What finished outtakes could have taken "Come Together"'s place on History

[Amari3009]

Are you referring to the 2010 mix with Luke Lukather on guitar?

IMO Come Together is one of, if not the best, rock song MJ ever recorded and I’m glad he released it as a B-side and featured it on Moonwalker. With that being said it shouldn’t have been on HIStory. I would have replaced it with either Is It Scary or Morphine. In fact , the inclusion of both those songs would have made the album even stronger imo.

I'm referring to a reworked version of Do You Know Where Your Children Are from 1990 Dangerous sessions THAT REMAINS LOST. The 2010 mix with Luke Lukather is a remix version that is leaked, and was for the Michael album. From my opinion, I don't think Come Together fits on the HIStory album, and should've been on Bad special edition (from 2001), or at least the Ultimate Collection. Is It Scary and Morphine would have been a stronger choice, but both of the songs were probably scrapped for some reason, and eventually were mixed again by Michael and Teddy Riley in 1996-1997 for Blood on the Dance Floor. I don't really know what the version of IsIt Scary and Morphine sounded like from the Dangerous session.

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

I'm referring to a reworked version of Do You Know Where Your Children Are from 1990 Dangerous sessions THAT REMAINS LOST. The 2010 mix with Luke Lukather is a remix version that is leaked, and was for the Michael album. From my opinion, I don't think Come Together fits on the HIStory album, and should've been on Bad special edition (from 2001), or at least the Ultimate Collection. Is It Scary and Morphine would have been a stronger choice, but both of the songs were probably scrapped for some reason, and eventually were mixed again by Michael and Teddy Riley in 1996-1997 for Blood on the Dance Floor. I don't really know what the version of IsIt Scary and Morphine sounded like from the Dangerous session.

But how could you want that version to be on the album if you’ve never heard it? As far as we know it could sound the same as the Bad version with minor changes. Also where did you get the info that slash played on that version?

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

Just a correction here: it's Steve Lukather. Luke is a short for Lukather.

I mixed up the first name but yes, I meant Steve Lukather, of course.

 

[farlnd]

Come Together is in my top 5 for his catalog. I loved that it was on HIStory. If I were to replace it with something else that was finished...I dont know... If Michael actually did record Why as a solo track maybe that could have replaced it.

If it were me I wish Faces was finished and it opened the album followed by Scream.

 

[Fuzball]

Is It Scary and Morphine would have been a stronger choice, but both of the songs were probably scrapped for some reason, and eventually were mixed again by Michael and Teddy Riley in 1996-1997 for Blood on the Dance Floor. I don't really know what the version of IsIt Scary and Morphine sounded like from the Dangerous session.

IIS & Morphine aren't Teddy songs. Both songs didn't exist until history sessions.

Teddy wasn't involved in the making of botdf album btw.

 

[Amari3009]

IIS & Morphine aren't Teddy songs. Both songs didn't exist until history sessions.

Teddy wasn't involved in the making of botdf album btw.

Sorry I made some errors in my comment and forgot that Is It Scary was written and recorded in 1994 for HIStory and Morphine was recorded until in 1996 for Blood On The Dance Floor.
I also mistakened Teddy Riley to be another engineer who worked with Michael from Dangerous and HIStory sessions.

 

[Amari3009]

But how could you want that version to be on the album if you’ve never heard it? As far as we know it could sound the same as the Bad version with minor changes. Also where did you get the info that slash played on that version?

Well I made some errors as Is It Scary and Morphine being from Dangerous sessions, but now I know is that Is It Scary almost made it to HIStory but failed to make the final cut so it has to be finished, but Michael didn't want it on the album. Morphine didn't exist as a song until in 1996 after HIStory was released (an engineer who worked with Michael stated that he mixed Morphine at the "Record Plant" studio in 1996-1997).
Do You Know Where Your Children Are is confirmed to be reworked in Dangerous sessions but there's rumor around that Slash is featured on it (maybe because he worked with Michael on a few songs), but this is not confirmed by anyone who is trusted.

 

[Amari3009]

I'm referring to a reworked version of Do You Know Where Your Children Are from 1990 Dangerous sessions THAT REMAINS LOST. The 2010 mix with Luke Lukather is a remix version that is leaked, and was for the Michael album. From my opinion, I don't think Come Together fits on the HIStory album, and should've been on Bad special edition (from 2001), or at least the Ultimate Collection. Is It Scary and Morphine would have been a stronger choice, but both of the songs were probably scrapped for some reason, and eventually were mixed again by Michael and Teddy Riley in 1996-1997 for Blood on the Dance Floor. I don't really know what the version of IsIt Scary and Morphine sounded like from the Dangerous session.

There are some errors in this comment above. Luke Lukather name is supposed to be Steve Lukather, Is It Scary and Morphine are not from Dangerous sessions, Is It Scary was written and recorded in 1994 for HIStory but almost made it to the album, Morphine didn't exist until in 1996 after HIStory was released which was also acknowledged by an engineer who worked with Michael on Dangerous, HIStory, and Blood On The Dance Floor. I also mistaken that engineer to be Teddy Riley.

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

Well I made some errors as Is It Scary and Morphine being from Dangerous sessions, but now I know is that Is It Scary almost made it to HIStory but failed to make the final cut so it has to be finished, but Michael didn't want it on the album. Morphine didn't exist as a song until in 1996 after HIStory was released (an engineer who worked with Michael stated that he mixed Morphine at the "Record Plant" studio in 1996-1997).
Do You Know Where Your Children Are is confirmed to be reworked in Dangerous sessions but there's rumor around that Slash is featured on it (maybe because he worked with Michael on a few songs), but this is not confirmed by anyone who is trusted.

That’s partially true. Morphine was worked on in the summer of 1994. Additional work and mixes were made for BOTDF in 97. It’s a HIStory outtake.

Regarding DYKWYCA, Where did you read that it was reworked? Who’s your source on that?

 

[Fuzball]

Regarding DYKWYCA, Where did you read that it was reworked? Who’s your source on that?

from "All The Songs" (Lecocq/Allard)

Michael Jackson worked on this song with Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell during the sessions for Bad. He made a first demo in the Encino studio with John Barnes on Synclavier. David Williams, the second musician he called on, supplied the guitar solo. The song did not win the support of the famous “A-Team” at Westlake, consisting of Quincy Jones and Bruce Swedien. It resurfaced during the sessions for Dangerous, but was no match for Why You Wanna Trip on Me which, in a certain way, describes the problems afflicting our society. The singer preferred to retain this vigorous, dark song coproduced by Teddy Riley. Do You Know Where Your Children Are continued its journey through time and various recording sessions. In the mid-1990s it was considered for the album HIStory, with a hip-hop rhythm different from that created with John Barnes in Encino.​

 

[Amari3009]

That’s partially true. Morphine was worked on in the summer of 1994. Additional work and mixes were made for BOTDF in 97. It’s a HIStory outtake.

Regarding DYKWYCA, “reworked” can mean anything. Btw where did you read that it was reworked? Who’s your source on that?

I found some internet websites say that Do You Know Where Your Children Are was reworked in Dangerous but not a lot of information about the rework though.

Michael Jackson (partially found unpublished songs from American musician; 1974-2009) - The Lost Media Wiki

lostmediawiki.com

https://michael-jackson.fandom.com/wiki/Do_You_Know_Where_Your_Children_Are

Do You Know Where Your Children Are - Michael Jackson Official Site

Written and produced by Jackson, “Do You Know Where Your Children Are” was first recorded during the Bad sessions and further developed during the early Dangerous sessions. The title derives from a popular public service announcement that ran on American television from the 1960s through the...

www.michaeljackson.com

There's not a lot about the recording process of Morphine, but I haven't seen anyone who worked on it said it was going for the "HIStory" album. Do you have your source on Morphine being worked on in 1994 with all the other "HIStory" tracks?

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

from "All The Songs" (Lecocq/Allard)

Michael Jackson worked on this song with Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell during the sessions for Bad. He made a first demo in the Encino studio with John Barnes on Synclavier. David Williams, the second musician he called on, supplied the guitar solo. The song did not win the support of the famous “A-Team” at Westlake, consisting of Quincy Jones and Bruce Swedien. It resurfaced during the sessions for Dangerous, but was no match for Why You Wanna Trip on Me which, in a certain way, describes the problems afflicting our society. The singer preferred to retain this vigorous, dark song coproduced by Teddy Riley. Do You Know Where Your Children Are continued its journey through time and various recording sessions. In the mid-1990s it was considered for the album HIStory, with a hip-hop rhythm different from that created with John Barnes in Encino.​

Just as I expected. It doesn’t say it was “reworked”. The word “reworked” has a different connotation. I knew it was worked on for Dangerous but we don’t know how different it was from the original demo. For example Earth Song was worked on for HIStory but we couldn’t call the HIStory version a “rework” of the Dangerous era recording. But for sure, I’m an aware that rework in its constituent parts (re-work) which can mean just a continuation of the work on the song, aka update. I suppose there is argument to be made of the distinction between Rework vs Remix

The reason I’m being this pedantic is because the only thing we can go by with absolute certainty is the demo we’ve heard, and that song, in that state, has no business being on HIStory.

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

I found some internet websites say that Do You Know Where Your Children Are was reworked in Dangerous but not a lot of information about the rework though.

Michael Jackson (partially found unpublished songs from American musician; 1974-2009) - The Lost Media Wiki

lostmediawiki.com

https://michael-jackson.fandom.com/wiki/Do_You_Know_Where_Your_Children_Are

Do You Know Where Your Children Are - Michael Jackson Official Site

Written and produced by Jackson, “Do You Know Where Your Children Are” was first recorded during the Bad sessions and further developed during the early Dangerous sessions. The title derives from a popular public service announcement that ran on American television from the 1960s through the...

www.michaeljackson.com

There's not a lot about the recording process of Morphine, but I haven't seen anyone who worked on it said it was going for the "HIStory" album. Do you have your source on Morphine being worked on in 1994 with all the other "HIStory" tracks?

This is a great, invaluable, comprehensive list of MJ’s recording dates put together by a member here called SeriousFX

MJ Session Calendar Project - Google Drive

docs.google.com

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

After the Bad album was released, Jackson embarked on a sixteen-month worldwide tour. The Bad world tour ran from September 1987 to January 1989, staged 123 concerts, was attended by 4.4 million fans, and grossed more than $125 million. Upon returning home from the tour, Jackson began collaborative sessions for what would become his next album: Dangerous. As he did with songs like “Slave to the Rhythm,” Jackson brought back some of his “unpolished gems” (as engineer Michael Prince calls them) from previous recording sessions to see if they could be improved in any way. “Do You Know Where Your Children Are” was one of those tracks.

And yet again, as with the Bad album, the track was not seriously considered for Dangerous.

“Do You Know Where Your Children Are” made yet another brief appearance in 1994, during the HIStory album recording sessions at the Hit Factory studio in New York. Brian Vibberts, an engineer who worked on the project, remembers being asked to work on some minor edits to the track’s drum programming.

Taken from Songs and Stories from the Vault by Damien Shields.

 

[Amari3009]

This is a great, invaluable, comprehensive list of MJ’s recording dates put together by a member here called SeriousFX

MJ Session Calendar Project - Google Drive

docs.google.com

I've seen this Google drive before, but I've wondered where did SeriousFX get all of this information, dates, and records from. But I still don't trust these told recording dates.

 

[robotchicken14]

I think a lot of people disregard the fact that HIStory starts with 'Scream' and ends with 'Smile'. It's very much a flawed concept album about overcoming the allegations

 

[Spaceship]

For more conceptual stuff, there's the 5 tracks of BOTDF and, to be real, Off the Wall is the most conceptual album. It's all about the party life, the highs, and the lows. Even Xscape reasonably sticks to a theme of escapism (in love and good relationships, from bad relationships from bad situations, from society.)

None of those are concept albums lol

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

This is a great, invaluable, comprehensive list of MJ’s recording dates put together by a member here called SeriousFX

MJ Session Calendar Project - Google Drive

docs.google.com

I’m not quite sure about that yet but I mean the 5 original songs on BOTDF are all songs that he made prior to that album. Morphine is no exception.

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

I think I’ve cracked it! What if we switch Come Together with either morphine or Is It Scary? Put Come Together on BOTDF instead. That would make much more sense imo.

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

None of those are concept albums lol

I didn't ask you to fact check me

 

[Fuzball]

I think I’ve cracked it! What if we switch Come Together with either morphine or Is It Scary? Put Come Together on BOTDF instead. That would make much more sense imo.

God forbid, no! That would have resulted in Morphine or Is It Scary being edited down to 4 minutes.

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

God forbid, no! That would have resulted in Morphine or Is It Scary being edited down to 4 minutes.

Lol, good point! I think Morphine could be trimmed down a bit without losing its energy. Is It Scary is a whole different conversation though.

 

[mj_frenzy]

I really dont like come together, even as a Beatles song.

Of all the songs MJ could have covered, he did this. Imagine MJ singing strawberry fields forever or hey jude

I cannot see why Michael Jackson had to cover and even to release one or more Beatles' songs in the first place.

Also, covering the 'Strawberry Fields Forever' song would not have been a good idea.

'Strawberry Fields Forever' was a highly personal song for John Lennon because of his childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field which was located near his childhood home in Liverpool.

I genuinely believe that the only reason it's on there was to do with a contractual obligation he had with Sony when selling part of ATV. Something to do with showing the catalogues worth to Sony's investors or something.

Either way, it was definately a business, rather than artistic decision

Even if that was the case, then they should have been honest towards Michael Jackson's fans.

The 'HIStory' album sticker should not have mentioned 15 BRAND NEW SONGS, because they are actually 14 brand new songs.

So, in this regard, Michael Jackson and Sony acted in an unethical and deceitful way towards the singer's fans.

 

[Themidwestcowboy]

I cannot see why Michael Jackson had to cover and even to release one or more Beatles' songs in the first place.

Also, covering the 'Strawberry Fields Forever' song would not have been a good idea.

'Strawberry Fields Forever' was a highly personal song for John Lennon because of his childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field which was located near his childhood home in Liverpool.

Even if that was the case, then they should have been honest towards Michael Jackson's fans.

The 'HIStory' album sticker should not have mentioned 15 BRAND NEW SONGS, because they are actually 14 brand new songs.

So, in this regard, Michael Jackson and Sony acted in an unethical and deceitful way towards the singer's fans.

It’s not that deep lol.

 

[RIP_2009]

I didnt mind that Come Together was included on the album back in 1995 despite
already have it on the cd-single.It bothered me a bit the early fade though. (30 sec longer would help a lot)
Now I wish we would get a new song instead.

 

[Prince Of Pop]

It really made no sense to include "Come Together" on the album, seeing as it was recorded all the way back in 1986 and released as a B-side in 1992 (not to mention being featured on Moonwalker in 1989). Couldn't "On the Line", "Morphine" or "Is It Scary" have been on History instead?

On The Line wasn't completed until 96...which IMO should have been on BOTDF or Invincible instead. Also, I would have put Come Together on the greatest hits disc, and it would have been the full version. MJ's adlibs at the end are fantastic.

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

On The Line wasn't completed until 96...which IMO should have been on BOTDF or Invincible instead. Also, I would have put Come Together on the greatest hits disc, and it would have been the full version. MJ's adlibs at the end are fantastic.

On The Line was supposed to be on "Get on the Bus". And is also way too happy for Blood. Maybe it would work if Invincible came in 99. If it came on both then people would be saying they should've used a different song on Invincible.

And Come Together isn't a greatest hit. It's barely in the top 40 of MJs catalogue, even being on HIStory, on Tour, on Remember The Time and on Moonwalker. Nobody actually rates it that highly even. A bit ironic cause it's got a great organic groove.

 

[Spaceship]

"On the Line" would have been fine on Blood. Too happy? lol there's a remix of "You Are Not Alone" so

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

"On the Line" would have been fine on Blood. Too happy? lol there's a remix of "You Are Not Alone" so

Remixes don't count.

And You Are Not Alone is drippy and sad.

The first songs are sardonic, moody, and grunge.

 

[Spaceship]

Remixes don't count.

It's literally a remix album LOL

Next.