Michaels 90s live performances are overrated

I can't really imagine Morphine performed live, don't know why.

Would have been great of course - especially if sung live, but how the stageshow would be for the song I can't reallt imagine.

Maybe something BDSM-weid-stuff like the D.S./Come Together medley during HIStory... - But that would not really make sense.
 
I might have gotten some of the info wrong, according to "All The Songs Michael Jackson" book, Michael wanted to preform it, but his record label said no due to public backlash, I stand corrected if so.
I checked the book... it says two things:
– Michael wanted to release Morphine as a single, but the record company thought the choice wasn't appropriate for a wider audience;
– Michael rehearsed Morphine repeatedly throughout the HIStory Tour, but never performed it onstage.

I never heard anything about Michael rehearsing Morphine. It would really suprise me if this turned out to be true.
I can imagine Michael blending in a part of Morphine in the D.S./Come Together medley though... that sort of fits.
 
I never heard anything about Michael rehearsing Morphine. It would really suprise me if this turned out to be true.
Morphine was indeed rehearsed during a soundcheck before the concert in Lyon on June 25, 1997, according to fans who were outside the stadium on that day.
 
The bridge in Morphine is amazing. Imagine if MJ really sang that part live, it would be great.
 
From what I've heard I think this is the best Michael sounded on WBSS on the DWT
 
The best WBSS vocals on the Dangerous tour were probably from the show in Rome; not sure if they're as good as the Bad tour but they're still amazing.
 
From what I've heard I think this is the best Michael sounded on WBSS on the DWT
The way he's signaling his team to mob the floor, I'm crying lol

His WBSS performances during the Dangerous Tour were definitely closer to the BAD tour than HIStory imo, the only thing that doesn't make him sound so good is that damn mike, I wish he would have continued to use a conventional one...
 
The fact that he sings Gone Too Soon completely live and lip-synching Heal The World with some live vocals on top at Bill Clinton Inaugural gala in 1993, makes me believe that Michael thought some songs was he satified with singing live. And other songs did he choose to lip-lynch either because they were hard to sing live without putting to strain on his vocal cords, that he wasn't pleased with his live vocals or that he might have felt his vocals were not strong to represent the same type of vocal as the songs on the albums.

So for him I think he felt calm songs like Gone Too Soon, Human Nature, I Just Can't Stop Loving You and She's Out Of My Life did work for him to sing those live but with Heal The World that felt better for him lip-synch because it is sung in a different way.

Same thing with Another Part of Me and The Way You Make Me Feel, it worked for him in the first case but not in the second case because it required him to hit very note on the original key and it took a great vocal strain. That's why TWYMMF was completely live in the first USA leg but half lip-synched from the Europe leg.
 
@john13th I'm not a vocalist myself but why is heal the world harder to sing? Do you have any idea?
Also have you heard TWYMMF during the first leg in the USA? I'm very curious to hear it live. It's such a good song to sing live, there's so much energy in it
 
@john13th I'm not a vocalist myself but why is heal the world harder to sing? Do you have any idea?
Also have you heard TWYMMF during the first leg in the USA? I'm very curious to hear it live. It's such a good song to sing live, there's so much energy in it
Yes I am thinking the same that HTW shouldn’t be harder to sing, those moments where he sings live like in the rehearsal 1992 and Bahamas 1998 does sound great. But then he sing those with a hand microphone and I often hear from other people that Michael sounded hoarse and out of breath when he sang WBSS and Human Nature in 92-93 as he obviously wears headset.
In Rome 92 he switch to a hand microphone in the middle of WBSS and people say he sounded much better.

So maybe due to the fact that Michael wears a headset in HTW he probably wasn’t pleased with his vocal performance as he might felt that he would also sound hoarse and out of breath. Plus the fact he would also stick with singing live in the end of the song instead. Importance of spreading out the message with HTW was very high and personal for Michael and not let it be overshadowed by weak live vocal performance even though the song might be simple and easy to sing. That has been the impression I get the more I listen to HTW live.

Here is a complete live vocal performance of TWYMMF in New York 1988 and you can hear he doesn’t hit those highest notes of verses "paint the town" and "forever more". I can hear that it puts a strain on his vocal cords and it is not so strange that he chose to lip-synch it from Europe and onwards:

 
He doesn’t need to hit those high notes for me that is what makes live singing so exciting, to hear the differences versus the studio vocals. Anyway thanks for the link I think it was a wonderful performance! I only saw that small snippet before with Tatiana. I think the link you posted is from another date so that means he sang it live at least twice.

Also the TWYMMF performance with Britney Spears what was going on there? Pre recorded new vocals? He sounded different but it can’t have been live as it sounded too perfect.
 
He doesn’t need to hit those high notes for me that is what makes live singing so exciting, to hear the differences versus the studio vocals. Anyway thanks for the link I think it was a wonderful performance! I only saw that small snippet before with Tatiana. I think the link you posted is from another date so that means he sang it live at least twice.

Also the TWYMMF performance with Britney Spears what was going on there? Pre recorded new vocals? He sounded different but it can’t have been live as it sounded too perfect.
The concerts in Kansas and New York 1988 are known so far where he sang TWYMMF. Then in Minneapolis May 1988 that song was dropped from the set list and reinserted when Bad Tour came to Europe the same month.

Yes it’s true that he doesn’t need to hit high notes. In fact, he could’ve choose to sing that one and HTW in a lower key and it would’ve sound great still. Sometimes it even becomes better like with Genesis 1992 live version of Tonight Tonight Tonight that was performed in a lower key.

As for the performance with Britney, it must’ve been the same vocals but transposed down into lower key.
 
If he really had a hard time performing TWYMMF live then it is perfectly understandable to drop it, he could have for example picked speed demon or leave me alone to perform instead of TWYMMF. Anything but starting to use playback.
he didn’t have any problem with not performing remember the time while that was also a big hit during the dangerous tour. I simply don’t understand his logic.
 
If he really had a hard time performing TWYMMF live then it is perfectly understandable to drop it, he could have for example picked speed demon or leave me alone to perform instead of TWYMMF. Anything but starting to use playback.
he didn’t have any problem with not performing remember the time while that was also a big hit during the dangerous tour. I simply don’t understand his logic.
I think it had to do with the fact it went No 1 on the Billboard chart and it was performed at the Grammy Awards. Except for Remember the Time and Gone Too Soon, all his award performance during the 80s and 90s ended up with live performances at concerts. He wanted to perform some of his biggest hits and TWYMMF was one of them.
Neither Speed Demon nor Leave Me Alone were ever performed even though I heard Speed Demon was rehearsed at some point.

Remember the Time was rehearsed but I heard it was dropped due to wardrobe malfunction and too long set list.

But yeah, I also would prefer to see him perform that one during the Dangerous Tour. Why Rock With You was dropped too is also incomprehensible to me.
 
While doing some MJ research I came across an interesting interview with Michael from 2001.

Q: The New York concerts marked your first U.S. shows in 12 years. Were you nervous?

A: No. It was an honor to be back with my brothers again. The producer wanted a cavalcade of luminaries from different fields of endeavor. It was a great honor to have them salute me. It was heartwarming, a happy, fun occasion.

Q: Would you consider another tour with your brothers?

A: I don't think so. I would definitely do an album with them, but not a tour. They would love to tour. But I want to move on to other things. Physically, touring takes a lot out of you. When I'm on stage, it's like a two-hour marathon. I weigh myself before and after each show, and I lose a good 10 pounds. Sweat is all over the stage. Then you get to your hotel and your adrenaline is at its zenith and you can't fall asleep. And you've got a show the next day. It's tough.

Q: If you don't tour, how will you satisfy public demand as well as your need to perform?

A: I want to direct a special on myself and do songs that touch me. I want something more intimate, from the soul and heart, with just one spotlight.
 
I think it had to do with the fact it went No 1 on the Billboard chart.
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough went to No 1 but it was never performed on any of his solo tours besides being a part of the forgettable medley during the history tour.
 
I disagree. I think his vocals weren’t at his best at Royal Brunei concert, but they were still better than his vocals at any history concert.
Not really. Of course, some songs were live and all, but because it is a humid climate, he sounded bad. There are better concerts in HWT, despite the lipsync.
 
I don’t even view the first leg as part of the bad tour. It was just the victory tour continued with 3 setlist changes, all coming as an encore at the end of the show.
 
The 1987 leg of Bad Tour was.
That is true, but people still can't believe that TWYMMF, Smooth Criminal, Man In The Mirror and Bad were lip synced in the Europe Leg 1988. They don't believe it not only because it is Bad, but also because of the backup vocals.
 
Well where’s the problem?;)
The problem is that you look like a troll. Your post isn't at all measured or balanced, uses far too much emotive language and is lacking concrete evidence that supports your criticisms....especially when talking about dance. With a few strokes of your keyboard, you've cancelled MJ's entire performance career from 1993 through until 2009 and according to you, he must have pretty much wasted the last 16 years of his life, trying to put together concerts for his fans. Peachy. Just peachy.
 
I completely agree :D He was still great during the 1992 leg of Dangerous,but something changed after that.Tokyo 1992 seems like his last fire show
You haven't seen enough shows.

Also....just have a little think about what happened to him in 1993, which may have affected his performances.
 
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I always wondered why he got back into touring in the first place, since he clearly stated that the BAD Tour would be hist last one. Does anybody know the reason? The new contract with Sony perhaps?
The Dangerous Tour was put together for the express purpose of flooding his Heal the World Foundation with funds, so that he could carry out his humanitarian efforts. It was the same for the HIStory Tour. Promotion of his new albums was a secondary consideration.
 
Well I have my doubts about Michael Jackson. He wasn't some "Angel" with Beethoven-like musical abilities like some fans claim. Michael had his flaws,and they need to be accepted as flaws ,even by the fan community . Lip-synching is,in my opinion,and not only mine, a cheap way to cheat on your fans. Real artists never lip synch. Thats why I can't consider Justin Bieber or Britney Spears real artists. So if Michael Jackson lip synchs ,at that point hes no better than those lip synchers. I'm not saying History Tour is at the standard of a shitty Bieber show ,History Tour is better than anything Gaga or Bieber can dream of performing. But I just can't stand lip-synching .
But that shouldnt be a problem,since Michael Jackson still danced his a$$ off ,even during the History Tour. In my original post I exagerated,Im sorry for that. He was more coregraphed,but also better at dancing,in some shows,than he ever was before. He evolved as a dancer and some performances look amazingly flawless,dancing-wise . And I give him full credit for still putting on that kind of show at 40,considering he was a pro before he even turned 15. Again Im very sorry,I exagerated too much in the OP.
He sang live during the concerts from 1970 all the way thorugh to the late 80's/early 90's. Bad tour itself was a marathon of killer shows where everything was mostly live apparently,and that tour alone lasted for more than 100 damn shows. Most of his life he sang live in concert,so for sure he wasnt some kind of talentless scammer like Lady Gaga. I exagerated again,sorry.
In conclusion,while Im not mad crazy about everything Jackson has done ,its crystal clear that he desrves the title of K.O.P Sorry for some parts of my O.P that could suggest otherwise ;)
You literally do not have a clue what you're talking about and you're flip-flopping all over the place.
 
Michael had been singing and non stop performing since he was around 5 to 9 years old. How many tours and award shows that man has done from the 1960's to September 1996? The amount of body injuries the man had (broken foot, collapsed lung, burned scalp which caused constant pain with a balloon being inserted into his scalp!!!!) constant throat problems (The LA BAD Tour shows had to be delayed months later to January 1989 because his voice declined) Lets not even talk about how many physical health and mental health issues (with Lupus constantly flaming on his body, and his skin being sensitive to any sunlight due to Vitiligo, stress) I would call Michael Jackson a lot of things and critique him, but him being LAZY???? He literally continued to perform after the Munich 1999 bridge accident which cause back pain for the rest of his life! Then after the last song was done, collapsed in the back stage. Michael Jackson had talent that was out of this world, but he was still human, and the constant problems someone in his shoes would face, eventually will start affecting anyone's performance.
Thank YOU!!!
 
It would absolutely not be appreciated by today's crowd, he would get massacred (figuratively) even by fans.
I sincerely doubt it. Judging by the rehearsals for TII and the response of fans and the public to that movie, he would be very well received and appreciated by people who know what they're looking at and aren't entitled brats.
 
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