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Very Interesting Articles About The Making of Bad

MikeFann

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Thanks for posting, a fantastic read. Looking forward to part 3!
 
Wow! These articles were great! I LOVE Behind the Scenes stuff-and this was fascinating.

Also reminds me of making a movie-which although it produces absolute magic in the long run, is a long tedious process setting up cameras and lights, etc. and then a few minutes of acting, and then a few more long hours of set up.
This seems almost the same way-even though I've read a lot of books and articles and seen film of the recording process, when I listen to the albums I always picture Michael singing his head off and dancing in the booth and the band all jamming along. :)

I also liked hearing the real story of DMC. Have to admit I did a little fist pump when Chris said Michael didn't care for rap and preferred melodies and real singing.

Can't wait for part 3.
 
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Some very interesting insight into Bad recording sessions, thank you.
 
You guys are very welcome; You have no idea how happy I was to read these articles. Maybe Mr. Currell could a write based on these experiences, eh?
 
MikeFann said:
You guys are very welcome; You have no idea how happy I was to read these articles. Maybe Mr. Currell could a write based on these experiences, eh?
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I would love to read books on the details of the production of these albums. But at the same time, I guess maybe it's cool the mystery of Michael's studio magic remained and we only hear it through storytelling like this :)
 
I've wanted Brad to write a book for some time bc he really has a way with words (from his Facebook posts transferred here) and Chris seems to have the same gift.

The great part is they make it easy for people like me to understand. So you can really visualize it.

Maybe they will collaborate one day. :)
 
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Those are terrific articles! Love the look behind the scenes.
 
So he did not play Thriller on the Victory Tour because of the church?

An interesting story about performing Thriller. Michael told me he got a lot of negative reaction to the original release of Thriller from his church! They thought the song was the devil’s work and that under no circumstances should Michael perform it live. Michael told me he did not understand their reaction. His intention was not evil or devils work. He said it was just kids stuff…like Halloween and was not a serious thing. But pressure from the church was great so he caved in and agreed not to perform it. Moving forward in time…while we were recording Bad, Michael made the decision to leave his church. He still believed in the church’s basic teaching about being good and helping others, but he said he felt suppressed creatively, so decided to officially leave. I am sure this was not an easy decision for Michael. But now for the first time, Michael was going to perform Thriller live complete with the choreography, costumes and even his transition into the werewolf! YAY!!! - See more at: http://headphone.guru/the-event-horizon-synclavier-music-and-michael-jackson-3/#sthash.HTvl7p4F.dpuf
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respect77 said:
So he did not play Thriller on the Victory Tour because of the church?
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Intresting...

I have never heard that before. - But I actually believe it could very well be true !
 
MikeFann;4090990 said:
It's always nice when I come across more information about the recording of Michael Jackson's Albums, especially the Bad Album. And guess what, these articles were written by Christopher Currell, who provided unique sounds from the Synclavier! I hope these will be as informative for you as they were for me.

http://headphone.guru/the-event-horizon-synclavier-music-and-michael-jackson/

http://headphone.guru/the-event-horizon-synclavier-music-and-michael-jackson-2/
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Let me add that the voice of the policeman (‘Smooth Criminal’) belongs to Bruce Swedien…
 
Love reading stories like these, looking forward to the rest! And this made me laugh:

I told Michael that Jennifer was really good and he should really check her out! He watched and got very excited and said…”Wow! She is really good but we have to do something about her look!”
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cold :rofl: And to think this is how she ended up looking..

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LOL:D
 
Part 4: http://headphone.guru/the-event-horizon-synclavier-music-and-michael-jackson-part-4/

We were playing in Minneapolis, home of Prince. He had bought out a lot of seats in the front row for himself and his staff. Prince had a rule that when in public, his band or others had to pay attention only to him since he is…well…Prince! As it turns out, Sheila E, a friend of Greg Phillinganes, was working with Prince playing drums and singing. At the venue a couple hours before the show, Greg saw Sheila E and said hello. She totally ignored him because she was with Prince. This irritated Greg because he thought that act was nonsense and he told the rest of the band what had happened.
I was hanging out in the bowels of the arena in the makeup/wardrobe area. The band and wardrobe people were scattered around getting last minute touches on their makeup or costumes. Suddenly,
Prince, his bodyguard, and Sheila E came walking through. Everyone was watching. So I decided to try and blow Prince’s act.
Picture this… I was in complete costume, huge hair, tubes hanging off me, thigh high Zebra boots and makeup looking like Kiss meets Captain EO. I was leaning against the wall with my arms folded defiantly…and I am tall! Everyone was watching. The three of them walked right by me, about two feet away. I looked at Prince very serious and said, “What’s up homes!?” He turned slowly and looked at me. I saw a beginning of a smile but he kept cool! The band broke out laughing hysterically. Prince, his bodyguard, and Sheila E kept walking. I came so close to getting him to laugh! Oh Well!

- See more at: http://headphone.guru/the-event-hor...-michael-jackson-part-4/#sthash.ouBKWTIA.dpuf
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LOL.

I suddenly heard voices and footsteps. Around the corner came Elizabeth Taylor with her entourage of people. She recognized me from when Michael had introduced us when he was filming Moonwalker at Universal Studios. She was lost and was trying to find Michael’s dressing room. I walked them to Michael’s dressing room door. I knocked and Michael let them in and shut the door. I went back to my quiet spot to relax.

A few minutes later, I heard someone walking. Just single footsteps this time. Around the corner came the most beautiful woman I had ever seen! It was Sophia Loren! I probably looked stupid standing there with my mouth open. She saw me and very politely asked if I knew where Michael’s dressing room was. Again, I walked her to Michael’s door and knocked. He opened the door and Sophia walked in and the door closed. WOW! I thought to myself…did this just happen?
The next day in the newspaper, the headlines read that many many years ago Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren had a falling out and had not talked to each other since. Apparently, Michael had mended that upset and now they were all friends! Interesting!
- See more at: http://headphone.guru/the-event-hor...-michael-jackson-part-4/#sthash.ouBKWTIA.dpuf
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We played in Berlin at Reichstag at the Berlin Wall. This was more strange than Rome. There were armed military all along the wall. East Berlin decided to do their own concert a mile down the wall or so to try to keep people from gathering near where we were performing so people would not attempt to escape. During the show, a few people actually did escape! One woman was spotted running between the walls by the East Berlin guards. They were actually preparing to shoot her! She started screaming don’t shoot and that she was with child! TV cameras were on her so the guards let her go! Again, this kind of activity was going on around us and all we wanted to do was just play music. The world is crazy!
Michael scored a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for setting a new attendance record, when he played the first of seven nights at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The shows were attended by a total of 504,000 fans, beating the record previously held by Genesis. Ticket demand for the dates exceeded 1.5 million, enough to fill the 72,000 capacity venue 20 times over. I met Robin Williams and Eric Clapton backstage!
Nathan East, an old friend and at the time, the bass player for Eric’s band told me at dinner after the show that he was sitting with Eric at the concert. When I did my Synth Axe solo, Eric freaked out and stood up and asked Nathan “What’s he doing?” I was surprised! Apparently my solo got a rise out of Eric Clapton! Cool!! (wink!!)

- See more at: http://headphone.guru/the-event-hor...-michael-jackson-part-4/#sthash.ouBKWTIA.dpuf
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I thought he had forgotten about part 4! Thanks for this, I'll read later.
 
Find it very interesting how early they were shooting Smooth Criminal- the song wasn't even finished yet?

Love reading things like this.
 
It would be lovely if these guys write a book of their time with MJ. Something like "collective stories of working with MJ". Brad S, Christopher C, Jennifer and many others should participate and tell their stories of touring or recording with MJ.
 
Bubs;4097215 said:
It would be lovely if these guys write a book of their time with MJ. Something like "collective stories of working with MJ". Brad S, Christopher C, Jennifer and many others should participate and tell their stories of touring or recording with MJ.
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By all accounts, writing a book is not only preferable but also a fair option (instead of all these stories being revealed exclusively to selective audiences, as Brad Sundberg with appropriate recompense does)…
 
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