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How Many Unreleased Songs are Complete Enough for a Release?

I have absolutely no faith that the Estate would make wise decisions for a duets album. I'd rather hear a half-finished demo over anything featuring The Weeknd, Cardi B, Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Pink, Drake, Katy Perry, or Miley Cyrus.

If they want to chase people Michael respected and/or wanted to work with (e.g., Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, John Legend, Usher, Lady Gaga) I'd be on board, but they almost certainly won't.

Keep in mind, these are the same people that made Pitbull an official feature in Michael's catalog.
 
^ My take with a duet album.. I don't mind adding in artists within the empty/unfinished parts of MJ songs.. I would want the originals though, if they worked it similarly to xscape - no reason for me to hate..

Though I am one that craves a radio hit for Michael.. if unfinished tracks don't have that capability I say why not having a version that is radio friendly.
 
A duets album could be a absolute disaster in my opinion. For many of the reasons explain above. Current artists making up lyrics would not go over well with the old school MJ community, myself included. Tweaking songs is one thing but making sh*t up is just a insult to MJ.
 
Hi Everybdy, this is my first post. ;)

When it comes to unreleased material, there should be plenty of stuff from Dangerous and Invincible. On top of that MJ had worked with RedOne, Ne-yo (?) and Will... So in total I think there should be enough for 2-3 more albums but the estate wont release them quickly for obvious reasons.
 
They should of course not change MJ's lyrics.

But to some degree I could see a duet album work out well. - Love Never Felt So Good is a great duet IMO. If they could make more songs like that, with respected artists. - Maybe Elton John, and then he could perform it on his farewell tour. - BOTDF is dedicated to Elton John I think, so surely MJ respected and liked him a lot.

A duet album would be more to the wider audience than for the fans. - it would be the biggest chance for a hit I think, a current artist who could promote the song. It's a commercial release more than a release the fans want. - The Estate could not ruin MJ's Legacy with a duet album if it was made good and they choose the right artists.

Then they should also release a new album like Xscape - with only MJ - for the fans, temporized versions and the originals as MJ left them.
 
I'd go on record and say a duets album would be acceptable to me. However if it's all flash in the pan current artists for sales then no thanks.
 
ChrisC said:
I'd go on record and say a duets album would be acceptable to me. However if it's all flash in the pan current artists for sales then no thanks.
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Yeah, with the current Estate what do you think is going to happen?
 
I feel as though a duets album would have 1 or 2 great selections (I'd love to see Stevie Wonder or Lady Gaga contribute), and the rest would be chart chasers.
 
Agreed and a duets album could be pretty big as long as well chosen/respected artists are selected as some of you have mentioned. Might be a good idea to email Alicia at the MJ estate some of your ideas guys.
 
AlwaysThere said:
I feel as though a duets album would have 1 or 2 great selections (I'd love to see Stevie Wonder or Lady Gaga contribute), and the rest would be chart chasers.
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Isn't the whole idea of a duets album a chart chaser?
 
I mean we already know that “Hot Fun In The Summertime” exists and was supposed to be completed for Xscape. The potential is definitely there but it alll depends on the strength of the content really.
 
dam2040 said:
Isn't the whole idea of a duets album a chart chaser?
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Yes, but consider the controversy that arises when the Estate lets producers/artists who never worked with Michael (e.g., Timbaland, Tricky Stewart, Justin Bieber, Burt Bacharach) take a swing at finishing his music. Orchestrating posthumous duets is in far worse taste.

I also fear the album would stray from the "duets" concept in favor of putting the contemporary artists at the forefront for the sake of popularity. "Hot Fun in the Summertime," for example, is primarily sung by D'Angelo and Mary J. Blige, with Michael popping up on the chorus only. That pushes Michael to 'featured artist,' which is highly inappropriate on his own album. (Consider how often fans complain of how little he's featured on "Hold My Hand.") D'Angelo or Blige could use it on their own album, but if a song is billed as a Michael Jackson song, you'd expect for Michael Jackson to contribute at least half of the vocals.

Far as I can tell, it's impossible for the Estate to respectfully and properly execute a duets album. The pieces of a good concept are laid out for them, but they've never indicated they know how to put it together.
 
AlwaysThere;4220406 said:
If they want to chase people Michael respected and/or wanted to work with (e.g., Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, John Legend, Usher, Lady Gaga) I'd be on board, but they almost certainly won't.
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Well the only duett they did so far was with one of this people.
 
Annita said:
Well the only duett they did so far was with one of this people.
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The only duet they've released so far. There's also "Slave to the Rhythm" with Justin Bieber and "Hot Fun in the Summertime" with D'Angelo/Mary J. Blige.
 
AlwaysThere said:
The only duet they've released so far. There's also "Slave to the Rhythm" with Justin Bieber and "Hot Fun in the Summertime" with D'Angelo/Mary J. Blige.
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But not released. - I'll admit The Estate has approved what you mention, but they did not allow it to be released anyway. STTR with Bieber will never be released officially from the Estate I am sure - BUT
"Hot Fun in the Summertime" with D'Angelo/Mary J. Blige​
might very well be released on a future album...
 
Hess said:
But not released. - I'll admit The Estate has approved what you mention, but they did not allow it to be released anyway. STTR with Bieber will never be released officially from the Estate I am sure - BUT
"Hot Fun in the Summertime" with D'Angelo/Mary J. Blige​
might very well be released on a future album...
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"Slave to the Rhythm" wasn't released, you're right on the money with that. I feel as though that has to do with the leak and subsequent fan backlash; had it never leaked, perhaps it would've come out. No way to be sure though.

"Hot Fun in the Summertime" was one of LA Reid's favorite songs, but "wasn't completed on time" for the album, indicating that he at the very least had his eye on it. If it pops up anywhere, I hope it's on a D'Angelo or Blige album and not one of Michael's.
 
AlwaysThere said:
"Slave to the Rhythm" wasn't released, you're right on the money with that. I feel as though that has to do with the leak and subsequent fan backlash; had it never leaked, perhaps it would've come out. No way to be sure though.

"Hot Fun in the Summertime" was one of LA Reid's favorite songs, but "wasn't completed on time" for the album, indicating that he at the very least had his eye on it. If it pops up anywhere, I hope it's on a D'Angelo or Blige album and not one of Michael's.
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I feel like the fact it even happened means they were planning on releasing it. Although I seem to remember something about it being an unauthorised mix made for fun.
 
Speaking of that remix. I like the way MJ's vocals are mixed. They sound so aggressive. The only good thing about it, really.
 
SmoothGangsta said:
Speaking of that remix. I like the way MJ's vocals are mixed. They sound so aggressive. The only good thing about it, really.
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If you're talking about STTR, I also liked Beiber's adlibs on the chorus. It introduced a little melody and made them a little more fluid.
 
Hey I was wondering do we know much about these songs, they've always appeared on unreleased song lists but with little detail about them

Turning Me Off (Bad)
Neverland Landing (pre Dangerous)
I Have This Love Of Me (Dangerous)
Heaven Is Here (Dangerous)
Angel (Invincible)

(Not too sure about the eras but these are what I always see)
I vaguely remember Frank Cascio saying he liked Turning Me Off
I also heard Angel was really well thought of until Darkchild came onto the Invincible project, then the direction of the record changed

Anyone know how complete they are? Or anything about them for that matter
 
SmoothGangsta said:
Speaking of that remix. I like the way MJ's vocals are mixed. They sound so aggressive. The only good thing about it, really.
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It's so crazy, I remember the first time I heard that tricky Stewart mix of Slave To The Rhythm, my jaw nearly dropped. It almost felt like his voice was about to break my monitor system.I remember saying to myself that this might just be Michael's greatest vocal performance ever. That Rawness was absent on the Xscape mix.
 
The Bieber version of "Slave to the Rhythm" is honestly the best version we have of that song. The demo is clearly half-baked, the Tricky Stewart remix sounds like something thrown together in 20 minutes in FL Studio, and Timbaland's remix is decent but feels too busy and lacks any real punch.

SmoothCriminal1995 said:
Hey I was wondering do we know much about these songs, they've always appeared on unreleased song lists but with little detail about them

Turning Me Off (Bad)
Neverland Landing (pre Dangerous)
I Have This Love Of Me (Dangerous)
Heaven Is Here (Dangerous)
Angel (Invincible)
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"Turning Me Off" was co-written with John Barnes and is likely one of the earliest demos for Bad. It was cut in late 1984/early 1985 in Los Angeles, likely at Red Wing Studio (where "Loving You" and the demo of "We Are the World" was recorded). No idea about its completion, though the likelihood of anything beyond a scratch vocal existing is slim.

"Neverland Landing" is one of two songs recorded for a planned Peter Pan feature film starring Michael (the other being "Make a Wish," which Stephen Spielberg apparently loved so much he played it for his son at bedtime). It was put together with Buz Kohan at Hayvenhurst in April 1983. Stylistically it's in the vein of "Seeing Voices" and is apparently practically finished as it stands.

"I Have This Love of Me" was referenced in the 1993 Mexican deposition. Beyond that, it's one of the dozens of songs with absolutely no background or detail available.

"Heaven is Here" is a poem from Michael's poetry book Dancing the Dream, not a song. It may have been recorded as a spoken word piece though, like "Planet Earth" or the final stanza of "Will You Be There".

"Angel" is a Babyface collaboration and one of the first songs recorded for Invincible. There's a quote floating around from Babyface claiming Michael considered it to be one of the best songs he'd ever recorded, though I'm taking that with a grain of salt since I've yet to find a copy of the apparent source (an issue of Black & White magazine).
 
AlwaysThere said:
The Bieber version of "Slave to the Rhythm" is honestly the best version we have of that song. The demo is clearly half-baked, the Tricky Stewart remix sounds like something thrown together in 20 minutes in FL Studio, and Timbaland's remix is decent but feels too busy and lacks any real punch.
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If Justin Bieber would have released that version of the song it would have been a top charter. That version is really good and modern
 
I prefer the original tricky mix. The Bieber one sounds too laid back imo, sounds like you're just slogging along. The only good thing about it, as I said earlier are how MJ's vocals are mixed.
 
Thanks for the insight AlwaysThere you legend

I've always had an intrigue about the title "I Have This Love Of Me" since hearing it in the Mexico Deposition
Angel sounds promising but you're right most collaborators claim their song is incredible
I had high hopes for Turning Me Off, especially with it being a Bad era demo, with how many of them are mostly vocally complete. Hopefully we'll find out one day
 
Get your weight off me is one of the complete songs.
 
Themidwestcowboy;4221026 said:
If Justin Bieber would have released that version of the song it would have been a top charter. That version is really good and modern
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I think not. It’s a horrible remix and production.
 
IMWhizzle;4221506 said:
I think not. It’s a horrible remix and production.
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I disagree. Of the four versions we have, it sounds the most fleshed out and release worthy.

Honestly as much as many would've hated it, Bieber likely would've brought the song to the Top 10 in 2014 had it been released.
 
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