Latest on MJJC

The Discussion of MJ's Unreleased Tracks

lotfi said:
Did Michael recorded groove of midnight
Click to expand...
Matt said in that MJ data bank interview that no version existed with Michael’s vocals…

Hypothetically, Michael could have done a quick demo of the song on cassette. But for what I gather from Matt, definitely no full multitrack recording exists of MJ’s version of GOM.

Or it truly does not exist at all… aside from audio of Michael singing bits of it between studio takes of another song as leaked.
 
Eventidescape1 said:
Matt said in that MJ data bank interview that no version existed with Michael’s vocals…

Hypothetically, Michael could have done a quick demo of the song on cassette. But for what I gather from Matt, definitely no full multitrack recording exists of MJ’s version of GOM.

Or it truly does not exist at all… aside from audio of Michael singing bits of it between studio takes of another song as leaked.
Click to expand...
It's likely MJ could've lost the multitrack tape like he did with the pre-overdub version of "Scared of the Moon" and "Throwin' Your Life Away"
 
SeriousFX said:
It's likely MJ could've lost the multitrack tape like he did with the pre-overdub version of "Scared of the Moon" and "Throwin' Your Life Away"
Click to expand...
All that is possible. But it’s not exactly confirmed if Michael made a proper recording of it to begin with.

If there’s definitely a cassette rough mix out there of the supposed multitrack version, that’s great. But without that we can’t say for sure if Michael actually recorded it.
 
image.png

🥀
 
Clay7 said:
Interesting thing I've never seen anyone mention this before, just found out. Usher's huge hit "U Don't Have To Go" was originally a writer's demo for MJ and was pitched to him shortly after Blood On The Dance Floor came out. Everyone knows that alot of Justin's hits were for MJ but never heard anyone talk about this! So cool
Click to expand...
U Don't Have to Call?
 
Eventidescape1 said:
Matt said in that MJ data bank interview that no version existed with Michael’s vocals…

Hypothetically, Michael could have done a quick demo of the song on cassette. But for what I gather from Matt, definitely no full multitrack recording exists of MJ’s version of GOM.

Or it truly does not exist at all… aside from audio of Michael singing bits of it between studio takes of another song as leaked.
Click to expand...
Siedah confirmed Michael’s version existed but I also believe he played around with the song but nothing was officially recorded, if that makes sense.
 
BlackAnon said:
Siedah confirmed Michael’s version existed but I also believe he played around with the song but nothing was officially recorded, if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
It seems like all of Rod's songs meant for MJ that didn't make it onto albums, ended up getting recycled by other artists.

How do we know if Rolling The Dice didn't get recorded by someone else?

Got The Hots was given to Siedah, but was also released under a different name, different lyrics.
 
Derek1984 said:
It seems like all of Rod's songs meant for MJ that didn't make it onto albums, ended up getting recycled by other artists.

How do we know if Rolling The Dice didn't get recorded by someone else?

Got The Hots was given to Siedah, but was also released under a different name, different lyrics.
Click to expand...
Rod was smart to submit the songs to other artists. I do wonder if RTD was recorded by someone else under a different name
 
Can anyone convince me that the I Was The Loser is real?

Because I'm fairly sure it's just a manipulated chorus, editing the "I am" to "I was". Tons of attempts were dkne back when IAAL leaked and with todays recent technology, it's even easier.

What's the source?
 
BlackAnon said:
Siedah confirmed Michael’s version existed but I also believe he played around with the song but nothing was officially recorded, if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
If you listen to the leaked snippet of Groove of Midnight with MJ, you can hear a brief moment where the close to album version background instrumentation is played. Also, consider the previous demos with Rod, ie: Slapstick, Baby Be Mine, Got the Hots, etc. They aren't just bare bones piano only, they are more advanced.

IMO, the leaked snippet pretty much confirms there is an advanced demo of GOM. They didn't just play around with it and not officially record anything. MJ and Rod were clearly in the studio recording it.

I think it's safe to assume that when Siedah recorded her version, she got to listen to MJ's demo and work from that.
 
It seems like MJ's way of recording changed so much through the years: from almost finished demo's to demo's with just the choruses..? Or as some say seperated lead vocals to prevent it leaking in total..? Some choruses seem so finished that it's hard to believe he didn't record any lead vocals for the songs, even when we know he wrote them. Anyone else is confused about this?

Is it time for a thread about Michael's recording processes, or is there already one?
 
Derek1984 said:
If you listen to the leaked snippet of Groove of Midnight with MJ, you can hear a brief moment where the close to album version background instrumentation is played. Also, consider the previous demos with Rod, ie: Slapstick, Baby Be Mine, Got the Hots, etc. They aren't just bare bones piano only, they are more advanced.

IMO, the leaked snippet pretty much confirms there is an advanced demo of GOM. They didn't just play around with it and not officially record anything. MJ and Rod were clearly in the studio recording it.

I think it's safe to assume that when Siedah recorded her version, she got to listen to MJ's demo and work from that.
Click to expand...
Rod Temperton himself would have made a demo of the song with guide vocals, like he normally did as the song's writer. So she would have heard that one as well.

Those other Rod songs were proper recordings made in the studio with Quincy Jones producing. Michael liked them, as it seems. But those did not develop far due to other stronger songs taking priority.

Evidently, Michael was not very open to outside writers' songs during the Bad era. He became more confident as a songwriter and producer on that record.
Rod presented his songs to Michael early on during the official Westlake sessions with Quincy.
It wasn't until midway through Bad (February 1987) that Quincy sought songs from other writers... And out of that came "Man In The Mirror" and "Just Good Friends", which Michael loved and felt their potential. So he decided to record them and release on Bad.
(JGF, in retrospect, wasn't a wise move though, let me tell you!)

IMO Michael may have tried out Groove of Midnight in studio rehearsals. But wasn't too keen to do a full recording of it...
Michael already wrote 9 of the 11 songs on Bad, songs that he felt were the strongest. So he didn't feel as much need to properly record Groove of Midnight if it didn't hold up as strongly to those other songs.
On Thriller (and albums before) it was a different situation, with Michael having four strong songs and they relied more on outside writers for the rest. As better songs came along during the project, other songs gradually fell by the wayside (Nite Line, Carousel, Got The Hots etc.) - specifically other writers' songs.
 
Last edited:
I don't think GOM made it past what I would call the "advanced demo" stage. More complete than a regular demo, but not as complete as an outtake. I think a good example of an advanced demo is "Who Do You Know"
 
Fuzball said:
level of completion for all demoed Temperton songs should be similar as Got The Hots
Click to expand...
Yeah, good example is Baby Be Mine. Listen to that demo and then listen to the album version.

I'd consider that demo to be advanced. They have a chorus, bridge, etc. They aren't just rough ideas. Temperton came into every project prepared and with songs that were very well laid out for MJ to start with.
 
Fuzball said:
level of completion for all demoed Temperton songs should be similar as Got The Hots
Click to expand...
As mentioned earlier, Temperton did demos of his songs to present to Michael and these were fairly fleshed out and arranged. Michael would probably choose the songs he liked and record them as he pleased.

So a writer's demo of Groove of Midnight definitely exists. However, Matt Forger said he couldn't locate a version in the vault with Michael's vocals, though. Which isn't promising.
 
Fuzball said:
The multitrack tape w/ MJ vocals could have been moved over to Siedah's sessions.
Click to expand...
That was my theory, that MJ's vocals were used as a ref track (or erased, idk), and the multitrack tapes used to create the song were moved over to Warner Music Group's vault over in Southern California (either that, or they're with Quincy's estate).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top