Its overall vibe - yes, but the chords??
It very much seems to come from a “jam session” and it feels like it never really was intended to be used for anything. Nothing more than an on the spot creation.
I could also be completely wrong
The 2010 rework is definitely circulating among collectors. There’s a chance one day it could leak in full. Judging by the snippet we have, it sounds like it’s more of a restoration than a rework, sort of like the approach they took for the Bad 25 tracks. Sounds like Mark Robson only re-recorded a few instruments and fixed the timing. It would’ve been great on Thriller 40, but alas the estate chose otherwise. Mark did state himself that it wasn’t 100% finished and he didn’t really know what else to do to it, but he was competing with much stronger tracks in consideration for the Michael album. It would’ve sounded out of place if it were included.
"What a Lovely Way To Go" definitely has "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John and "Arthurs Theme" by Christopher Cross-type vibes with the piano, syncopation, and possibly some similar chords. However, you might also be recalling Michael humming the melody during the 93 Mexico Deposition in which he says he had written the song before "Off the Wall." Video:
It's a reinstrumentation/overdubbed. It's given a drum beat for starters so that makes a large difference. Extra strings and other things. It's more like Much Too Soon or Love Never Felt So Good, the acoustic demo and piano demo versus the fully instrumental versions.
In fairness, how are we defining “considered”? I’m sure it didn’t reach Westlake, but I’d argue it’s entirely possible MJ did some touch-ups at Hayvenhurst, had it listed in some notes, etc. I wish the estate would expand more on that front, but that’s wishful thinking.
I always loved how MJ started to bob his head when hearing the song titles Tomboy & Cheater
He smiles a lot when they bring Michael McKeller and asks how they even know about it lol.
I assume it was the most recent song he wrote - hence his surprised reaction
It's great for what it is: just an interesting glimpse of Michael's way of creating music
Maybe we will hear some more songs when we are in the retirement home.
I was already thinking about what a tortue it must have been like for him to produce so many great songs that no one had heard before.
Brancas as mortal as the rest of us. Unless he's been infusing virgin blood with olive leaf
I don't think this demo went beyond what we hear on the released version and I definitely don't believe it was considered for Thriller and even with all the demos and outtakes we have from Thriller, this song doesn't compare to any of them
