Latest on MJJC

Unreleased HIStory cuts?

How come ghosts, Superfly sister and BOTDF aren’t History outtakes?
 
ChanceToDance said:
They're from Dangerous. BOTDF is basically Dangerous part 2 lol.
Click to expand...
I had no idea ghosts was that old. Maybe this also means that most of the HIStory outtakes were either deemed not good enough or not finished yet for the release of BOTDF
 
SmoothGangsta said:
Pretty much. In The Back was considered for BOTDF but Superfly sister was chosen instead because it was much more finished.
Click to expand...
This is weird because in the back is far from finished, how could they even consider it I would think … Unless the version on the ultimate collection is an early version. But that also would not make sense as no one with a right mind would use a demo when a finished version is available.
It really pains me to know there are so many potentially great songs left unfinished
 
filmandmusic said:
Maybe this also means that most of the HIStory outtakes were either deemed not good enough or not finished yet for the release of BOTDF
Click to expand...
Yeah that's pretty much how it went. BOTDF was supposed to be HIStory book II with more new songs and hit compilations with songs like Dangerous, Smooth Criminal and some other hits from book I like YANA but since MJ was too busy with the HIStory tour we got an EP worth of songs instead. He went with almost complete songs from Dangerous because it was less time consuming.
 
filmandmusic said:
This is weird because in the back is far from finished, how could they even consider it I would think … Unless the version on the ultimate collection is an early version. But that also would not make sense as no one with a right mind would use a demo when a finished version is available.
It really pains me to know there are so many potentially great songs left unfinished
Click to expand...

The version of In The Back released on TUC is apparently an earlier version, but as far as we know MJ didn't record any more vocals for it. Any changes were instrumental only.
 
just to get the recording dates right (?):
Ghosts 1994
Is It Scary 1994
BOTDF 1990/1991
Superfly Sister 1990/1991

In the Back is from 1997, which was mentioned lately on this forum somewhere.

(maybe someone has more info on those?)
 
Last edited:
AdeZ said:
Who says it's an earlier version?
Click to expand...
I posted a bit of the book Man In The Music on the unreleased thread and it said that the song was recorded in 1997 and that's the version that was released on TUC.

"“In the Back” is one of Jackson’s most impressive unreleased tracks from the 1990s. Atmospheric and hypnotic, it recalls Jackson’s Dangerous-era masterpiece “Who Is It” (and touches on similar themes of betrayal). The track begins with an ominous, thudding beat, accented by Jackson’s vocal percussion. Jackson sings and scats his way through the vocal (which was left finished). Brad Buxer pointed out that he spent years developing the song—first during the HIStory sessions, then for Blood on the Dance Floor, and finally for Invincible."

"What begins as a minimalist groove gradually unfolds into an intricate and ethereal sonic canvas—lush strings, an entrancing harp, and a mournful trumpet. Buxer described the track as “unbelievable and it proves once again how Michael was a genius. I play almost every instrument on this song, but all [the] ideas are Michael.” The 1997 demo, recorded in Switzerland, was released on Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection in 2004."
 
ChanceToDance said:
Yeah that's pretty much how it went. BOTDF was supposed to be HIStory book II with more new songs and hit compilations with songs like Dangerous, Smooth Criminal and some other hits from book I like YANA but since MJ was too busy with the HIStory tour we got an EP worth of songs instead. He went with almost complete songs from Dangerous because it was less time consuming.
Click to expand...
This👏🏾makes👏🏾so👏🏾much👏🏾sense👏🏾
I have no clue how or why this never crossed my mind!
 
DanGerouS- said:
just to get the recording dates right (?):
Ghosts 1994
Is It Scary 1994
BOTDF 1990/1991
Superfly Sister 1990/1991

In the Back is from 1997, which was mentioned lately on this forum somewhere.

(maybe someone has more info on those?)
Click to expand...
“Ghosts” was started during the Dangerous sessions in 1991, but to my understanding didn’t get a full vocal until 1996.

“Is It Scary” was mostly finished in late 1994, though some additional work was done in 1995 and 1996.

“Blood on the Dance Floor,” if memory serves, was first recorded in mid-July 1991, and re-recorded in January 1997. No idea the specifics.

“Superfly Sister” began around April 1990, per Brad Sundberg. Most of the vocals on the released version are from the Dangerous sessions.

“In the Back” was recorded in January 1997, at the same time as “Blood on the Dance Floor” (and “Elizabeth, I Love You”).
 
wonderouzmj said:
This👏🏾makes👏🏾so👏🏾much👏🏾sense👏🏾
I have no clue how or why this never crossed my mind!
Click to expand...
Here's more details about it from the Making Michael book:
"Michael had considered following HIStory with a sequel album, HIStory Book II which engineer Rob Hoffman said would have followed a similar format, with both new songs and greatest hits. "It would have included more old hits because there were songs such as 'Human Nature', 'Dirty Diana', 'Smooth Criminal' and 'Dangerous' that weren't on part one, and then there were the big songs from HIStory, like 'You Are Not Alone' and 'Earth Song', that they were going to add."

"But recording a whole new album at this stage would have been time consuming, and Michael was interested in a shorter project. "The HIStory Book II concept was talked about but never that big of an idea in Michael's mind," Brad Buxer said. "Michael's desire was for an album with a limited amount of new tracks and one that wouldn't be that complicated or take that long to do."
Click to expand...
If MJ went for HIStory Book II I have a feeling that In The Back and Seven Digits would've ended up on the album as well.
 
sh_dog said:
Thank you. Out of this, BOTDF songs, Much Too Soon, On The Line and In The Back (also Fall Again) has been released, and there's Faces and a tad bit on Family Thing leaked. Is there any more info or leaks? It's too much to read https://www.mjjcommunity.com/threads/lets-end-the-confusion-about-mjs-unreleased-tracks-here.144361 tbh

ps wow, 82 readers already!! impressive.
Click to expand...
ChanceToDance said:
To update all confirmed outtakes:

Morphine
Is It Scary
On The Line
Much Too Soon (Bruce Swedien Mix)
The Verdict (1994 version)
Faces
Revenge
Family Thing
Family Thing (Bryan Loren mix)
Innocent Man
The Best Thing
Bombay Nights
Evil Eye
Ask Rene 3
Ask DD
Christmas Song
Changes
In The Back
Willing and Waiting
Chicago 1945 (it might've been reworked for HIStory since there's a copyright registration for it from 1995.)
Click to expand...
To sum up this post:

Much Too Soon (Bruce Swedien 1994 mix) -
The Verdict - The song was made for Dangerous but was brought back for HIStory.
Faces - The song was going to feature Nelson Mandela but after Matt Forger was unable to travel to South Africa the song was shelved.
Revenge - Instrumental groove, no vocals.
Family Thing - Song made for Family Addams, was shelved due to the 1993 allegations.
Family Thing (Bryan Loren mix) - The most complete version of the song, it features Bryan Loren singing on the verses. There are no more MJ vocals.
Innocent Man - Song written for HIStory, only the chorus was recorded which are sung in a very softly way.
3798a_lg.jpeg

The Best Thing - Instrumental groove, no vocals.
Bombay Nights - Instrumental groove, no vocals.
Evil Eye - Instrumental groove, no vocals.
Ask Rene 3 - Instrumental groove, no vocals.
Ask DD - Instrumental groove, no vocals.
Christmas Song - Song made for Home Alone 2, no MJ vocals.
Changes - Song first made for Bad but reworked for HIStory. The song is a piano driven, gospel demo with a mumbled scratch vocal and with a choir. The only sensical lyrics are “can’t cope with changes. What are you trying to do to me?” The rest of the song is mumbled.
In The Back - Already explained.
Willing And Waiting - Writer's demo made by Babyface and Jon B for MJ. The song was turned down because MJ felt it was too soft for the HIStory album.
Chicago 1945 - The song was copyright re-registered at the U.S Copyright Office in 1995 which probably means that the song was reworked at that time.
Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V3167P254
Date of Recordation: 1995-11-22
Entire Copyright Document: V3167 P1-999, V3168 P1-999 & V3169 P1-622
Title: Chicago 1945.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
sh_dog said:
Thank you. Out of this, BOTDF songs, Much Too Soon, On The Line and In The Back (also Fall Again) has been released, and there's Faces and a tad bit on Family Thing leaked. Is there any more info or leaks? It's too much to read https://www.mjjcommunity.com/threads/lets-end-the-confusion-about-mjs-unreleased-tracks-here.144361 tbh

ps wow, 82 readers already!! impressive.
Click to expand...
Per engineers and musicians involved, it seems like we’ve exhausted the well of releasable HIStory outtakes. “Innocent Man” is a chorus only, and everything else is either instrumentals, writer’s demos, and/or scratch vocals.
sh_dog said:
Oh, I thought it was since it was rec. in 1998, building up in Post History. ty for info
Click to expand...
“Fall Again” was recorded circa June 1999.
 
"Do You Know Where Your Children Are continued its journey through time and various recording sessions. In the mid-1990s it was considered for the album HIStory, with a hip-hop rhythm different from that created with John Barnes in Encino."

- Michael Jackson: All the Songs (F. Allard, R. Lecocq)
 
Fuzball said:
"Do You Know Where Your Children Are continued its journey through time and various recording sessions. In the mid-1990s it was considered for the album HIStory, with a hip-hop rhythm different from that created with John Barnes in Encino."

- Michael Jackson: All the Songs (F. Allard, R. Lecocq)
Click to expand...
Doesn't the 2010 remix use the vocal take of that version? I can't remember where I read that.
 
ChanceToDance said:
Willing And Waiting - Writer's demo made by Babyface and Jon B for MJ. The song was turned down because MJ felt it was too soft for the HIStory album.
Click to expand...
Who is Jon B?

Otherwise for the 1996 album The Jackson entitled "Humanity" I found this:
humanitarian+1.jpg
humanitarian+2.jpg
 
“Willing and Waiting” is so good, though the lyrics are pretty embarrassing at points. (“I’d tell you myself, babe, but I’m too shy”? Yikes.)

It definitely wasn’t an aesthetic or lyrical fit for HIStory, but if MJ released Invincible in 1999 as originally planned, I think it would’ve been a knockout.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top