Could the Dangerous Album Have Been Better?

Serious Effect

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Yay, first thread! Let's do this.

I have started pondering on this once I listened to some "unreleased Dangerous sessions" on YouTube. I have listened to the demo of "Serious Effect" before (hence my username), yet was never aware of how much material was actually drafted and recorded for the Dangerous album and did not end up making it on there. In fact, I will say that some of the shelved tracks could replace some of the album's final selections. For example, "In The Closet," "Can't Let Her Get Away," and "Why You Wanna Trip On Me" can be substituted with "Serious Effect" (when finished), "She Got It" (when finished)," and "Monkey Business." "Someone Put Your Hand Out" can easily take the place of "Will You Be There" (I like that song, but I prefer the former). "If You Don't Love Me" is another honorable mention, though I am not sure if it is better than "Give Into Me" (I love that song; the "Dirty Diana" of the Dangerous album). "Mind Is The Magic" almost rivals "Dangerous."

But this is just my opinion. Could the Dangerous album actually have been better? I like the album, but in all honesty, the album should not have been a set of New Jack Swing pieces. There is likely a plethora of hidden demos and songs that were never completed or never made the album, like some of the examples, that can beat the final tracks. Anymore examples I did not cite?
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

The album is perfect. Maybe add Someone Put Your Hand Out, but I would not remove a single song.

I'm glad all those other outtake songs didn't make the album. Nice to have them (as outtakes), but they just are not that good.
 
I think of all the outtakes the only song that was good enough to go on the album is Someone Put Your Hand Out. I don’t know what I would replace it with though.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

This is what I would have done:

Withdraw
-In The Closet
-She Drives Me Wild
-Can't Let Her Get Away
-Why You Wanna Trip On Me
-Give In To Me (ehh maybe)

I like these songs, but to me, they are replaceable. Plus they are NJS songs (besides Give In To Me)

Remove as singles
-Heal The World
-Black Or White
-Gone Too Soon (tribute to Ryan White)
-Will You Be There (theme of Free Willy)

These relevant songs had, and still have, purpose to exist and should not have been included on a NJS album

Add
-Someone Put Your Hand Out
-If You Don't Love Me (if reworked better)
-For All Time (if reworked better before Thriller 25 version)

Amongst the best Dangerous outtakes to me (SPYO isn't an "outtake" per se, albeit it still was not on the album)

Keep
-Remember The Time
-Jam
-Who Is It
-Keep The Faith (MITM of the album)
-Dangerous

Good songs that can fit in the album

I agree that Michael should not have agreed to making a New Jack Swing album and instead stuck to one that is more of his style. Jam, RTT, and Dangerous are the only "Michael-like" NJS songs that pass for me. Outtakes like If You Don't Love Me and She Got It should have been properly worked on as they have album potential. There are indeed more Dangerous sessions out there, like Seven Digits and Don't Believe It, worked with Bryan Loren and other people that were scrapped for Riley's initiative of a NJS album. I want to say that a Michael and Janet collaboration should have been recorded for the album since Janet's Control album was the first NJS album produced, but we got that later on with Scream. It is possible that some of these sessions can replace the five tracks I would withdraw from the album, but I guess that will remain mysterious for a while.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

Yay, first thread! Let's do this.

I have started pondering on this once I listened to some "unreleased Dangerous sessions" on YouTube. I have listened to the demo of "Serious Effect" before (hence my username), yet was never aware of how much material was actually drafted and recorded for the Dangerous album and did not end up making it on there. In fact, I will say that some of the shelved tracks could replace some of the album's final selections. For example, "In The Closet," "Can't Let Her Get Away," and "Why You Wanna Trip On Me" can be substituted with "Serious Effect" (when finished), "She Got It" (when finished)," and "Monkey Business." "Someone Put Your Hand Out" can easily take the place of "Will You Be There" (I like that song, but I prefer the former). "If You Don't Love Me" is another honorable mention, though I am not sure if it is better than "Give Into Me" (I love that song; the "Dirty Diana" of the Dangerous album). "Mind Is The Magic" almost rivals "Dangerous."

But this is just my opinion. Could the Dangerous album actually have been better? I like the album, but in all honesty, the album should not have been a set of New Jack Swing pieces. There is likely a plethora of hidden demos and songs that were never completed or never made the album, like some of the examples, that can beat the final tracks. Anymore examples I did not cite?

WHAT??? - So you would not want Will You Be There to be released..??? One of the most perfect songs MJ ever wrote and recorded. The music, the lyrics... Everything about WYBT is perfect. I agree that maybe one of the outtakes could replace CLHGA or WYWTOM - those are the two weakest songs IMO.

BUT - since I really love Dangerous as it is I would not wanna change anything. - Dangerous is the most perfect (pop-)album ever released IMO.
 
The outtakes from the ‘Dangerous’ album are mostly not good songs.

They did not even include them on a bonus, second disc of the 2001 Special Edition of the ‘Dangerous’ album, as they planned to at that time.

‘Serious Effect’ sounds very repetitive and they could not improve it, hence its exclusion from the album.

‘If You Don't Love Me’ is a very childish song, and of course it is very inferior to ‘Give In To Me’.

‘Will You Be There’ is by far a better song than the yawn-inducing ‘Someone Put Your Hand Out’.

‘Monkey Business’ did not fit thematically the ‘Dangerous’ album.

‘Can't Let Her Get Away’ could have been replaced because lyrically and vocally is a very weak track (the same goes for ‘She Drives Me Wild’).

And do not let yourselves be deceived by the credits on the album that show that Michael Jackson co-produced all the seven new jack swing songs on the album, because this is misleading.

Although Michael Jackson did contribute to some extent (in terms of production) to those seven songs, yet he did not deserve to take co-production credits on all those seven songs.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

And do not let yourselves be deceived by the credits on the album that show that Michael Jackson co-produced all the seven new jack swing songs on the album, because this is misleading.

Although Michael Jackson did contribute to some extent (in terms of production) to those seven songs, yet he did not deserve to take co-production credits on all those seven songs.

I don't think you understand what "production" means.
 
Everyone’s so knowledgeable – and yet so humble to never show off their own multi-platinum albums. ;)

I love the album just the way it is. It has a wonderful flow. :)
 
Trigger alert: SMPYHO > WYBT

I love both songs as both are beautiful, and relatable, but something about the vocals, instrumentation, and overall vibe of SPYHO is just so damn appealing. WYBT admittedly imparts a very good message, and the backing vocals are heavenly, but Michael’s voice and instrumentation are not as powerful (more emotional but not as passionate). To me, WYBT is more of a choreography song than a singing song, like Dangerous. Vocals are slow and calm, with the exception of some moments where his pipes are shining, mainly following the introduction. SPYHO is more of a song that one sings instead of dances to. But then again, Michael excels in both fields, so he can make it work out :)

Serious Effect dude, it seems that we are kind of two peas in a pod :D
 
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Funnily enough, I was listening to Dangerous album, when I first saw this thread.

Anyway, after my listening experience of the masterpiece that is Dangerous, I do believe that it could have been better, even though it is a masterpiece.

Here are the songs I would remove from Dangerous:
- She Drives Me Wild: The only weak point of Dangerous. I cringe every time I listen to this song, which thankfully doesn’t happen often.
- Gone Too Soon: I love the song and I think Michael’s vocal delivery is one of the best of his career. I just feel that the song doesn’t really belong on the album. I think it would have been better as a stand alone single or a B side to one of the singles.
- In The Closet: Never really liked the song that much and it should have been replaced by another sexy song which I will talk about below.

Songs I would add to Dangerous:
- Man In Black: Only heard the LQ version of the song, but I can tell that it’s a banger. I would have replaced it with She Drives Me Wild.
- For All Time: This has quickly become one of my favourites in the past few years. It’s an amazing song that makes me feel very nostalgic. It replaces Gone Too Soon for me.
- She Got It: This is my favourite Dangerous era outtake. I even made a thread about it some time ago. It’s so funky and sexy. I would replace it with ITC.

- Other Dangerous era outtakes like If You Don’t Love Me and Serious Effect are good but very repetitive.
- Someone Put Your Hand Out is a good song but Michael is begging for love in the song. I’m not a fan of the message of the song.
- Work Your Body and Monkey Business are awful songs, in my humble opinion, so I’m glad they didn’t make the final track list.
 
I read that people involved (I think it was Bill Bottrell, not sure about this) were puzzled that Monkey Business didn’t make the album. From my background as (primarily) a metal fan, I recall that in mid-1991 Skid Row released a song with the same title as the first single off of their “Slave to the Grind” album with heavy rotation on MTV. It was a massive hit in the metal scene, and such an earworm that – even today – when I read that song title, I hear their song in my head. So this might have been one of the reasons. MJ already knew Slash at the time, so he might very well have been aware of what was going on in the rock & metal world.

EDIT: This is the Skid Row song, if you’re interested. WARNING: contains potentially seizure-inducing flickering.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2pkpsxEyi-k" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

The filth I'm reading here, THE FILTH! Dangerous is perfect :p
The only thing that could have made it better is making it a double album because a lot of those outtakes are bloody brilliant as well. ;-)
 
JichaelMackson;4300455 said:
The filth I'm reading here, THE FILTH! Dangerous is perfect :p
The only thing that could have made it better is making it a double album because a lot of those outtakes are bloody brilliant as well. ;-)

Yeah, I really hope we&#8217;ll get an anniversary edition at some point, with all those outtakes in one place. :)
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

In short, the answer is a big fat no.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

The only song I would replace would be gone too soon with Someone put your hand out. Other than that the Dangerous album is a masterpiece.
 
ScreenOrigami;4300458 said:
Yeah, I really hope we&#8217;ll get an anniversary edition at some point, with all those outtakes in one place. :)
Yeah Dangerous 30 ;)
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

I can't do it, I love Dangerous too much to change it at all. But I do understand the slight criticism that it isn't like Bad, in that every track is a potential smash single, but that's what I love about the album. It reminds of Stevie Wonder's Song's In The Key Of Life, because its a mature cohesive album that's about a journey of a man's life

With all that being said, Someone Put Your Hand Out, Joy and Men Black are great songs, that could have pushed something like Can't Let Her Get Away, off the tracklist. Joy especially, I hope there's a finished version with Michael's vocals because the Blackstreet version is wonderful
 
SmoothCriminal1995;4300466 said:
It reminds of Stevie Wonder's Song's In The Key Of Life, because its a mature cohesive album that's about a journey of a man's life

That&#8217;s a great way to describe it. :)
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

:D

Give Into Me has one of the nicest bridges MJ did:

"You and your friends
Were laughing at me in town
But it's okay
And it's okay
You won't be laughing girl
When I'm not around
I'll be okay
And I'll, I'll not find
Gotta, the peace of mind no"

Album is perfect as is.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

There was supposed to be a special edition planned for 1994. I pretty sure the songs cut from the album would have ended up on there.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

I think Dangerous is an excellent album, but I definitely think there's room for improvement. Here's what I'd do:

- Trim some of the songs down. Great as they may be, certain tracks don't really warrant their run times. Just shorten the last minute or so of "In the Closet," replace the album version of "Black or White" with the single edit (i.e., without the father/son intro), reduce the last two minutes of "Who Is It," and cut the Cleveland Orchestra prelude to "Will You Be There," and everything is a little more digestible. (Also, I'd replace parts of the "Give in to Me" vocal with those from the demo version. The ad-libs and the final line of the bridge -- "I can't live my life alone, yeah!" -- are just exquisite.)
- Cut "Why You Wanna Trip on Me," "She Drives Me Wild," and "Can't Let Her Get Away." All three are solid tracks, but they pale in comparison to the other 11, especially the other Teddy Riley productions.
- Replace "Keep the Faith" with "Someone Put Your Hand Out." The former is a nice song with a great vocal, but as with the aforementioned three Riley tracks, it doesn't really measure up to the album's other material. (I also wouldn't protest putting "For All Time" in this slot, but aesthetically I don't think that track really fits the mold as well as "Someone Put Your Hand Out" does.)
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

Slave to the Rhythm should have been on Dangerous.
vocals are just THAT perfect, that nobody could come up with a fitting instrumental/music production. ;-)
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

BOTDF was also intended for Dangerous. Sad it didn't make the final tracklist
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

Maybe some songs could have been trimmed down. In The Closet goes on longer than it needs to in my opinion.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

Much insight and opinions here. If we can't find common base, we can discuss. Mission accomplished, I guess!

I am shocked but also genuinely filled with joy to see people praising the Dangerous album so highly. As unintentionally hubristic as this sounds, I opened this thread with a small impression that some may agree with me that Dangerous could have been a better album, and don't get me wrong, some do seem to be on the same page as me. Although, I am really flabbergasted by "masterpiece" and "perfect" seeming to be common judgments of the album in this thread. As I have mentioned, I am happy that there is admiration of Dangerous, so that is fine by me. I still feel a little lonely in my critique though.
 
Re: Could have the Dangerous album been better?

I mean this album has a bit of everything. Pure pop masterpieces like "black or white", "she drives me wild" and "remember the time", some really emotional stuff like "will you be there" with its unforgettable intro and outro, "gone too soon" which I will forever connect with the awesome live performance in 1993. It has some hardcore extended dance jams like "Dangerous", "In the closet", "Jam" and my fave of the bunch "can't let her get away" which all could run 5 minutes longer for all I care. It has uplifting songs with inspirational lyrics like "keep the faith" and "heal the world".
It's got an extraordinary power hard rock ballad like " give in to me" if Aerosmith had recorded this it would have been a classic, it's got "who is it" with one of the best beats I've ever heard not too mention an out of this world vocal delivery filled with emotion.
The only song I haven't mentioned yet is "why you wanna trip on me" which is one of my fave media protest songs he ever sang.

There are only 4 albums in the world for me that have no skip moments and that is " dangerous", "what's going on" by Marvin Gaye, "April" by sun kil moon and last but not least "older" by George Michael.
 
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