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The Discussion of MJ's Unreleased Tracks

ChanceToDance said:
These are all the bits I got on unreleased music, not a lot and it's probably stuff that was already said in his seminar:

-"Chicago 1945" and "Dream Away" will eventually get an official release
-"Chicago 1945" was the first song they did after "Thriller"
-MJ called Steve 2 days after the recording of "Chicago 1945" and that's when "Dream Away" came into fruition
-The 1983 demo of "Dream Away" is just a basic piano track with MJ's lead vocal, he said him and Michael wrote the lyrics together and that he played the piano on a Roland Electric Piano
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Steve's cleaned the vocal hiccups on the C45 takes.🤦‍♂️
 
What surprises me is how raw the 1983 demo of "Dream Away" is, Steve did point out multiple times that it was quickly put together in one session so I guess it's to be expected. So the version we hear is practically a full scale remix rather than a rework like "Chicago 1945" is, there's barely gonna be anything there from the original version.
 
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Pentum said:
Oh, boy. Official release for these 2 songs would be a dream (away). No, seriously. Drean Away in CDQ can rival Human Nature in my humble opinion. The song takes me even further than HN.

They better hurry up
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Completely agreed.
I love the ending of the song too where it seems like he just goes on and on and on and on and
 
ChanceToDance said:
These are all the bits I got on unreleased music, not a lot and it's probably stuff that was already said in his seminar:

-"Chicago 1945" and "Dream Away" will eventually get an official release
-"Chicago 1945" was the first song they did after "Thriller"
-MJ called Steve 2 days after the recording of "Chicago 1945" and that's when "Dream Away" came into fruition
-The 1983 demo of "Dream Away" is just a basic piano track with MJ's lead vocal, he said him and Michael wrote the lyrics together and that he played the piano on a Roland Electric Piano
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Thriller the song, Thriller the album, or Thriller the music video?
 
Whatever said:
I love the ending of the song too where it seems like he just goes on and on and on and on and
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Love that part too. All the love that I can give and sharing truths and tales of youth and all the love that I can give and… Did you ever stop to think how much I really love you., ladadadada the love, I’m thinking of you… Beautiful
 
Fuzball said:
Big guy. Tall, Shy. Polite. Around 26-30 years old in '90.
I got a Black American Church vibe.
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According to someone on X, Skylark should be this guy. He's touring with The Doobie Brothers since 1995.

fontana-california-bassist-skylark-from-the-group-the-doobie-brothers-performs-at-the-harley.jpg
 
Fuzball said:
According to someone on X, Skylark should be this guy. He's touring with The Doobie Brothers since 1995.

fontana-california-bassist-skylark-from-the-group-the-doobie-brothers-performs-at-the-harley.jpg
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There is indeed surprisingly little known about the man's past musical exploits. I got his autograph earlier this year after the show in Amsterdam, he seems a very private guy.
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He wrote 'System Of Survival' for Earth, Wind & Fire and filled in with them on occasion I believe... :bassist:

He plays Alembic & Lakland basses through Trace Elliott heads & cabs.

He's huge! Around 6ft 6" tall! :eek:

He's a supernice guy! :)
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ChanceToDance said:
These are all the bits I got on unreleased music, not a lot and it's probably stuff that was already said in his seminar:

-"Chicago 1945" and "Dream Away" will eventually get an official release
-"Chicago 1945" was the first song they did after "Thriller"
-MJ called Steve 2 days after the recording of "Chicago 1945" and that's when "Dream Away" came into fruition
-The 1983 demo of "Dream Away" is just a basic piano track with MJ's lead vocal, he said him and Michael wrote the lyrics together and that he played the piano on a Roland Electric Piano
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Can’t wait to hear Dream Away in HQ with a finished mix. Chicago 1945 is also brilliant, and with a proper mix it could be really interesting. I feel Chicago 1945 could be a perfect contender for a modern contemporization, the vocals are top tier
 
Kinda interesting that Steve is changing his story. Originally he said “Dream Away” was recorded within a week of Thriller coming out, but now it was recorded after “Chicago 1945,” meaning it’s from 1984. I wish we could see the tracking sheets or hear from the engineers.
 
AlwaysThere said:
Kinda interesting that Steve is changing his story. Originally he said “Dream Away” was recorded within a week of Thriller coming out, but now it was recorded after “Chicago 1945,” meaning it’s from 1984. I wish we could see the tracking sheets or hear from the engineers.
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Actually, I don't think Steve ever changed his story. From the info I gleamed from him describing the order in which they were recorded within a year of them leaking, he seems to always maintain that it and Chicago 1945 were recorded within a few days to a week after the Thriller single (or video) came out.
 
SeriousFX said:
Actually, I don't think Steve ever changed his story. From the info I gleamed from him describing the order in which they were recorded within a year of them leaking, he seems to always maintain that it and Chicago 1945 were recorded within a few days to a week after the Thriller single (or video) came out.
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He maintained for years that “Chicago 1945” was recorded shortly before or during the Victory tour, but I could’ve sworn he said “Dream Away” was recorded shortly after Thriller the album. If he did mean the single or video, that makes a lot more sense.
 
AlwaysThere said:
He maintained for years that “Chicago 1945” was recorded shortly before or during the Victory tour, but I could’ve sworn he said “Dream Away” was recorded shortly after Thriller the album. If he did mean the single or video, that makes a lot more sense.
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In that interview Porcaro is almost certainly referring to the album, rather than the single/video release.
He says he was doing final synth work with Humberto Gatica and stuff for Temperton on TLIML, while Bruce Swedien was mixing the album in another room.

That would put both Chicago 1945 and Dream Away in December ‘82 at the latest, but if his story keeps changing then we may have to wait for something more definitive like track sheets
 
Fuzball said:
He did work on some of them.


MJ had me working on Brian's Serious Effect. Looking at my journals apparently I spent much time on it.
Was it ever released?
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I see. Wonder if it was just the vocal parts he recorded on Serious Effect when Bryan was away from the studio, as he said in the MJCast interview some time ago, if that was 1990, 1991 etc.

Gosh I have so many questions haha. Worth Bill sharing the calendar at some point.
 
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Fuzball said:
He did work on some of them.


MJ had me working on Brian's Serious Effect. Looking at my journals apparently I spent much time on it.
Was it ever released?
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So I am going to assume there is a more finished version that we haven't heard yet?
 
Fuzball said:
Bill Bottrell:

Michael brought me a tape to mix called "Deep In The Night" April 23-25 1990. The writer came in on the last day. His name is Skylark.
I don't know what his relationship w/ MJ was.
I did my best to fuss with it and make a mix.

I don't remember if MJ's BG vocals were already there or if we recorded them
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I hope this means there's a writer's demo with full lyrics out there, or at least a lyric sheet that's able to give us an idea of how the verses would've been like had the song been fully recorded.
 
AlwaysThere said:
Kinda interesting that Steve is changing his story. Originally he said “Dream Away” was recorded within a week of Thriller coming out, but now it was recorded after “Chicago 1945,” meaning it’s from 1984. I wish we could see the tracking sheets or hear from the engineers.
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Indeed. Steve mentions using a Roland piano /w MIDI on "Dream Away" and MIDI was not introduced until February 1983 from what I looked up... Which most likely means it was made in 1983 (or after) rather than late 1982 as Steve appears to suggest.
 
Bill Bottrell on IJCSLY:

I know when he did the lead vocals - when he got to the bridge - he imagined Barbra singing it.

He sang it to me like her, complete with NYC accent and great big, Broadway vowels.

I think this image is why he wrote the song.
He was so excited.

When I started the tape again he toned it back down.
 
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