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Al Capone

I just love the way he sings it. :sleep:
The whole clenching growl thing he's doing, to the smooth mellow flow of the next lines.
And any time he sings in falsetto...in any song....well forget about it. :swoon:

Why did you let him get away?
Why did you let him get a-?
Too baaaad, forget it
'Cause it's Al Capone who's in it
So sad, regret it
'Cause a madman's out tonight!

I wouldn't say that I prefer AC over SC. I like it a lot. But! how can you not like the cut that would eventually become Smooth Criminal.

I'm jus sayin' :shades:
 
Al Capone is brilliant in its own right and it's really cool to hear the evolution of Smooth Criminal.
 
Falcon said:
MJ had this talent, feeling what would happen so many of his song when aging... Al Capone really feels and sounds like 1985-1986.... Smooth Criminal had a bit more modern feeling, making it more timeless... He always looked at ways to make his music and preformances more timesless by adding special effects (just compare the lighting thriller jacket from 1988 to the 'virtual ghosts' from 2009...).

He made a good choice. Though...i have to say, that Smooth Criminal was my forst 'enoucnter' with Michael as a small child... i don`t think i would have been a (the same) fan if i hadn`t seen it when i was a little kid, immediately after seeing it, running to my bedroom and trying to imitate the routines and failing miserably at the lean... Thankyou, Michael.. :)
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This is what I think too :yes:
SC is a timeless song.
Anyway we can't compare a finished work to a demo.
 
Well, I gotta say there's a reason why MJ decided to re-work Al Capone into Smooth Criminal. I think Al Capone, being a newly released material, gives us something new to hear and something familiar that it makes it comparable to Smooth Criminal. On another note, I get the 80's vibe in Al Capone, especially the intro.
 
Imagine AC being performed live instead of SC would there be a lean? How would the short film differ? These are the questions we will never know ...
 
Just to share my experience.

I've been listening to AC almost hourly since I purchased Bad25 and am so thrilled to hear how SC started out. If it wren't for the similarities between the two, the song could stand on it's own merits. The chorus melody and growling lyrics blasted me back to the 80's when everything MJ did turned to gold and was really all about the music.

As a side note, I really get off on demos and behind the scenes footage etc because you can really hear/see the creative process at work and I think it's remarkable how the majority of the world only experience the finished product.

Anyway, fast forward a few weeks and I'm watching the Bad 25 documentary online and the SC scenes almost forced me to revisit the track the following day in the car. It was like someone reached out of the stereo and slapped the taste outta my mouth for getting so caught up in AC.

The awesome bass, thumping beat and those vocal harmonies were a sharp reminder why SC made it onto the album and is a serious classic. I could barely make it past the first verse before hitting the rewind button over and over and over...you get the picture - all the way home!
 
WildStyle said:
Al Capone is Smooth Criminal's funky cousin and that's all I need to say :)
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Well said! AC is a lot more funky to me, that's why I love it :yes:

Falcon said:
MJ had this talent, feeling what would happen so many of his song when aging... Al Capone really feels and sounds like 1985-1986.... Smooth Criminal had a bit more modern feeling, making it more timeless... He always looked at ways to make his music and preformances more timesless by adding special effects (just compare the lighting thriller jacket from 1988 to the 'virtual ghosts' from 2009...).

He made a good choice. Though...i have to say, that Smooth Criminal was my forst 'enoucnter' with Michael as a small child... i don`t think i would have been a (the same) fan if i hadn`t seen it when i was a little kid, immediately after seeing it, running to my bedroom and trying to imitate the routines and failing miserably at the lean... Thankyou, Michael.. :)
Click to expand...
About the part in bold...
I suspect the "more modern feeling" has a lot to do with the sound quality, not the actual composition?...
Al Capone is a demo version, so it wasn't really as polished as SC, the version that would make it on the album.
*Plus, imagine all the meticulous care that musta been given to any final versions of MJ songs, SC def. included*
Plus, SC has all these dramatic elements, which can make AC sound a lil bit too dull for your liking.
Maybe this, too, is the reason you feel SC got that modern feel to it.
It's all about personal preference at the end of the day, but I gotta do my part for the love of AC!
( ;D )

I'm so not crazy about SC to begin with, never was, and I love AC as it is. I sorta look at them like they're two different (I'd say "separate" as well) songs. So, here's me thinking what people's reaction woulda been like, if a slightly more enhanced version of AC (which is not the SC we've known for so long) had been put out back then?
 
Al Capone is the initial treatment of Smooth Criminal....but Smooth Criminal has slower rhythm than Al Capone. I like it a lot!!!
 
Love both SC and AC. But i like AC more. The same goes for the PYT demo from ultimate collection. It's better than the reworked album version!
 
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