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MJ’s tracks with the most interesting song structure

mj_frenzy

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Generally speaking, a song is typically consists of an introduction, verse - chorus, verse - chorus, bridge, chorus & an outro.

This, of course, may be subject to slight variations, including, for example, also a pre-chorus section, another set of verse - chorus, or even some ad-libs placed most of the time towards the end of the song. In the case of the ad-libs, which MJ utilized a lot in his songs, these may come with slight changes to the basic rhythm of the song as well.

‘You Rock My World’ springs to mind. For example, notice, that particular song structure which is really elaborate & interesting. From the very beginning, & as the song progresses, apart from its strong chorus, its song structure keeps introducing new story elements along with few (minor) sound additions, all together leading to an exciting outro (“…come on girl…”). Hence, the overall outcome sounds really tied & complete, both lyrically & musically.

(any track that MJ recorded during his career as long as it is officially released)
 
Maybe this doesn't count as I'm not sure how typical this is of 80s extended remixes... but I do love how when he made extended versions of his music (especially during the Bad era), he always structured them so there was a rather prolonged instrumental after the main part of the song finished. Perfect to dance to!
 
Come on, surely Earth Song wins this round?

It starts normal enough, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle eight - but then this is when the song's magic takes ver & any sense of structure is thrown in the blender. As the final 2 minutes builds to the most almighty aural crescendo as MJ screams the world's problems over the 'What About Us?' refrain for over two minutes.

Brilliant.
 
MJInTheMirror said:
Morphine! Amazing break in the middle of the song, really interesting!
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Totally, the break in the middle is absolutely unexpected. It was probably the first song that came to mind when seeing the question. It was shortly followed by HIStory, Will you be there (which has also been mentioned) and Little Susie. His use of classical music, the spoken outro of WYBT, the opening and ending acapellas of Speechless, the dramatic switch of tempo in HIStory and Morphine - they are all brilliant and they show his boundless creativity, his courage to experiment and the ability to think outside the box and go well beyond musical convention. Genius at work, as almost always. Them songs are soooo amazing I can almost forgive him for fillers like It's the falling in love or Girlfriend :p

Tony R said:
Come on, surely Earth Song wins this round?

It starts normal enough, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle eight - but then this is when the song's magic takes ver & any sense of structure is thrown in the blender. As the final 2 minutes builds to the most almighty aural crescendo as MJ screams the world's problems over the 'What About Us?' refrain for over two minutes.

Brilliant.
Click to expand...

Love the way you described the song there Tony. It is indeed an absolute masterpiece of songwriting and musical activism, not to mention the visually stunning video that was created for it.
 
Money

I've always liked that song a lot.

But I agree - Earth Song too.
 
Right now, I'll say JAM, but I'll come back tomorrow and explain myself. LOL
 
Heartbreak Hotel

I have loved that song from the very beginning for its theatrical quality, complex melody, awesome chord progression, intro and outro, the "haunting" chorus, its funkiness, laid back tempo, .... I could go on ...

And I refuse to call it This Place Hotel. Please! :lol:
 
In The Closet

There's nothing like it, in terms of structure. It's so original and unpredictable, it still shocks me a little even now after listening to it a million times over.
 
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