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Rate MJ’s rock songs that appeared on an album.

Themidwestcowboy said:
This is a hot take but imo Come Together should have been included on the Bad album.
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The only problem being that it wouldn’t fit, and I wouldn’t allow it to replace any of the current songs of the album. Although, I do think it would have made more sense as the B-side for, say, Dirty Diana, than as ditto for Remember the Time!
 
What about black or white? Sure it is pop rock at best but that bridge before the rap is the hardest piece of music MJ ever wrote!

Now that we’re talking rock @staywild23 said Brad played a harder version of BoW in his seminar, who can describe how this sounds?
I would also LOVE to hear how hard Steve Lukather played the beat it riff initially. It was tones down at the request of Q and MJ because they wanted to reach a pop audience. If anyone has heard it how headbanging is it 😃 ?
 
filmandmusic said:
What about black or white? Sure it is pop rock at best but that bridge before the rap is the hardest piece of music MJ ever wrote!
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Yes, I was also thinking about Black or White. There’s definitely rock in there. The bridge, as you mention, but also in the intro. The main riff, too.

The song really is a mosaic of genres. You also have for example funk (see the tastefull bass, and the guitar during Bill’s rap). It is a mixture that goes hand in hand with the diverse dances that is seen in its short film.
 
@Victorious

Agreed it sounds exactly like a quickie, some fun in the studio, almost half arsed but the riff was too catchy to leave it unused.

This us what makes it fascinating for me, I prefer this sometimes over songs that try to be too perfect, too clinical. Mick and Michael didn’t really get among but we can’t hear it, it still sounds like a fun session imo

@Agonum

If you don’t love me feels as rushed as state of shock, I have a feeling they were conceived the same way. The riff here is not very good though, even annoying to me. The bridge on the other hand is one of Michael’s very best! I love the rock n roll vibe but it needed a better and more diverse chorus. Very interesting song in MJ’s discography nonetheless.

Thus is what I loved about his music you never knew what to expect.
 
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filmandmusic said:
If you don’t love me feels as rushed as state of shock, I have a feeling they were conceived the same way. The riff here is not very good though, even annoying to me. The bridge on the other hand is one of Michael’s very best! I love the rock n roll vibe but it needed a better and more diverse chorus. Very interesting song in MJ’s discography nonetheless.
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The riff don’t do it for me either, but everything else does.
filmandmusic said:
[This] is what I loved about his music you never knew what to expect.
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Wholehearted agreement on that.



Revised list of mine (governed by taste and Dagsform™, endorsed by Γαῖᾰ):


  1. Black or White
  2. Dirty Diana
  3. Give In to Me
  4. Beat It
  5. Come Together
  6. Morphine
  7. D.S.
  8. State of Shock
  9. If You Don’t Love Me
  10. Privacy
  11. Another Day
Edit: Eliminated unwanted italicization.
 
filmandmusic said:
If you don’t love me feels as rushed as state of shock, I have a feeling they were conceived the same way. The riff here is not very good though, even annoying to me. The bridge on the other hand is one of Michael’s very best! I love the rock n roll vibe but it needed a better and more diverse chorus. Very interesting song in MJ’s discography nonetheless.
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I feel 'If You Don't Love Me' could work really nice as a more Phil Spector/Wall of Sound-kinda happy song!
 
Agonum said:
Yes, I was also thinking about Black or White. There’s definitely rock in there. The bridge, as you mention, but also in the intro. The main riff, too.

The song really is a mosaic of genres. You also have for example funk (see the tastefull bass, and the guitar during Bill’s rap). It is a mixture that goes hand in hand with the diverse dances that is seen in its short film.
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Black or white is a beautiful work of art. There are so many styles and genres in this song. Blues, rock, funk, pop, etc.
 
Yeah, BoW was inspired by Bruce Springsteen and DuranDuran. Unofficially of course.

But it's interesting how many songs seem to have precluded/coexisted alongside it. If you Don't love me and do you know where your children are.

What about The Man, Save Me, and Eaten alive? Kind of rock-esque in parts?
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
What about The Man, Save Me, and Eaten alive? Kind of rock-esque in parts?
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Yeah, some sort of soft rock. Whereas Eaten Alive, in my opinion, is rather hard to categorize. Electro-pop-rock-R&B?
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
I'd just say it's an pop rock. It's synthetically made but it's just like Janet's sound.
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Yes, but it got Barry’s verse melodies. You don’t hear those in Janet’s songs.

Pop/rock is good enough. It’s a label so generic that you can pretty much slap it onto every odd song you come across and get away with it more often than not.
 
Smooth72 said:
No offense but I wouldn’t consider privacy a rock song. Not sure what category to put that one in, Slow and boring and just blah. Morphine would be closer to a rock a song but maybe not. Should’ve left Privacy in the vault.
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I'd consider both of those tracks to be in the Nine Inch Nails-inspired industrial rock category.
 
I'd say that any live version of Beat It from the 1988 Bad tour and the Dangerous tour absolutley beats the crap out of the studio version. The fact that it was downtuned a whole step and a half basically turned a pop rock song into straight up heavy metal. Plus, you got the Queen of Guitar playing EVH's solo note-for-note perfectly.
 
1. Beat It (Wembley 88)
2. Give In To Me
3. Come Together
4. Dirty Diana
5. Black or White (Nick* Church Of Rock Remix)
6. D.S.
7. Morphine
8. A Place with No Name
If You Don't Love Me
Whatever Happens
State of Shock
She Was Lovin' Me (2010 Rock Mix)
Another Day
Privacy
 
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Are there more unreleased rock songs in the vault than If You Don't Love Me and She Was Lovin' Me (2010 Rock Mix)?
Throwing Your Life Away with Slash could be a great rock song.
 
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Hot_Street said:
Are there more unreleased rock songs in the vault than If You Don't Love Me and She Was Lovin' Me (2010 Rock Mix)?
Throwing Your Life Away with Slash could be a great rock song.
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Rocker and DIE are the only songs that have been confirmed to be rock songs so far.
 
and there is a solo mix of State of Shock:
A fresh mix using all of the original multitrack parts and Michael's original lead vocal minus Mick Jagger's parts. Gave it a bit of a new ending as well.
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