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Smooth Criminal leans on HIStory Tour 1997

analogue

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On the HIStory Tour in 1997 the leans for Smooth Criminal just weren't as great as they previously were. Why is this? Did Michael have an injury between 1996 and 1997 that stopped him from leaning as far as he used to?
 
On some shows maybe there was some technical problems that stopped him from not leaning that far?
 
MJ was 39....not to mention that doing that lean for all of 1992/1993 and 1996 during shows takes a toll on your body. Even with the specially designed shoes that lean requires a different kind of core strength.
 
The leans from May to July were fine, including munich, but MJ stopped leaning forward from August, especially in copenhagen and helsinki.
 
I get that Michael was getting older, but would just one year really make that big a difference?
 
He may have been more cautious after falling in a lean during a 1996 Tokyo show.

 
I would have loved if Michael alternated between the lean and the choreography done on the Bad Tour. As iconic as the lean is, those extra dance moves are cool to see too
 
I believe it was age. he was 39 and doing it since 1987. i think even his moonwalk was alittle slower and shorter too.
 
Rocketeer said:
I would have loved if Michael alternated between the lean and the choreography done on the Bad Tour. As iconic as the lean is, those extra dance moves are cool to see too
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Yeah, when I first saw that middle choreo I thought it was awesome.
 
NatureCriminal7896 said:
I believe it was age. he was 39 and doing it since 1987. i think even his moonwalk was alittle slower and shorter too.
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He didn't start doing the lean live until 1992. And I think it's funny how people say it was his age. He was 39, not 139. And only a year before that in 1996 his leans were much better. One year really wouldn't make that big a difference.
 
either it was age or like mjfrenzy said drugs. at first i laugh at that comment but now i do agree with him. michael was on drugs prescription drugs all his life for his head and sleep and other pains he had while falling off stage etc. so yes it probably was something with the drugs.
 
NatureCriminal7896 said:
either it was age or like mjfrenzy said drugs. at first i laugh at that comment but now i do agree with him. michael was on drugs prescription drugs all his life for his head and sleep and other pains he had while falling off stage etc. so yes it probably was something with the drugs.
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But Mjfrenzy hasn't posted in this thread. lol
 
Michael's trouble with pain medication began in 1984 whilst filming for a pepsi commercial. Basically his scalp got ballooned multiple times throughout his career. Unbearable pain, as well as lupus.. Vitiligo.. And suffering with laryngitis for many years.

Its not just the headlines that Michael suffered from, he was strong.. Strong for his fans. Strong for everyone. His heart was the most magical place, trusting. Michael's body was aching, I don't think lean comparison should really be a forefront conversation.

He did everything he possibly could for his fans, and we should appreciate this fact.
 
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analogue said:
But Mjfrenzy hasn't posted in this thread. lol
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LOL! i know but as the other user said he probably will say that if he didn't. i wouldn't be surprise if he does comment after we all talking about him. most frenzy information is false but he does have a few good points on somethings.
 
I appreciate the fact michael giving us a show even when he wasn't feeling it. but as the biggest superstar he could of cancel a show if he wanted. he didn't like touring anyway so michael could of still make money without touring.

but he did it for us. so yes i appreciate it even though some fans don't. but it isn't my money so....
 
I remember when Michael fell during one of the leans. I think that was in 1996 however. What I do know is that Munich 1997 was probably one of the worst concerts of the entire tour other than Seoul 1996.
 
AmGona said:
I remember when Michael fell during one of the leans. I think that was in 1996 however. What I do know is that Munich 1997 was probably one of the worst concerts of the entire tour other than Seoul 1996.
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I hate how Munich 1997 is the most popular show from the HIStory Tour. Because of this a lot of people assume that it's the best one
 
analogue said:
I hate how Munich 1997 is the most popular show from the HIStory Tour. Because of this a lot of people assume that it's the best one
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Isn't it odd that they decided to release that show though? Normally concerts are recorded across multiple shows and then edited together (a bit like the MSG concert was), so I assumed that Munich was done the same way. Is all the Munich footage from the same night?

In any case, if Munich is so bad why did they chose to release that one to TV instead of a different one?

What's the fans' opinion on the best HIStory show?
 
I was checking all my old HIStory concert photos the other day and noticed that the lean didn't work in Leipzig (Germany) 1997.

Leipzig-1997.jpg


I guess it can be a painful thing if this goes wrong. Imagine one foot stuck, the other lose.. you fall... ouuuch..... So over time he might have gotten more cautious.
 
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There were times from 1992-1996 where he leaned much further than he needed to.

9b248c10eedba3aa122ecd82a69905cd.jpg
 
Electro said:
I was checking all my old HIStory concert photos the other day and noticed that the lean didn't work in Leipzig (Germany) 1997.

Leipzig-1997.jpg


I guess it can be a painful thing if this goes wrong. Imagine one foot stuck, the other lose.. you fall... ouuuch..... So over time he might have gotten more cautious.
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It also didn't work in tokyo 1996 and amsterdam 1997.
 
MJTruth said:
Isn't it odd that they decided to release that show though? Normally concerts are recorded across multiple shows and then edited together (a bit like the MSG concert was), so I assumed that Munich was done the same way. Is all the Munich footage from the same night?

In any case, if Munich is so bad why did they chose to release that one to TV instead of a different one?

What's the fans' opinion on the best HIStory show?
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Nope, the munich concert video contains footages from both july 4&6 concerts. the "there's a bug, don't kill it!" scene was from Gelsenkirchen i think.

Most MJ fans think the best history show is bucharest or brunei. I personally think the best is copenhagen.
 
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I wonder if he would have done the lean in This Is It concerts? They probably didn't rehearse it yet because it wasn't in the movie.
 
GlenXoseph said:
Nope, the munich convert video contains footages from both july 4&6 concerts. the "there's a bug, don't kill it!" scene was from Gelsenkirchen i think.

Most MJ fans think the best history show is bucharest or brunei. I personally think the best is copenhagen.
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So Gelsenkirchen was also shot in high Def, at least partially then.
 
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