AlwaysThere
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When discussing posthumous albums, I often see fans ask questions along the lines of, "Why wasn't Quincy Jones involved with this song?" or "How come they don't ask Brad Buxer and Michael Prince to come back and finish these tracks up properly?" And this begged a question that has been lying dormant for a while...
Does it really matter who puts together an album and/or project?
My answer is a simple no. And here's why:
Teddy Riley is a producer who worked with Michael frequently during the Dangerous and Invincible sessions. Riley is often criticized for ruining "Hollywood Tonight" with pedestrian production and a spoken-word bridge that completely negates the central concept of the song.
Lenny Kravitz is a singer/songwriter who produced "Another Day" with Michael in 1999 and returned to complete it eleven years later. This posthumous version is often considered much weaker than the original version.
L.A. Reid is a producer/songwriter who worked with Michael temporarily during the Dangerous sessions. Reid handed innumerable tracks to a number of producers and gave them free reign to do whatever the hell they wanted with them, including doing away with the original instrumentation and essentially writing their own song around Michael's pre-existing vocal tracks.
John Branca is a businessman who worked with Michael sporadically over the course of several decades. Branca is easily the most criticized man in Michael's entire inner circle due to his poor handling of the Estate and its posthumous projects - he pushed for the Cascio tracks heavily in 2010 and is the front runner of the planned HIStory Tour theatrical release, which has been met with predominantly negative opinions from fans.
These are men who spent countless combined hours with Michael - speaking to him, observing his work ethics, nothing his borderline obsessive approach to his music and its presentation to the public. It only goes to negate the belief that only collaborators and caretakers should be in charge of posthumous material.
Birchey is a producer and fan of Michael Jackson. He's put together several remixes which have all been heavily acclaimed by the fan community - particularly his take on "Hollywood Tonight," which is considered by some to be the best available version. This is a man who never came into contact with Michael in his entire life.
I personally do not care who is involved with the production of a posthumous project. It could be Quincy Jones and Brad Buxer or Justin Bieber and Skrillex for all I care. If the final product is respectful towards the material Michael had left behind and was enjoyable in itself, I consider it to be a success.
Does it really matter who puts together an album and/or project?
My answer is a simple no. And here's why:
Teddy Riley is a producer who worked with Michael frequently during the Dangerous and Invincible sessions. Riley is often criticized for ruining "Hollywood Tonight" with pedestrian production and a spoken-word bridge that completely negates the central concept of the song.
Lenny Kravitz is a singer/songwriter who produced "Another Day" with Michael in 1999 and returned to complete it eleven years later. This posthumous version is often considered much weaker than the original version.
L.A. Reid is a producer/songwriter who worked with Michael temporarily during the Dangerous sessions. Reid handed innumerable tracks to a number of producers and gave them free reign to do whatever the hell they wanted with them, including doing away with the original instrumentation and essentially writing their own song around Michael's pre-existing vocal tracks.
John Branca is a businessman who worked with Michael sporadically over the course of several decades. Branca is easily the most criticized man in Michael's entire inner circle due to his poor handling of the Estate and its posthumous projects - he pushed for the Cascio tracks heavily in 2010 and is the front runner of the planned HIStory Tour theatrical release, which has been met with predominantly negative opinions from fans.
These are men who spent countless combined hours with Michael - speaking to him, observing his work ethics, nothing his borderline obsessive approach to his music and its presentation to the public. It only goes to negate the belief that only collaborators and caretakers should be in charge of posthumous material.
Birchey is a producer and fan of Michael Jackson. He's put together several remixes which have all been heavily acclaimed by the fan community - particularly his take on "Hollywood Tonight," which is considered by some to be the best available version. This is a man who never came into contact with Michael in his entire life.
I personally do not care who is involved with the production of a posthumous project. It could be Quincy Jones and Brad Buxer or Justin Bieber and Skrillex for all I care. If the final product is respectful towards the material Michael had left behind and was enjoyable in itself, I consider it to be a success.