HIStory statue

[JichaelMackson]

What was MJ thinking when he thought this was a nice publicity stunt? Well it was a good stunt but it was also very arrogant. You just know you're gonna get negative press for doing something like that.
That cover art is HIStory is just awful.

 

[Electro]

I think in his mind it was sort of an answer to the 1993 nightmare.
To say "you can't take me down, here I stand, solid as a rock... with all my greatest hits plus a new album".

 

[JichaelMackson]

The greatest hits inclusion was just done out of fear the new material would flop. If he really wanted to make a statement he should have done a real "HIS story" imo.
Now it was only half arsed. There was no need to have songs like YANA, Come Together or Earth Song. I bet stuff like YANA was included against his will, I think the record company's never really let him be 100% creative because he always had to include radio hits.

 

[MoeJack]

The greatest hits inclusion was just done out of fear the new material would flop. If he really wanted to make a statement he should have done a real "HIS story" imo.
Now it was only half arsed. There was no need to have songs like YANA, Come Together or Earth Song. I bet stuff like YANA was included against his will, I think the record company's never really let him be 100% creative because he always had to include radio hits.

You don't like Earth Song? That's like one of Michael's best songs, and one he had been working on for years since the Dangerous years. Also, I don't think it's fair to say that Michael wasn't being creative on that album because he had to include radio hits. Out of all of his albums, that album in particular has the LEAST amount of radio hits. There was so much ingenuity and so many genres and so many different soundscapes that he was exploring.

 

[JichaelMackson]

You don't like Earth Song? That's like one of Michael's best songs, and one he had been working on for years since the Dangerous years. Also, I don't think it's fair to say that Michael wasn't being creative on that album because he had to include radio hits. Out of all of his albums, that album in particular has the LEAST amount of radio hits. There was so much ingenuity and so many genres and so many different soundscapes that he was exploring.

Oh no I do like it but it doesn't fit on the album in terms of theme; He had an opportunity to fully focus on 1993 events or perhaps even anything that happened since the mid 80s which he did but I still think more could have been done.
Another one that doesn't fit there is "little susie" which happens to be one of my favorites.
The album should have opened with "childhood" and the ending with "smile" was perfect closure.

I'm not doing this to be overly critical, I just want to get a discussion going since there is nothing else going on basically. I often think/fantasize about what he could have done to impress critics more (for example) a small venue/small stage concert focussing on artistry instead of "show" would have benefitted him enormously after 1993.

 

[dethorro]

The greatest hits inclusion was just done out of fear the new material would flop.

That's false.
Everybody knows the fact that Michael had planned to release Decade (which was a compilation of his greatest hits plus a couple of new songs) at the end of 1989.
Of course, Michael wrote and recorded too many good songs during the Decade sessions and we got Dangerous in the end.

In 1993, after the enormous success of Dangerous, the Dangerous World Tour, the Oprah interview and the Super Bowl halftime show performance....Sony Music wanted to generate some more money. Their idea was for Michael to release a greatest hits album with a few new tracks in November 1993.
This idea didn't materialise either because of the 93' allegations.

Then in 1994, the plan was (once again) to record a handful of new songs and package them with the greatest hits (just like in 93' and 89') but Michael recorded too many great songs again. This is why they included so many new tracks and kept the old material.

So, the inclusion of the greatest hits has nothing to do with anybody having doubts about the new material.

 

[mj_frenzy]

What was MJ thinking when he thought this was a nice publicity stunt? Well it was a good stunt but it was also very arrogant. You just know you're gonna get negative press for doing something like that.
That cover art is HIStory is just awful.

Michael Jackson did not care if the HIStory Statue was a good or a bad publicity stunt.

He only cared about the desired result of that publicity stunt, which was to gain people’s attention.

He wanted everybody’s attention around him and also to create controversy about him with the HIStory Statue on the album’s cover and generally with the overall promotion of that album.

He admitted that to Diane Sawyer in 1995, when he also expressed his satisfaction that he achieved that goal and people fell into his trap.

The greatest hits inclusion was just done out of fear the new material would flop.

So, the inclusion of the greatest hits has nothing to do with anybody having doubts about the new material.

Actually, Sony Music had serious doubts about the quality and commercial potential of the new songs, and they forced him to include the first disc with his 15 greatest hits songs.

The album should have opened with "childhood" and the ending with "smile" was perfect closure.

‘Scream’ is the perfect choice as an opening track on the ‘HIStory’ album, because it sets the tone for the rest of the album (an album which is generally aggressive and energetic).

Besides, if you see his opening tracks on his adult studio albums, you will realize that Michael Jackson always wanted to open his albums with energetic tracks.

But it should be noted that the American producer Jimmy Jam helped him a lot with the order of the new songs on the second disc.

Michael Jackson only knew where to place three songs: ‘Scream’ (first position), ‘Come Together’ (in the middle), and ‘Smile’ (final position).

The rest of the songs’ order on the second disc was due to Jimmy Jam’s help, who also helps a lot his sister Janet Jackson with the order of her songs in her studio albums.

As Jimmy Jam also revealed in his interviews, he even comes up with the order of songs (on certain studio albums that he works on) during his very long driving hours in the American highways.

 

[wonderouzmj]

Why is Come Together on history & not bad?

 

[Electro]

Actually, Sony Music had serious doubts about the quality and commercial potential of the new songs, and they forced him to include the first disc with his 15 greatest hits songs.

Baseless mj_frenzy speculation presented as fact? Once again?

Btw, you forgot to write his full name in that sentence.

 

[threatened2020]

Why is Come Together on history & not bad?

I have always wondered that too. It would have fitted better on disc 1 considering it was show cased in the 'Moonwalker' movie.

 

[Robbsaber01]

I have always wondered that too. It would have fitted better on disc 1 considering it was show cased in the 'Moonwalker' movie.

I agree. He should of performed it on the bad tour also.

 

[DuranDuran]

critics

I often think/fantasize about what he could have done to impress critics more

Critics don't buy records, they get free promo copies. What does it matter what they think? I've always noticed that critics tend to praise stuff that isn't mainstream popular like Velvet Underground or something and dislike whatever sells a lot. Like what David Lee Roth said about critics liking Elvis Costello records. :rofl:

 

[DuranDuran]

Come Together

Why is Come Together on history & not bad?

Technically, it was first released as a B-side on different singles from Dangerous and a Japanese box set from that time too. That version is different from the one on HIStory. A little bit longer.

 

[wonderouzmj]

Re: Come Together

Technically, it was first released as a B-side on different singles from Dangerous and a Japanese box set from that time too. That version is different from the one on HIStory. A little bit longer.

I have that version where he sings the guitar lick towards the end

 

[SilkySnare]

The statue was a cool idea.
He deserved it for all his work and he knew it.
He was a self-made royalty. Nothing was given to him, only taken away.

All else is jealousy and hate.

 

[Michaels Lover]

The statue was a cool idea.
He deserved it for all his work and he knew it.
He was a self-made royalty. Nothing was given to him, only taken away.

All else is jealousy and hate.

I agree so much with this. I love everything about it

 

[JichaelMackson]

edited

 

[dam2040]

What was MJ thinking when he thought this was a nice publicity stunt? Well it was a good stunt but it was also very arrogant. You just know you're gonna get negative press for doing something like that.
That cover art is HIStory is just awful.

Who are you? What an absolutely ridiculous post. You sound exactly like the media in 1995.

 

[Anna]

Who are you? What an absolutely ridiculous post. You sound exactly like the media in 1995.

It's just called a different opinion, fam. Chill.

And I agree that it was arrogant. I mean if you look at the HIStory promo from a totally neutral perspective and not with fan goggles it looks like megalomania. I even thought that when I was younger and I was already a fan at that point. And Michael certainly had a touch of a messiah complex too. You can see it in his performances of Earth Song. Michael wasn't perfect. Seems most fans only want to see the Peter Pan image he projected, or what they consider the "good" side, but Michael wasn't a cartoon or a saint, he was very human and had many different aspects to his personality, just like everyone else. Michael could be arrogant, extremely stubborn, and even manipulative at times. And on the other side he was also very kind, loving, caring and sensitive. His flaws don't make him somehow lesser and people who acknowledge them aren't lesser fans either.