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I am ok with Come Together being on HIStory

Mister_Jay_Tee

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This is the hottest take this sites gonna see.l in a while.

I've said it before, that if you're gonna make a record about MJ fighting the allegations, then a cover by the Beatles makes perfect symbolic sense. Depending how deep down the rabbit hole you go, everything turned against MJ when he bought those. The world became very quick to try to destroy him.

So you have a song by the very ones who your ownership of ignited this crazed fervor against you.

Also, you've gotta keep in mind, this song wasn't really accessible. Streaming makes it seem easy, but unless you looped Moonwalker on VHS, or bought the Remember The Time single, you weren't really hearing this song. It was more well known than, say, Someone in the Dark, or Someone Put Your Hand Out. But still, I think giving it a larger release in 1995 made sense. And it did fit on Disc 2 more so than if it had just been on Disc 1. I always liked it there.

Now, see, a topic on rarest MJ singles/B Sides would be interesting as well.
 
Gotta admit, this is the only song that I skip on any MJ's album. Also Little Susie and Smile.
So for me, it could be replaced by a bunch of other songs.
It does fit thematically and it is the better version. But overall not my cup of tea.
 
I love Come Together but that could’ve been a bonus on Bad.

I skip the song on HIStory because it throws me off…Morphine or Ghost could’ve replaced it
 
Technically, it did not make any sense at all to include 'Come Together' on the second disc of the 'HIStory' album.

The reason is very simple: the album sticker clearly states that the second disc includes 15 BRAND NEW SONGS ('Come Together' was recorded years ago during the 'BAD' era).

One can even say that Michael Jackson (with that particular inclusion) cheated buyers of the 'HIStory' album.

The only way that the song fits is symbolically (i.e., Michael Jackson and Sony in 1995 come together and create a 50-50 partnership agreement regarding music publishing rights, that is also why this song is placed in the middle of the track list on the second disc).
 
mj_frenzy said:
Technically, it did not make any sense at all to include 'Come Together' on the second disc of the 'HIStory' album.

The reason is very simple: the album sticker clearly states that the second disc includes 15 BRAND NEW SONGS ('Come Together' was recorded years ago during the 'BAD' era).

One can even say that Michael Jackson (with that particular inclusion) cheated buyers of the 'HIStory' album.

The only way that the song fits is symbolically (i.e., Michael Jackson and Sony in 1995 come together and create a 50-50 partnership agreement regarding music publishing rights, that is also why this song is placed in the middle of the track list on the second disc).
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My theory - Flirting
Your theory - Harassment
 
Eh, I would have preferred if Is It Scary, Morphine or In The Back took its spot but I don't really mind it being on HIStory.
 
mj_frenzy said:
Technically, it did not make any sense at all to include 'Come Together' on the second disc of the 'HIStory' album.

The reason is very simple: the album sticker clearly states that the second disc includes 15 BRAND NEW SONGS ('Come Together' was recorded years ago during the 'BAD' era).

One can even say that Michael Jackson (with that particular inclusion) cheated buyers of the 'HIStory' album.

The only way that the song fits is symbolically (i.e., Michael Jackson and Sony in 1995 come together and create a 50-50 partnership agreement regarding music publishing rights, that is also why this song is placed in the middle of the track list on the second disc).
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Then Little Susie wasn't a brand new song either.

Anyway I love the Come Together video. I've never really seen the song lauded as a great cover, I think it still remains kind of forgotten, most people are not aware of its existence.
I find the Beatles’ original bland Michael turned it into a hard rock anthem.

I still don't really like its inclusion on HIStory, fantastic cover but I'd rather have seen him finish "in the back" for example.
 
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I'm not bothered by it and honestly when I listen to HIStory I never skip Come Together, Michael's version is phenomenal.

Perhaps it was a hangover from the Decade album?
 
Lacra said:
Yeah, I always loved the song being on HIStory and never got why people think it doesn't fit.

I don't care that the sticker lied to me.
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It fits a lot more than every other outtake idea people come up with. Nothing from BODTF would slot in well after "Money", I mean, come on. Maybe Morphine.... Well, maybe.

But, then that takes away from every other song with bite. Come Together is a little playful at least.

I'd rather see a new song, like Faces, then just a BOTDF/TUC outtake.
 
Zeus 7 said:
I prefer the longer version, I'm not complaining it's on there and find it very symbolic it follows Money on the album
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Same here.
Love the song and I remember rushing to the record store when the song was released on cd single in 1992.
The History version is too short IMO
 
When I was younger I always wondered why Come Together was on HIStory when it was first released on Moonwalker in the BAD-Era...
I always liked the song but found it kind of strange to find it on HIStory, yet as I grew older I really think it's a perfect fit for the album!
First of all, the album is (as it should) full of Michaels most personal tracks... mostly about trauma, depression, the allegations or tabloid-junk in general! So to have this one song that is disconnected from all of this and just let's you vibe for a second without thinking about anything really makes much symbolic sense.
Another point for me is that it definitely wouldn't have fitted in with any other album...
BAD? Too late of a release to have been on the album...
Dangerous? The song doesn't fit anywhere in between the New-Jack-Swing and R&B style the album went for... Imagine listening to CLHGA, Come Together and then Heal The World...
Invinvible? Would have been vocally off to an extend where it wouldn't have been funny anymore... obviously because the recordings of Come Together and the Invincible Album are almost 1.5 decades apart frome eachother.
So in my opinion, Come Together fitted perfect in between the new HIStory songs and I'm just glad that it was released on an album to gain even more exposure
 
Should have been on Bad, or at the very least a B-side to one of the singles...otherwise I would have put it on Disc 1 of HIStory instead of 2...and I would have released the longer version instead of the edited down one we got. MJ's adlibs at the end are just fandamntastic.
 
Prince Of Pop said:
Should have been on Bad, or at the very least a B-side to one of the singles...otherwise I would have put it on Disc 1 of HIStory instead of 2...and I would have released the longer version instead of the edited down one we got. MJ's adlibs at the end are just fandamntastic.
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It was the B Side to Remember the Time. Obviously that's not popular enough.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Also, you've gotta keep in mind, this song wasn't really accessible. Streaming makes it seem easy, but unless you looped Moonwalker on VHS, or bought the Remember The Time single, you weren't really hearing this song.
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It was also a B-side song on the 'Jam' single.
filmandmusic said:
I find the Beatles’ original bland Michael turned it into a hard rock anthem.
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Michael Jackson's version sounds closer to the Aerosmith's version of that song.

In any case, the Beatles' original version is not just bland, but extremely boring, lifeless and thus unlistenable.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
No, it literally was not. You can check this so easily online and you dont. You are straight up peddling misinformation. @Beano Wild Plz? Do something about this
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Yes, it literally was.

You can check this so easily online and you do not.

Check, for example, the track list of the 'Jam' single (released in Australia), where 'Come Together' is the fifth track.
 
mj_frenzy said:
Yes, it literally was.

You can check this so easily online and you do not.

Check, for example, the track list of the 'Jam' single (released in Australia), where 'Come Together' is the fifth track.
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Fine. You win this round. "Australia"
 
Whether intentional or not, I feel that HIStory has a very interesting emotional arc. The first seven or so songs (up to “Money”) amount to a rage-induced stream of consciousness: MJ hates the media, hates the police, hates the ongoing societal injustice, hates Evan Chandler and Tom Sneddon, hates seeing the environment suffer, and feels more isolated than ever. The next few tracks (“You Are Not Alone” and “Childhood”) represent anger giving way to sadness, to loneliness, to the overwhelming desire to be loved and understood. Finally, the last suite (“Tabloid Junkie” to “Smile”) finds MJ declaring himself comfortable in his own skin, dismissing those who continue to degrade and shame him, and finding reasons to keep smiling.

“Come Together” doesn’t fit that arc. It could if it were placed closer to “HIStory,” but midway through his emotional outburst feels very unorganized and weird. Even setting aside how it sounds nothing like the other tracks and is clearly a Bad-era vocal with demo production, it just grinds the album to a halt.

That said, I absolutely love it and think it obliterates every other version, including the original. I just think it’s better suited as a bonus track or on a compilation.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
It was the B Side to Remember the Time. Obviously that's not popular enough.
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I get that, however it just seems odd it was released 5 years after it was originally recorded and promoted on Moonwalker. It would have made more sense to stick it with a Bad single.
 
Prince Of Pop said:
I get that, however it just seems odd it was released 5 years after it was originally recorded and promoted on Moonwalker. It would have made more sense to stick it with a Bad single.
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It's a very MJ decision for better or worse.
AlwaysThere said:
Finally, the last suite (“Tabloid Junkie” to “Smile”) finds MJ declaring himself comfortable in his own skin, dismissing those who continue to degrade and shame him, and finding reasons to keep smiling.
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What about Little Susie?
 
mj_frenzy said:
It was also a B-side song on the 'Jam' single.

Michael Jackson's version sounds closer to the Aerosmith's version of that song.

In any case, the Beatles' original version is not just bland, but extremely boring, lifeless and thus unlistenable.
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I mean... I really really love The Beatles but I gotta agree...
I don't think it's unlistenable, but Michaels version just has way more life in it and also the song just fits Michaels style better!
Never listened to the Aerosmith version tho... gotta put it on my list of things to catch up
 
UMJKtF said:
I mean... I really really love The Beatles but I gotta agree...
I don't think it's unlistenable, but Michaels version just has way more life in it and also the song just fits Michaels style better!
Never listened to the Aerosmith version tho... gotta put it on my list of things to catch up
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I like all three versions but I also love the Ike & Tina Turner version from 1970. Tina just kills it, imo.
 
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