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Hot topic What unreleased demos and remixes do you think will be on Thriller 40 Disc 2?

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dam2040 said:

This is a hit song, I'm convinced. I think it should be 'contemporised' for Thriller 40's promotion
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Plus Michael liked it to be fair. Didn't he say he liked that one, in the Mexico Deposition in 1993?

I personally prefer Slapstick, but Hot Street isn't bad at all, one of the stronger Thriller outtakes
 
Dan said:
Which songs are those? Just out of curiosity 🙂
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Carousel and got the hots. Not that I would change the thriller tracklist, it is perfect as it is but these 2 are good enough to be on it too, especially “carousel” which is one of my very favorite MJ songs. Then there is also “someone in the dark” but that song was never intended for thriller so it doesn’t count.
 
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Fuzball said:
Why do you guys think every song needs to be contemporized?
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They don't. But a 40 year old demo by a dead artist isn't going to make any sort of commercial wave, unless they somehow secured a spot on some mega viral show, a la Stranger Things, but that's not happening.

It's been beaten to death, but it's obviously the case at this stage. LNFSG does not hit #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 if Timbaland and Justin Timberlake did not get involved.
 
I've never understood fans being as obsessed as the estate when it comes to commercial success being more important than MJ as an artist.
 
It’s a bit of back and forth. Artistic value should be paramount, but Michael was also obsessed with commercial success and relevancy, hence why he always chose to work with the hottest producers and songwriters, so there’s reason to keep that in the forefront as well.
 
dam2040 said:
It's been beaten to death, but it's obviously the case at this stage. LNFSG does not hit #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 if Timbaland and Justin Timberlake did not get involved.
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This makes sense, I guess, but I so strongly prefer the versions (either one) without them... to me they detract. But I didn't realize it was a top 10 hit so that is awesome :)
 
staywild23 said:
This makes sense, I guess, but I so strongly prefer the versions (either one) without them... to me they detract. But I didn't realize it was a top 10 hit so that is awesome :)
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Of course. I'm just thinking like the Estate and how they generate commercial success with the project. MJs originals will always shine.

Positive, successful MJ projects are more than welcome in my book especially in today's post 2019 times.
 
AlwaysThere said:
It’s a bit of back and forth. Artistic value should be paramount, but Michael was also obsessed with commercial success and relevancy, hence why he always chose to work with the hottest producers and songwriters, so there’s reason to keep that in the forefront as well.
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This statement makes no sense if you actually take into account what the estate do with MJ's music.

You can't have "artistic value be paramount" and also do what they do.
 
dam2040 said:
They don't. But a 40 year old demo by a dead artist isn't going to make any sort of commercial wave, unless they somehow secured a spot on some mega viral show, a la Stranger Things, but that's not happening.
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With this logic MJs decades-old albums shouldn't sell anymore. LoL

Hot Street has already been finalized during Thriller sessions, btw.
 
Fuzball said:
With this logic MJs decades-old albums shouldn't sell anymore. LoL

Hot Street has already been finalized during Thriller sessions, btw.
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Absolutely not, and it shows no understanding of what's happening here to suggest as such.

MJs original works will continue to sell because they are historic pieces of art at this point. It goes without saying. MJ promoted them whilst alive and laid the foundations for them to live forever, through iconic performances, short films and more.

You absolutely can not compare that to a new release, 10+ years after he died, not just for the biggest artist ever but for any artist in history.

Great. Hot Street was finished in 1982. That's 40 years ago and if released today would not be all that successful.

Do I personally care for these new versions? Not really. But I fully understand why they exist and have no issue with them as long as MJs original versions are available for the hardcore fans.
 
filmandmusic said:
Carousel and got the hots. Not that I would change the thriller tracklist, it is perfect as it is but these 2 are good enough to be on it too, especially “carousel” which is one of my very favorite MJ songs. Then there is also “someone in the dark” but that song was never intended for thriller so it doesn’t count.
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I agree. Carousel is an absolutely stellar track
 
It's an anniversary release. The fact I'm seeing people asking for things to remixed is mind boggling. The Estate have definitely been successful in pushing the idea that nothing of MJ's can be released without it being changed first.
 
I'm mixed when it comes to remixes, anniversary albums don't need remixes because no matter what you do it'll only reach out to fan communities, the average person won't care if an album from the 80's is turning 40 and the fanbase will happy to hear new songs regardless of the state they are in.

To me though songs only need remixing if the original sounds bland (Chicago, Slave To The Rhythm, Abortion Papers, Behind The Mask and so on), songs like Another Day and Escape (which absolutely did NOT need to get a downgraded remix) can stand out on their own pretty well.
 
AChanceToDance said:
I'm mixed when it comes to remixes, anniversary albums don't need remixes because no matter what you do it'll only reach out to fan communities, the average person won't care if an album from the 80's is turning 40 and the fanbase will happy to hear new songs regardless of the state they are in.

To me though songs only need remixing if the original sounds bland (Chicago, Slave To The Rhythm, Abortion Papers, Behind The Mask and so on), songs like Another Day and Escape (which absolutely did NOT need to get a downgraded remix) can stand out on their own pretty well.
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I don't have an issue with updating tracks but keeping them similar and keeping the original elements intact. It's just the making new songs and placing MJ's vocals on top thing that I have a problem with.

Of course I'd rather the original just be released as is.
 
SmoothGangsta said:
I've never understood fans being as obsessed as the estate when it comes to commercial success being more important than MJ as an artist.
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I believe it stems from Michael's obsessiveness with commercial success. He was the King of Pop = King of Popular Music! His commercial success played a huge role in his career in and out of the studio... The larger than life, everything he touches turns to gold etc. Some will argue that his artistry suffered later due to his drive for commercial success.. ie the reason he only wrote 2 songs on Invincible - being convinced he's not in touch with (at the time) "today's market".
 
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SmoothGangsta said:
It's an anniversary release. The fact I'm seeing people asking for things to remixed is mind boggling. The Estate have definitely been successful in pushing the idea that nothing of MJ's can be released without it being changed first.
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Of course it can. But for any sort of commercial success, they will do exactly that. It is what it is.

Let’s not forget MJ himself sat in the studio with Will.I.Am and re recorded vocals for Akon to remix the songs.

He knew that just putting out the same 9 songs again would go nowhere, and it’s even worse now that he himself can’t promote it.
 
I agree that ‘hot street’ has the most hit potential. however, it needs some polishing up.

several moments during the choruses (which are the most crucial parts) michael misses the notes completely. lyrics are also missing in part of the verses, and he mumbles to make up for it.

unless there are alternative vocal takes, I don’t think it’s suitable for a professional release unless these issues are fixed. Michael was a perfectionist. those standards must be upheld.
 
I have no problem with the Estate remix songs that aren't finished and need work, provided they respect MJ's demo.

I do have a problem with them undoing what Michael did in preference for their own vision, especially when the song is finished, like A Place With No Name or how he approved a mix of Much Too Soon in 1994.

As for Thriller 40 I hope we just get the demo's, add a contemporary version provided it's an updating of the demo if they want a single. Just please let them not butcher the remastering like they did Bad 25 and Xscape
 
83magic said:
I agree that ‘hot street’ has the most hit potential. however, it needs some polishing up.

several moments during the choruses (which are the most crucial parts) michael misses the notes completely. lyrics are also missing in part of the verses, and he mumbles to make up for it.

unless there are alternative vocal takes, I don’t think it’s suitable for a professional release unless these issues are fixed. Michael was a perfectionist. those standards must be upheld.
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I don’t think they will care about that. Especially not since love never felt so good became a big hit while it was not lyrically or musically complete either.
 
filmandmusic said:
I don’t think they will care about that. Especially not since love never felt so good became a big hit while it was not lyrically or musically complete either.
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‘love never felt so good’ was updated. the original demo was only released on the delux album I believe.

hardcore fans would (understandably) love demos to be left as they are. however, that’s not always appealing to the general public. both sides need to be considered.

I still maintain that ‘hot street’ only needs a little work, but still needs it nevertheless..
 
83magic said:
‘love never felt so good’ was updated. the original demo was only released on the delux album I believe.

hardcore fans would (understandably) love demos to be left as they are. however, that’s not always appealing to the general public. both sides need to be considered.

I still maintain that ‘hot street’ only needs a little work, but still needs it nevertheless..
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Yes of course they were never going to release the piano demo as a single. But lyrically it is very repetitive and clearly still in demo stage.
I actually don’t know if Justin Timberlake finished it up lyrically? I never listen to it, only to the demo.
 
filmandmusic said:
Yes of course they were never going to release the piano demo as a single. But lyrically it is very repetitive and clearly still in demo stage.
I actually don’t know if Justin Timberlake finished it up lyrically? I never listen to it, only to the demo.
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I never listen to the duet either. it’s always the solo demo version. it already had so much going for it.

the finalised lyrics originally featured in the Johnny Mathis version released in ‘84. it was actually written for him by Michael and Paul Anka
I hope they don’t turn ‘hot street’ into a duet 😟
 
I feel like this is becoming a “cult” with the demo purists.

It’s not wrong to appreciate something different, especially if it’s better.
 
Dorian said:
I feel like this is becoming a “cult” with the demo purists.

It’s not wrong to appreciate something different, especially if it’s better.
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Nobody has said it's wrong to like the remixes.
 
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