Would you Welcome Back XSCAPE's PRODUCTION TEAM? For Future Albums.

Loving You is so beautiful. The vocals alone. You can tell it's from Thriller era. The remix makes it sound like a finished product.

And I never liked Blue Gangster from the leaks before. It sounded awful in more ways than one. But this updated version is good stuff.
 
Don't get me wrong, but I love the remixes!
Some better than the original demo version!

But on the other hand, I'm not that kind of fan anymore that's so damn negative about everything (some people do) and just lay back for a while, listening to the great remixes.

So production team, stay!

Btw, Blue Gangsta turned out great in the remix!
 
i doubt they will keep that team... they might try something new again in a few years.

i hope they keep timbaland and RJ tho!
 
A huge NO! the remixes are a joke. They're unlistenable. LNFSG and Chicago are the exceptions here, but the rest is just one big headache! Michael would hate to know that they messed up his vision like that.

Thank god for the demos.
 
I would not want Timbaland back again except for maybe a song or two. I think it's a good idea to have an exec producer who can make sure that the album feels at least a bit "unified", but I far more like the idea to have more producers on the album to be honest, to give a broader scope to the music and each track. I don't like Timbaland much, but even disregarding that, he has an instantly recognizable style.

My first thought when seeing the snippet from the documentary where they talk about how it shouldn't feel like a Timbaland album was "no, it *does* feel like a Timbaland album". That's not to say it also doesn't feel like a Michael album, because he is very recognizeable on this album. Great performances, with his voice strong and up-front. But the production screams Timbaland all over the place.

It's obvious that a lot of care went into the project, and I'm really grateful for that. But just sonically speaking, I think they tried a bit *too* hard to, as they say, contemporize the songs. I think that will serve to date the album to this period in time.

But it's double-edged sword really. I'm also happened that they poured their souls into it, because it feels like a serious attempt. Just not quite from the direction I was hoping for I guess, even though I do adore the songs because the song-writing is excellent.

Very happy with the release all in all, but if there will be more Michael album I hope they'll bring in a more diverse cast of producers. And personally I'd hope for more live instrumentation all in all.
 
It most probably is, but some fans are greedy and it is never enough.
Or some fans just have different tastes. God, this calling everyone who criticizes these remixes 'greedy/ungrateful' or 'narrowminded' is so exhausting.
 
I know opinions differ, but I think Stargate did an amazing job on APWNN and I would love to see what they could've done with STTR.

As for the people suggesting Quincy, I don't really see the point. If you look at the albums Quincy did with Michael, the thing that makes them stand out from Michael's later albums are the unity of those albums. Quincy always made sure the songs that made the album complimented each other and made up a whole. But the posthumous albums will never have that unity to them because the songs are written at very different times. Let us give youth a chance when it comes to producing future releases.
 
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I would say R.Jerkins executive on the next (if there are more songs with full vocals)
His work on Xscape is mindblowing.
 
I know opinions differ, but I think Stargate did an amazing job on APWNN and I would love to see what they could've done with STTR.

I'm definitely in agreement there (though I have to say I think STTR was Timbaland's best work on the album).

I just watched the documentary also. Comes across as a bit self-congratulatory by Reid and Timbaland I think. The Stargate guys seem very humble though and Rodney Jerkins seems like a pretty cool guy as well. Stargate seemed pretty reluctant to do it at first though because they feared it wouldn't do him justice, so I wonder if they would want to do more than they already did.
 
It most probably is, but some fans are greedy and it is never enough.

I'm so done with posts like this. Just accept that people have different tastes and different expectations. I like most of the remixes, and I really hate some of the others. Why the hell does that make me greedy or ungrateful or narrowminded, as I've read all over this forum? As far as I'm concerned it just makes me someone with an opinion. This is music we're talking about, people. You don't *have* to like it. It's so subjective. Please stop with badmouthing those fans who aren't enjoying every song on this all in all very solid album.
 
People who go on about Quincy should check out some of his post-MJ work. Eg. he produced some songs for Tevin Campbell. Very generic, very dated early 90s R&B/new jack swing... Eg.:



Meanwhile MJ took new jack swing to another level with Dangerous.
 
Never Ever! The Album is sooooo bad.
 
I don't care who does the remixes - this team or another team. The main person I wouldn't welcome back is Mr. Reid with his approach to promotion "let's throw away Michael's music he worked on for years, replace it with stuff quickly hashed together by someone else, rename the songs as we like and promote that as MJ's work, because no one other than hardcore fans will want to hear on the radio what MJ really recorded." I can't see anything other than strive to maximize the revenue that overshadowed any respect to Michael and his years of work on these songs, unfortunately.
 
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I would probably only grab people who worked with MJ before and made hits with him. Darkchild would be my main choice, i think he nailed Xscape. And ill probably get some hate for saying this... but Teddy Riley would be good too
 
I'd be better to have people who actually worked with Michael (except Jones and Riley) because they had a closer approach what Michael wanted/was thinking.

Some producers nailed it with tracks, other ones were completely butchered and murdered.
 
I'd be better to have people who actually worked with Michael (except Jones and Riley) because they had a closer approach what Michael wanted/was thinking.

Some producers nailed it with tracks, other ones were completely butchered and murdered.

What songs were butchered?

I had a hard time with the new mixes at first, but I started to like them, and now I like them better than the originals.
 
STTR, APWNN, DYKWYCA were butchered and murdered. I understand the tracks were made to attract not only hardcore fans like us, public in general as well. I also understand the Estate wants Michael's legacy to live on for many decades but he doesn't need all those gimmicks and distractions to shine of his own. We could realize of that with the original STTR, nothing and no one tops Michael's vision, where his amazing vocals stand out and shine.
 
^ I like the new mixes of those songs.

Me too. While I haven't heard DYKWYCA (waiting for the album to come out to hear that), I'm really digging STTR and APWNN. While there is the odd tiny thing I might change about them, I'm not expecting perfection so overall, the production on them is wonderful :)
 
rename the songs as we like

The songs were named as Michael had intended them to be though? Jerkins confirmed (on Twitter I think) that Xscape was originally called just that. The demo of Xscape thats on my iTunes from years back is titled 'Escape', but I like how Xscape has a more... edgy factor to it, just like many of Michael's other album names (Bad, Dangerous, Invincible...)
 
Oh ok, I didn't know :) What was the original name?

She Was Loving Me.

I think Wikipedia cited that, and Timberland confirmed it.

But all the other songs, save for Loving You, have been out under these names for years, unofficially. And Xscape was leaked as "Xscape" back in 2003, and Michael's lawyers named it as "Xscape"...so that one was not renamed.
 
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