The Discussion of MJ's Unreleased Tracks

Do we have any confirmation that MJ's version of Joy is in the possession of anyone? And I remember somebody saying it sounded like a disco track, which would not match the Blackstreet version.
 
Chicago 1945 is still a great song, the issue with it is the Hook. Not that it's not catchy, but it loses steam. You can hear the first time he sings it at full strength and it sounds great. But every time after he sings it in a lighter falsetto tone, it's not as strong.

If they spliced the full vocal take in then the song would retain it's energy and bite.
 
But as it is, there are some exceptionally strong outtakes in just the 80s alone. Full vocal takes, quite interesting songs for what they are.

Hot Street
Niteline
Dream Away
Buffalo Bill
Chicago 1945
Throwing Your Life Away

Imagine all of those on one disc. With a couple extra songs. Compare that to the collection on Xscape? That would remind everyone of MJ's immense talent.
 
when streetwalker leaked everyone was like "ewww.. sounds so awful it can only be a fake" now people are like "it's better than released" :D

Yes it is actually the best version. I mean it could be sped up a little. But i loved this the most when i heard it. Love the synth..
 
Chicago 1945 is still a great song, the issue with it is the Hook. Not that it's not catchy, but it loses steam. You can hear the first time he sings it at full strength and it sounds great. But every time after he sings it in a lighter falsetto tone, it's not as strong.

If they spliced the full vocal take in then the song would retain it's energy and bite.
Tbf, the leaked mix was posthumously restructured by Porcaro. We haven't heard Michael's Bad era mix.
 
But as it is, there are some exceptionally strong outtakes in just the 80s alone. Full vocal takes, quite interesting songs for what they are.

Hot Street
Niteline
Dream Away
Buffalo Bill
Chicago 1945
Throwing Your Life Away

Imagine all of those on one disc. With a couple extra songs. Compare that to the collection on Xscape? That would remind everyone of MJ's immense talent.
We have no clue what Buffalo Bill is like. It might be a dud for all we know. After all, it did fail to make Victory. So who knows.

Wouldn't be surprised if Tomboy and What You Do To Me are stronger songs.
 
We have no clue what Buffalo Bill is like. It might be a dud for all we know. After all, it did fail to make Victory. So who knows.

Wouldn't be surprised if Tomboy and What You Do To Me are stronger songs.
Thanks for reminding me then. That's 8 songs of potential strength.

My point is they're full vocal takes and that's viable. Personal taste notwithstanding.
 
We have no clue what Buffalo Bill is like. It might be a dud for all we know. After all, it did fail to make Victory. So who knows.

Wouldn't be surprised if Tomboy and What You Do To Me are stronger songs.
Yeah I'm not expecting "Buffalo Bill" to be anything crazy since the song clearly got shelved and was never brought back again thoughout MJ's career, it probably turned out to not be up to standard. Nowadays I try not to overhype myself over any unheard song (I fail at this) so I don't end up feeling disappointed once I hear it, the songs I did enjoy a lot were songs I thought nothing of anyway lol.

But I do think "Buffalo Bill" might stand out in comparison to other Thriller-era outtakes since it publicly got MJ's blessing, though. I don't think MJ had ever mentioned an unreleased song so openly like he did during that interview at Hayvenhurst.
 
Chicago 1945 is still a great song, the issue with it is the Hook. Not that it's not catchy, but it loses steam. You can hear the first time he sings it at full strength and it sounds great. But every time after he sings it in a lighter falsetto tone, it's not as strong.

If they spliced the full vocal take in then the song would retain it's energy and bite.
You know what would help? I can totally hear in my head how a bridge might sound, it'd add some variety to the tune that just keeps repeating.

Make it go in a different direction, make it cinematic to keep the concept, etc.
 
here's the thing though, if it was de-noised it's no longer legit studio material, it's been tampered. That's the point and the reason most of us complain about the quality...
its still the legit song, just not the legit file
 
when streetwalker leaked everyone was like "ewww.. sounds so awful it can only be a fake" now people are like "it's better than released" :D

Yes it is actually the best version. I mean it could be sped up a little. But i loved this the most when i heard it. Love the synth..
It doesnt come close to 2001 for me tbh. Its good, but different.
 
Do we have any confirmation that MJ's version of Joy is in the possession of anyone? And I remember somebody saying it sounded like a disco track, which would not match the Blackstreet version.
It was considered for Xscape so I assume the Estate has it.

and Teddy might also have it but that's a big stretch.
 
There’s absolutely no way the leak wasn’t tampered with somehow and/or is fake. Cassette transfers will damage audio, but the leaked mix sounds utterly terrible at the source. I can’t think of another MJ mix that sounds that bad. Even the piss-poor XSCAPE original versions sound better.
 
There’s absolutely no way the leak wasn’t tampered with somehow and/or is fake. Cassette transfers will damage audio, but the leaked mix sounds utterly terrible at the source. I can’t think of another MJ mix that sounds that bad. Even the piss-poor XSCAPE original versions sound better.
It's not fake, but it was likely tampered with in an attempt to de-noise it.
 
Yeah I'm not expecting "Buffalo Bill" to be anything crazy since the song clearly got shelved and was never brought back again thoughout MJ's career, it probably turned out to not be up to standard. Nowadays I try not to overhype myself over any unheard song (I fail at this) so I don't end up feeling disappointed once I hear it, the songs I did enjoy a lot were songs I thought nothing of anyway lol.

But I do think "Buffalo Bill" might stand out in comparison to other Thriller-era outtakes since it publicly got MJ's blessing, though. I don't think MJ had ever mentioned an unreleased song so openly like he did during that interview at Hayvenhurst.
He also mentioned Liberian Girl, and that was with less enthusiasm than Buffalo Bill. Go figure.
 
I do think that the mindset of “MJ stopped working on it therefore it can’t be that good” is a bit flawed. Keep in mind there are plenty of songs MJ never finished that we think are better than songs he worked on for years on end. It’s all subjective at the end of the day.

“We’ve Had Enough” is widely seen as one of the best Invincible outtakes and he bailed on it pretty early. Same with “Hot Street.” Meanwhile, “Best of Joy” (which I love but many don’t) was on his mind for nearly three decades.

I definitely think “Buffalo Bill” won’t measure up to expectations (very few unreleased songs do), but I don’t think it’s failure to make it past the Bad sessions is indicative of anything.
 
Buffalo Bill at this point is 50/50…..it might be one of the best songs or it might be one of the worst. I think when he mentioned it, he was working on it in that immediate moment which is why he spoke highly of it being a hit. With the song being written by both Michael and Barnes, I’m betting the actual tape is in the possession of Barnes estate.
 
Oddly enough the tape hiss is intact in the intro but removed it for the main song… Does sound very muddy.
That and the weird hiss that goes on and off in the verse following the first chorus. It’s like someone tried to restore the file but gave up half way and just leaked it lmao
 
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