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Smooth Criminal - 1985 Hayvenhurst demo

Fuzball

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How does it come that there's no discussion thread for this masterpiece?

It amazes me how much developed this track was at that time - without any input from Q. Polishing touches aside, the demo has already every structure & elements that can be heard on the final album track.

Would be awesome to hear a full length version of this demo someday in future.
 
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I remember the first time the LQ version leaked, I had huge doubts that it’s real because his voice during the “Annie are you ok” part sounded to me like an impersonator mimicking Michael’s voice.

It is quite amazing to hear a demo of this song though. And you’re right, the level of completeness to which the Bad songs were brought before Quincy ever heard them is astounding.
 
I love it, first time I heard it I thought this is what I hoped it would be. The only down side is it ends too soon.

I love how its experimental in places, the "Are You Okay Annie" at like 40 seconds and the one at a minute in are great and unusual. It feels like a one take vocal almost. The synth at the very end of the track is really atmospheric too

This and the Speed Demon demo prove what John Barnes was saying about the Bad sessions, they weren't making rough demos at Hayvenhurst, very far from it.

Damn it now I need all the Bad demo's, thank you for starting a thread on this mate
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
This and the Speed Demon demo prove what John Barnes was saying about the Bad sessions, they weren't making rough demos at Hayvenhurst, very far from it.
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It saddens me knowing after the trial MJ was in touch again with Barnes & Bottrell. Image what could have been: the "B team" working on new songs (or revisiting old neglected gems from the 80s).
 
Fuzball said:
It saddens me knowing after the trial MJ was in touch again with Barnes & Bottrell. Image what could have been: the "B team" working on new songs (or revisiting old neglected gems from the 80s).
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Imagine it mate. John Barnes especially seemed to bring the best out of Mike as a creative force. I mean you look at those Bad era tracks, the quality of them is so high and the subjects are so varied
 
SmoothCriminal1995 said:
Imagine it mate. John Barnes especially seemed to bring the best out of Mike as a creative force. I mean you look at those Bad era tracks, the quality of them is so high and the subjects are so varied
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I vaguely remember Barnes saying on facebook that some songs he had worked on with MJ weren't entirely saved on tape - leaving cèrtain tracks on synclavier.

Now with Barnes gone (and probably not everything documented as it should have been), who else is there to fix these things? Chris Currell maybe? Just thinking out loud.
 
wonderouzmj said:
Damn....it is so slow compared to the other ogs & especially the album version. That's crazy!
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It was always c, ommon for the producers and the artist to a degree to having them sped up , did not translate too well when done "live " . Smooth Criminal was never sung live hence the reasons. It was sometimes sung in parts where the tour crew fkd up and MJ knew it.
 
Fuzball said:
I vaguely remember Barnes saying on facebook that some songs he had worked on with MJ weren't entirely saved on tape - leaving cèrtain tracks on synclavier.

Now with Barnes gone (and probably not everything documented as it should have been), who else is there to fix these things? Chris Currell maybe? Just thinking out loud.
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I hope so mate, it would be a crime for these precious demos to be lost
 
Andymachine said:
It was always c, ommon for the producers and the artist to a degree to having them sped up , did not translate too well when done "live " . Smooth Criminal was never sung live hence the reasons. It was sometimes sung in parts where the tour crew fkd up and MJ knew it.
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Wasn't SC sung live during the first US leg of the Bad tour?
 
dethorro said:
I remember the first time the LQ version leaked, I had huge doubts that it’s real because his voice during the “Annie are you ok” part sounded to me like an impersonator mimicking Michael’s voice.

It is quite amazing to hear a demo of this song though. And you’re right, the level of completeness to which the Bad songs were brought before Quincy ever heard them is astounding.
Click to expand...
The best part about all this is how you could easily compile most of his 1985-86 demos into a whole album with no issue. If only this demo wasn't stuck as a snippet.
 
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