Latest on MJJC

What’s your opinion on the History remixes on BOTDF album?

miikasillanpaa

A finnish fan since May 2022
Joined
Dec 31, 2022
Messages
120
Points
43
Country
Finland
I know it’s a little controversial, but i think some of the remixes are pretty good. For example This time Around and Stranger in Moscow remixes are straight up bangers.

What do you think?
 
I think Scream is the best remix on that album.

Half of the remixes were previously released on the CD singles. A few of them are ok. Some work and some don't.

Also:

Best MJ remix

So I'm thinking of remixes that actually sound different to the album version, which mainly means the 1990s dance stuff. Yeah, I missed some out, and you can vote for something that's not on the list. Basically post your favourite remix.
www.mjjcommunity.com www.mjjcommunity.com
 
Last edited:
All poor apart from History - which is brilliant and better than the original as another poster said earlier.

The remixed single got to number 5 here in the UK and I actually have memories of it on the radio as a child.
 
I treat the BOTDF album as an actual album, and not as an EP as most fans do. So I listen to it all the way through and enjoy all the remixes, except the « house music » remixes of the ballads, ie those for SIM, ES and YANA — those, to me, can’t really work outside of the context of a club.

But all of the others work well and have something to offer, and sometimes present the original HIStory tracks in a new and quite different light.

And as others have pointed out, the remix for the song HIStory transforms the original, which is a bit of a disappointment in its stop-and-start nature, with so many sound effects added and its long outro, into a straight-ahead banger, and actually creates a new hook by taking MJ’s adlibbed « History! » shout and using it as a recurent, stand-alone part.
 
It was the first album I got when I was a child, so I love (nearly 😅) all of them. Now as a grown up, I think the ballads work better in the original version, but concerning HIStory, for example, I like the remix - version better. And I have to add - also depends on my mood, which version of a certain song I like more.
 
The only remixes in MJ's career that deserve attention are
  • The Motown 1987 remixes
  • The HF and Kudo remixes
(My very subjective opinion at the peak of its bias.)

(+ standard extended mixes, a capellas and instrumentals but I don't count them in the same category as the BOTDF remixes... and maybe some rare "remix parts" including vocals that were not heard before, or were "hidden in the original mix" but then it's a shame to have to listen to a remix for that.)
 
Last edited:
SCREAM Louder (Flyte Time Remix) and 2 BAD (Refugee Camp Edit) are really great. The way BEAT IT was sampled for the 2 Bad remix is brilliant.

I don't like the rest, I miss the soul of Michael's original songs in these remixes, which certainly has something to do with the fact that I'm a hip hop fan but not a house lover.
 
I can enjoy them all. Except for Money. That one actually is totally unpleasant to me. Strange rhythm and too fast. And since when do they remix album tracks? Should've been one of the incredible TDCAU remixes instead.

Or maybe Childhood 🤣
 
HIStory, 2Bad and This Time Around are my favourites

HIStory's remix is good, I love the lyrics and especially the vocals in the original version, but with the samples and the cross cutting it does feel a bit start stop and lacks focus. The remix gives it a direction if not a bit repetitive.

2Bad is cool, it stays true to the original enough. I prefer the original but I like what they did.

This Time Around, again it doesn't stray too far from the original but it feels like something new.
 
I don't like the History/Blood era remixes - except the "Downtempo Remix" of Is It Scary.

I like how the vocals were highlighted on this and kinda shine troughout the mix.



The original Is It Scary is an absolute masterpiece of art. It, along with Morphine, should have made it on HIStory. Such a shame both were criminally dumped onto an EP/remix album, that's been neglected by the mainstream folks.
 
Fuzball said:
I don't like the History/Blood era remixes - except the "Downtempo Remix" of Is It Scary.

I like how the vocals were highlighted on this and kinda shine troughout the mix.



The original Is It Scary is an absolute masterpiece of art. It, along with Morphine, should have made it on HIStory. Such a shame both were criminally dumped onto an EP/remix album, that's been neglected by the mainstream folks.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing that mate, I'd never heard that before. Is It Scary is a masterpiece, deeply underrated
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
It Scary is a masterpiece, deeply underrated
Click to expand...
You can really see on IIS, Money or Morphine (or even Faces & in the back) how Michael's grown as an artist over the years and how he's improved his songwriting skills.

Too bad, his final album, Invincible, didn't offer any of those. The final selection of tracks isn't much different from what he had released with Motown or Gamble & Huff - mainly stuff by outside writers.
 
Fuzball said:
Too bad, his final album, Invincible, didn't offer any of those. The final selection of tracks isn't much different from what he had released with Motown or Gamble & Huff - mainly stuff by outside writers.
Click to expand...
Y'all hate Invincible worse than Kendrick Lamar hates Drake, please stop it already.
 
I like the Scream louder mix but I have to be in the mood for it. I enjoy it but it almost feels too funky for the message the song was trying to say.

I love the Sly Thank You sample, but it's almost too distracting, like when I listen to it I think "oh this Sly and The Family Stone and Rhythm Nation" rather than Scream
 
Fuzball said:
You can really see on IIS, Money or Morphine (or even Faces & in the back) how Michael's grown as an artist over the years and how he's improved his songwriting skills.
Click to expand...
This is still a great point that shouldn't be lost. The lyricism of HIStory is unmatched, peak Michael. This is the time he had something to say. And made sure you heard it.
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
I like the Scream louder mix but I have to be in the mood for it. I enjoy it but it almost feels too funky for the message the song was trying to say.

I love the Sly Thank You sample, but it's almost too distracting, like when I listen to it I think "oh this Sly and The Family Stone and Rhythm Nation" rather than Scream
Click to expand...
It's in the album version tho.....& also it's in rhythm nation record.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top