like will.i.am trying to "sell" the idea to MJ. Would be an "in your face" album title though, "still the king". :)
Click to expand...

Still The King is unfinished for sure because according to will.i.am it was supposed to be a collaboration between MJ and a group of younger artists that he influenced (Usher, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Omarion). They never recorded their vocals, but if MJ and Will wrote the lyrics they can always record them. We can just hope that MJ recorded his vocals.

I Will Miss You is probably finished because MJ wrote it as a tribute to late James Brown. I think that Will also talked about that song - that one day he found the song on his computer and played it.
 
In the video i saw, it was reported that Red One had 12 complete enough tracks to be released. But he said ''i'll release them when the time is right, i want the money to go to a good cause'' or something like that. Those tracks, including the Will.I.Am & Neff-U song's should be saved for the last ever posthumous album. until then, i suggest the estate release song's from 1980-2003/4.
 
Zakk said:
Those tracks, including the Will.I.Am song's should be saved for the last ever posthumous album.
Click to expand...

That is stupid because by then will.i.am & RedOne will not be hit producers anymore and the most current songs that we have will sound dated. And again the songs will need to be updated by outside producers. That is stupid. Those songs has to be released as soon as possible while will.i.am & RedOne are still considered hot producers and while their sound still sounds modern and fresh to be played on the radio without remixing.
 
OnirMJ said:
That is stupid because by then will.i.am & RedOne will not be hit producers anymore and the most current songs that we have will sound dated. And again the songs will need to be updated by outside producers. That is stupid. Those songs has to be released as soon as possible while will.i.am & RedOne are still considered hot producers and while their sound still sounds modern and fresh to be played on the radio without remixing.
Click to expand...

I don't want the song's being remixed at all, i want them to be released.. just like how the original versions sound! i hate it when people feel the need to change Michael's art just because they want a number one. Michael's music will be relevant for many years to come & his later work is by far the audio that i'm wanting to hear most of all. Whenever it does happen.
 
Zakk said:
I don't want the song's being remixed at all, i want them to be released.. just like how the original versions sound!
Click to expand...

The songs are not finished. And who's better to finish them than their original producers and co-writers? I never said re-mix them, I said finish them.

But if they are released 10 years from now, when will.i.am & RedOne will not be relevant in music industry anymore, they'll hire someone from the outside to modernise the sound of them, just like they did with Xscape. And if they don't, if they release will.i.am & RedOne mixes in, let's say 2024, those versions will have to be remixed to be played on the radio, because by then their sound will become dated. I'm just stating facts.

I know that you prefer the original versions and demos, and I agree that they have to release those versions too - for the fans.
 
OnirMJ said:
The songs are not finished. And who's better to finish them than their original producers and co-writers? I never said re-mix them, I said finish them.

But if they are released 10 years from now, when will.i.am & RedOne will not be relevant in music industry anymore, they'll hire someone from the outside to modernise the sound of them, just like they did with Xscape. And if they don't, if they release will.i.am & RedOne mixes in, let's say 2024, those versions will have to be remixed to be played on the radio, because by then their sound will become dated. I'm just stating facts.

I know that you prefer the original versions and demos, and I agree that they have to release those versions too - for the fans.
Click to expand...

The song's are complete enough for release, in the region of 'Best Of Joy' at least i assume. By that i mean the released version, not the full version with the unreleased 3rd verse.. What i'm saying is, why do you want the most recent tracks to be thrown out to the public so early? i for one am hoping that their will be a new album every 5 years. That way, we will have a whole generation of new Michael Jackson music. Personally i think they should follow the method of 'Queen' also, by Scanning & Restoring 16/35mm film concerts/short films/studio footage to 3x the resolution of the original negatives. For future visual releases. It's clear they're saving the best for the future.
 
OnirMJ said:
Yeah, me too. I think the sound may be similar to her The Fame album. It's the same period of time.
Click to expand...

Or maybe more like the songs from the (Fame) "Monster" part (but a bit less "dark") since RedOne said it was positve happy music. Maybe something like Bad Romance mixed with Straight trough my heart from backstreet boys, but with the special Michael touch :)
 
Xscape2041;4061113 said:
Or maybe more like the songs from the (Fame) "Monster" part (but a bit less "dark") since RedOne said it was positve happy music. Maybe something like Bad Romance mixed with Straight trough my heart from backstreet boys, but with the special Michael touch :)
Click to expand...

MJ worked with RedOne in 2008. Maybe even late 2007 (he was in the studio when MJ and Akon recorded Hold My Hand). I think Akon introduced MJ to RedOne because Akon & RedOne collaborated before and they were working on Akon's new album at the time. Akon was also featured on RedOne produced Just Dance.

The Fame Monster was recorded after The Fame was released (2008–2009). The Fame was released in August of 2008. So I'd say that it probably sounds more like The Fame than The Fame Monster. Basically it's the same period of time when MJ worked with RedOne.

I even saw an interview with RedOne where he said that when MJ heard Poker Face that he called him and said "That should have been my song".
 
Yeah I remember that and always picture this when I listen to Poker Face.
I think RedOne was the last "outside" producer to work with him which would have probably been in 2008/early 2009 so I'm quite sure like you said it's along the lines of the fame/with maybe a bit of "monster" in there.


About the songs in general (i'm not complaining, just a suggestion): IMO they should have gathered all the most recent tracks and released them FIRST. They would have been considered new, now/later they will always be considered old by the general public.
Maybe it wouldn't have been the best long term business decision, but artistically...:

Original producer finishes/updates the tracks (still quite close to their original date of creation/mindset and sound that can be sucessful at the time). Use "outside" producers mostly for older tracks or some track that really benefits from it.
Release the tracks as they were left on a second disc.

After 6 months of Xscape I can honestly say:
Rodney did the best overall job on his track (original producer), followed by stargate who managed to make the song completly different, which I like in this case, original is also great. And also LNFSG which was really good considering what they had (too young sounding demo vocals).
In every Timbaland track something needs to be cut/changed to make it really good imo. (for example in Chicago the "iii ffffeeeeeeeeeellllllll llooooooooooooooooooveeeeeeeeeeee" vocal with effect) just before the next verse.

Still hoping for a 2.0 edition of Xscape. Even though half of it is based on older tracks (before 1999), it's a too good album to be abandoned after the first single (LNFSG)
 
Last edited:
Zakk said:
The song's are complete enough for release, in the region of 'Best Of Joy' at least i assume. What i'm saying is, why do you want the most recent tracks to be thrown out to the public so early?
Click to expand...

Best Of Joy was not finished. At all. Neff-U finished it in 2010, after MJ's death.

I explained twice already why those songs should be released as soon as possible. I want them to be finished by their original producers while they are still relevant in the music industry and while their sound is not dated. Those songs, finished by their original producers, could be played on the radio today!

From my last post:

"Those songs has to be released as soon as possible while will.i.am & RedOne are still considered hot producers and while their sound still sounds modern and fresh to be played on the radio without remixing."

If they release it 10 years from now the songs will need either outside producers or remixes to be played on the radio.
 
OnirMJ said:
Best Of Joy was not finished. At all. Neff-U finished it in 2010, after MJ's death.

I explained twice already why those songs should be released as soon as possible. I want them to be finished by their original producers while they are still relevant in the music industry and while their sound is not dated. Those songs, finished by their original producers, could be played on the radio today!

From my last post:

"Those songs has to be released as soon as possible while will.i.am & RedOne are still considered hot producers and while their sound still sounds modern and fresh to be played on the radio without remixing."

If they release it 10 years from now the songs will need either outside producers or remixes to be played on the radio.
Click to expand...

Actually, it was finished. But the estate did not have access to the recorded third verse as written by Rod Temperton as RT requested too much money.
 
Xscape2041 said:
I think RedOne was the last "outside" producer to work with him which would have probably been in 2008/early 2009 so I'm quite sure like you said it's along the lines of the fame/with maybe a bit of "monster" in there.
Click to expand...

MJ worked with RedOne in 2008, maybe even late 2007. They worked together while MJ was living in Las Vegas. MJ moved to Los Angeles on Christmas of 2008. They never worked again. He is probably MJ's last producer. He and Neff-U.
 
Zakk said:
Actually, it was finished. But the estate did not have access to the recorded third verse as written by Rod Temperton as RT requested too much money.
Click to expand...

Musically, we were talking about will.i.am songs - and I said all songs has to be finished to be released - musically (production, instrumentation). And you said: "The song's are complete enough for release", which they are not. They are, like you said: "in the region of 'Best Of Joy' at least" - which had to be finished - musically, by Neff-U before its release.
 
OnirMJ said:
Musically, we were talking about will.i.am songs - and I said all songs has to be finished to be released - musically (production, instrumentation). And you said: "The song's are complete enough for release", which they are not. They are, like you said: "in the region of 'Best Of Joy' at least" - which had to be finished - musically, by Neff-U before its release.
Click to expand...

Neff-U only created a new mix, and had to discard the entire third verse! that's all that happened, Michael created a few mixes for 'Best Of Joy' some mixes featured the chorus at the start of the track.
 
Zakk said:
Neff-U only created a new mix, that's all that happened, Michael created 5 mixes for 'Best Of Joy'.
Click to expand...

Not true. If it's true I'm not buying it without any proof or quote from someone relevant.

Maybe MJ did create 5 mixes. Of course, why not. He created mixes for every song - so he can listen to it and see if something can be improved, not mixes for release. Hollywood Tonight, Much Too Soon... But all songs were finished for the release - new instruments were added or whole music was re-recorded. Best example Hollywood Tonight and The Way You Love Me - both finished by Neff-U.
 
Zakk said:
Neff-U only created a new mix, and had to discard the entire third verse! that's all that happened, Michael created a few mixes for 'Best Of Joy' some mixes featured the chorus at the start of the track.
Click to expand...

From the mouth of the man himself:

"BEST OF JOY, WE KNEW THAT WAS ONE OF THE SONGS THAT WE NEEDED TO FINISH, MUSICALLY." - Neff-U at 21:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TxYH0hAjQ

Don't believe everything you hear from fans. A lot of time they are making fanmade stories.
 
I would enjoy a re-issue regardless of the variation it took.

Personally I would have loved to see Xscape as a visual cd however, I am very well aware that will not happen.

I was so disappointed in what seemed to be a second wave of promotion for Xscape (the Billboard spectacle that failed mostly because there was absolutely no follow up whatsoever demanding the purchase of Xscape) that I would not be disappointed if there was not a third wave of promotion during the normally, profitable holiday season.

I understand Michael was not here to promote Xscape as has been repeated far too often. What seems to be forgotten is this is not Michael's project. It is an Estate/Sony collaboration. Any success/failure of Xscape lies with these partners.

Xscape2041 said:
After 6 months of Xscape I can honestly say:
Rodney did the best overall job on his track (original producer), followed by stargate who managed to make the song completly different, which I like in this case, original is also great. And also LNFSG which was really good considering what they had (too young sounding demo vocals).

In every Timbaland track something needs to be cut/changed to make it really good imo. (for example in Chicago the "iii ffffeeeeeeeeeellllllll llooooooooooooooooooveeeeeeeeeeee" vocal with effect) just before the next verse.

Still hoping for a 2.0 edition of Xscape. Even though half of it is based on older tracks (before 1999), it's a too good album to be abandoned after the first single (LNFSG)
Click to expand...

Fully agree although I am fine with Timbaland's productions at this time.

I feel sympathy for these producers because they did their best and it is not their fault this project did not reach its full potential. I always said this was the best offering the Estate/Sony had for an audio cd and I do not understand why it is being abandoned in this manner. Not even one nomination for a Grammy despite it being a top-level production. It could have at least been a sure win for the remix category. Utterly baffling.

I had the chance to work with a trio of DJs during the summer. I asked each if they would play Xscape - the single - publicly and all three agreed they would not. All three LOVED the track but, they stated they would not play a song that was not well-known. Whose fault is it that the strongest track is unknown?

The Xscape cd was number one in 50 countries (number two in the U.S. however, that fault also lies with Estate/Sony) and still sold after the success of LNFSG died. I believe that was due to the strength of Michael's name on the cover.

While it is very disappointing to see what is happening to Xscape now, I shudder to see another single - especially the strongest track - treated the way APWNN was.

If Xscape has truly been abandoned, so be it. I still enjoy the cd and am a proud owner.
 
Last edited:
Zakk said:
Their was a discussion here on MJJC, that proved their was a third verse to 'Best Of Joy'!
Click to expand...

I knew that info even before it was discussed here.

I provided you the proof that you were wrong about Best Of Joy not being finished posthumously by Neff-U. Like the video says the song was finished (musically, like I said) posthumously by Neff-U, just like every other song on the album. No difference.
 
Tygger said:
What seems to be forgotten is this is not Michael's project. It is an Estate/Sony collaboration. Any success/failure of Xscape lies with these partners.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. But it is still Michael's music on the CD and Michael's name on the cover and on the charts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top