HIStory
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 6
- Points
- 0
L.A. and Erica Reid Talk Michael Jackson and Family Life with Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer: L.A., let’s talk about Xscape and how that album came to be. What was the idea behind it?
L.A. Reid: It was my being at Epic Records and trying to find something magnificent to work on. Epic is a label we literally started almost from scratch, so we were trying to find something big. I spoke to John Branca, who runs the Michael Jackson estate, and asked him to let me into the archives to see what we could find. We found about 20 songs and picked 10 of them to work on, and it’s worked out really well. Then I brought in Justin Timberlake to feature on the first single, “Love Never Felt So Good.” Justin was my ambassador, which has led to worldwide sales of more than 2.5 million copies.
ML: Were you surprised by what was in that archive or were you expecting a gold mine?
LAR: I didn’t really know what to expect—I went into it open-minded. But I was surprised by how much was there because I knew Michael, and he didn’t record a lot of music that he didn’t release. Some artists record endlessly; Michael recorded purposefully to release music, so I was surprised to find as much. And recently I found more, like some Michael Jackson-Queen music that’s pretty unbelievable.
ML: Erica, are you the type who likes it if L.A. brings some of his work home? Does he bring a CD home and say, “You gotta hear this?”
Erica Reid: I get to hear it first. I love to listen to what he is working on and be a part of it that way. It’s fascinating and, more than anything, it’s fun. It’s great music for the home.
ML: L.A., I’ve watched some of these meetings where guys like you get around the table and play music and everybody decides if there is the potential for a hit. Does Erica have the “hit ear”?
[Erica laughs]
LAR: No, but she has a good “hit eye.” When I was going through cover comps for Xscape, I would bring the artwork home. I had no idea the one that ended up being the cover was as good as it was, but when I showed it to Erica, she said, “This is the one!”—and it ended up being the one. So she actually did participate in arguably the most important part of the project because it was the visual that got everyone’s attention. She was very helpful.
ML: “Love Never Felt So Good” is a hit around the world. Could it have been a hit before, years ago? LAR: Oh yes, it would have been a much bigger hit. I don’t know that it would have measured up to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, but it was an outtake from Off The Wall so it could well have worked on that album.
ML: What is the follow-up single?
LAR: A song called “A Place With No Name” that was originally recorded by the group America and that Michael redid. We’re hoping to release it on August 11.
http://hamptons-magazine.com/person...oday-show-host-matt-lauer#uBSL5bjEMDR8IulO.99
