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Thriller 40th Anniversary - Songs Discussion

sunrunner said:
Man this Behind The Mask demo still just got me wanting to hear the finished version. I was always under the impression it was 100% going to make the album it just didn't because of sample clearance/royalties. So there must be a complete one out there. Hopefully we get to hear it one day.
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There must be a more finished Westlake studio version, hence the "Mike's Demo" mix we got. Must be held back due to Quincy.
 
I enjoy disc 2 very much. - I have listened to the disc from beginning till the end without skipping. And it actually has a nice flow.
I didn't even skip CGOOTR, it's a happy , silly, song?/melody. But not more than that.
Other songs are nice. I expected early demoes and not finished songs. So I am very happy with disc 2. - And still Who Do You Know is on repeat. - When I do not listen to WDYK I listen to Chicago Nights and Dream Away. :)
 
Derek1984 said:
There must be a more finished Westlake studio version, hence the "Mike's Demo" mix we got. Must be held back due to Quincy.
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I agree, so many vocals that are on the 2010 mix are missing so he clearly went back to it, we know he helped Greg P finish his version, I noticed that his version takes out the “heaven must be wearing” and the chorus is for both the “there is something in your eyes”. I always felt the Greg P instrumental might of been close to what MJ did, but it’s hard to tell cuz his demo has extra drums, guitar all with that Thriller signature layered over the original YMO beat, there has to be a more final cut but as always we are deprived
 
KEDZ83 said:
I agree, so many vocals that are on the 2010 mix are missing so he clearly went back to it, we know he helped Greg P finish his version, I noticed that his version takes out the “heaven must be wearing” and the chorus is for both the “there is something in your eyes”. I always felt the Greg P instrumental might of been close to what MJ did, but it’s hard to tell cuz his demo has extra drums, guitar all with that Thriller signature layered over the original YMO beat, there has to be a more final cut but as always we are deprived
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The T40 booklet mentions that BTM is a song MJ went back to over the years. So he did eventually complete it further than this. This is just the original.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
The T40 booklet mentions that BTM is a song MJ went back to over the years. So he did eventually complete it further than this. This is just the original.
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Very much doubt he came back to it beyond Thriller. The person that wrote those blurbs clearly had no inside info and just wrote whatever they felt like imo. I would say it was someone on the forum that wrote it but it'd be more researched and informative if that were the case.
 
I don't believe a word they say about the background of the songs after they lied and said The Toy was made for Thriller even though MJ himself said that the song itself was shelved because of the album. I also don't believe that WALWTG was considered for Thriller as the entire song sounds like a 70's demo made for OTW.
 
ChanceToDance said:
I don't believe a word they say about the background of the songs after they lied and said The Toy was made for Thriller even though MJ himself said that the song itself was shelved because of the album. I also don't believe that WALWTG was considered for Thriller as the entire song sounds like a 70's demo made for OTW.
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It sounds 70's yet fits into 2022 cause it sounds recent. There's the magic right there of that one.
 
So, I'm probably the last one here, but finally managed to watch both 4k videos and listen to CD2 . :) Where's my Late to the Party award?
Beat It and Thriller in 4K are awesome and look so fresh! I'm impressed by the zombies still looking really good and scary in high resolution. Also: The Beat It jacket being red instead of neon-orange is quite something :) I like it better this way. Funny to see Mikes pyjama-t-shirt underneath while dancing with the gang.

The songs:
Starlight: Haven't heard it for a couple of years. Nice to have it in high quality. I like it as an alternative version to Thriller and enjoy it for what it is. They did an amazing job elevating Starlight to Thriller by changing the lyrics, finalizing the instruments and adding the rap.

Got the Hots: Haven't heard this one for years as well. I think its a nice disco song and would have fitted on OTW nicely. The background/harmony vocals ("Our love will shine at the dawn of a brand new feeling") are really nice. It just seems the mic wasn't quite able to capture the "You know I got the hots tonight". Don't know how thats called in English, in German we call it "übersteuert" ;)

Who Do You Know: Probably have to listen to this one more often. But I think we may have a I'm So Blue scenario here: Many people seem to love it, but it doesn't do very much for myself. Definately could benefit from a finished production! So I hope for that on a future album. I love that its lyrically pretty much finished.

Carousel: People said they don't like the audio quality. Have to agree: Sounds muffled, like if there's a blanket over the speakers. Nice song, but I prefer Human Nature :)

Behind the Mask: My highlight of the album! Actually, I prefer it to the Michael version and am convinced it has fucking huge potential. It cries for like a 16bit/synthwave production (already halfway there in that early demo!), maybe a sprinkle of Daft Punk. Also, no Bucharest92 sounds and no screaming girl makes the song better :) The beatbox outro is awesome as well and could be even longer for my tastes. Please please: Take the most recent version of this song and finish the sounds/production that are all already there in this version! Sounds like a hit to me.

Rain: Not as bad as imagined. Like the stereo-effects when listening over headphones. I prefer having it instead of not having it, as it doesn't take space away on this CD (don't think we would have gotten another song if it weren't for Rain).

Toy: Interesting hearing the Thriller era version. Though, I definately very much prefer Best of Joy. Just finally add the 3rd verse and I'm more than satisfied :)

Sunset Driver: Haven't heard it for years. Sounds like a prototypical OTW era disco-dance track. Very much danceable. If released in 79, I think it could have been quite successfull.

Lovely Way: Interesting and fun one! Like others said, it feels and sounds like an early/mid 70s live jam session. Doesn't feel like it belongs to anything Thriller at all. I really really would like to have more information about this one: When, where and under which circumstances was it recorded? Cool to have it. Can't really imagine an updated 2010 version of it as its a hardcore demo, so that would be interesting to hear.

Trouble: Cool to have the latest version in good quality. I think the instrumentation/production doesn't feel 100% finished. Record electric guitars for the sounds/melodies and it could be really cool! Maybe for a future album?


All in all: Feels like a nice package! Obviously Carousel should have better sound quality and adding Niteline + Hot Street would feel more complete. Also, rewrite all the liner notes and add substantial information for every track. But other than that, I really like this bonus CD :)
 
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ChanceToDance said:
I don't believe a word they say about the background of the songs after they lied and said The Toy was made for Thriller even though MJ himself said that the song itself was shelved because of the album. I also don't believe that WALWTG was considered for Thriller as the entire song sounds like a 70's demo made for OTW.
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What A Lively Way To Go doesn’t even sound like an OTW era song. It sounds more like a song from the The Jacksons & Going Places era.
 
I mean, it’s not really far fetched to think that it was recorded for an earlier album and MJ wanted to update its sound. He did it for countless songs. Just because the demo we’ve heard doesn’t fit with the Thriller material doesn’t mean anything.
 
Nite Line said:
What A Lively Way To Go doesn’t even sound like an OTW era song. It sounds more like a song from the The Jacksons & Going Places era.
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oh really! wow! I would have guessed later, he sounded more mature (and drunk!) than OTW, but then I am not an expert.
 
What A Lively Way To Go…..some fan(?) made a great mix of this and it sounds like a proper studio recording.
I though he did great and its my to go version now.Played that one much more than the disc2 version.
It was posted on YT and im sure others here have seen the post mentioning it here
 
I just noticed that the bridge of Who Do You Know, sounds just like the melody stanza of "We've Had Enough":

"She said that she was leaving, on the midnight train"

"He innocently questioned why, why his mother had to die,"
 
So what songs do we have left for Thriller 50?

Hot Street
Nightline
Rolling The Dice
And who knows what else these days..

But that's all in 10 years and that's crazy.

Victory 40 on the other hand.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
So what songs do we have left for Thriller 50?
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There is that article that said there's at least a dozen of releasable songs from the Thriller era produced by Quincy.

"Will there be other Michael Jackson unreleased one day?
Yes, assures Laurent Hopman, there are still many unpublished works by Michael Jackson. Some, like Hot street , and Night Line , have already leaked, but in poor quality. “There are a dozen or so titles, recorded during this period, which we know of and which are sufficiently accomplished to be interesting. But these titles, produced by Quincy Jones, will not be released as long as the famous producer is at odds with the singer's estate."
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