Xscape General Discussion

Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Im excited about the album, don't get me wrong...
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Im not sure if Michael woud do anything to be on charts, im thinking, he would do some things, but never changing his original touch...

Michael fired (did not re-new his contract) Quincy Jones because he thought Quincy is not current enough. He always worked with producers that were fresh and current. Teddy Riley, Babyface & L.A. Reid in the early '90. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis in mid '90, Rodney Jerkins for Invincible. Akon, will.i.am and RedOne in his final years...

Michael always wanted to be on top, he always wanted to have modern sound. He would never release Escape 2002 mix in 2014. Just like he thought Dangerous early version was not current enough so he gave it to Teddy Riley to make the new version.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Oh stfu already Michael talked about Sony in 2002 and not 2009. He collaborated with them for this is it and and thriller 25, it has been well established that whatever issues there were in 2002 there werent present in 2009. Gotta love MJ fans ability to twist and turn everything to suit THEIR agenda

Sony still doesn't do much. It's Epic Records (where MJ was/still is signed to) with its ceo who take care again of the artist MJ - if my mind serves me right it is the first time since Sony Music's purcase of CBS records
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Michael fired (did not re-new his contract) Quincy Jones because he thought Quincy is not current enough. He always worked with producers that were fresh and current. Teddy Riley, Babyface & L.A. Reid in the early '90. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis in mid '90, Rodney Jerkins for Invincible. Akon, will.i.am and RedOne in his final years...

Michael always wanted to be on top, he always wanted to have modern sound. He would never release Escape 2002 mix in 2014. Just like he thought Dangerous early version was not current enough so he gave it to Teddy Riley to make the new version.


Michael took what ever was current at the time and made it is own thing. He didn't just blindly follow what was in the charts. That was the genius of Michael. He could make something current and timeless at the same time
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Michael fired (did not re-new his contract) Quincy Jones because he thought Quincy is not current enough. He always worked with producers that were fresh and current. Teddy Riley, Babyface & L.A. Reid in the early '90. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis in mid '90, Rodney Jerkins for Invincible. Akon, will.i.am and RedOne in his final years...

Michael always wanted to be on top, he always wanted to have modern sound. He would never release Escape 2002 mix in 2014. Just like he thought Dangerous early version was not current enough so he gave it to Teddy Riley to make the new version.

I know that, tthats why i said, he would do "some things".. ok, its not a fight ok?
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Michael did not willingly work with them again, This is It had no Sony involvement, heck they didn't even have a tour sponsor! I have no agenda, so don't assume I do.

Yes he did. He agreed to be involved in Thriller 25; if he really wanted to, he could have said no. He went to them with the idea of Off the Wall 30. And if he did go to a record label for his next album, I guarantee he would have gone for Sony first. (He did toy with the idea of releasing it independently.)

A brief addition to the above discussion. Raymone Bain in her lawsuit stated that she worked on Thriller 25 deal, arranged meeting between Michael and Sony and Michael signed a contract with Sony. Michael's own lawyers (when MJ was alive) stated Michael's lawyer McMillan was knowledgeable about Thriller 25. All of these suggest that there was a deal that Michael attended meetings at and signed a contract (while being represented by a lawyer). So I personally wouldn't classify it as "did not willingly work". If he didn't want to work with Sony at all, I would think he wouldn't even attend to a meeting with them, let alone sign an agreement.

As for working on Thriller 25, bodyguards say MJ wasn't enthusiastic. I'm not going to speculate why.Everyone is free to form their own conclusions. Also it's important to remember that Michael was apparently nicely paid for Thriller 25. Raymone Bain claimed he was paid $25 Million where as bodyguards in their upcoming book state it was $12 Million. Regardless of the amount I guess we can all agree that it was a good payment amount.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Michael took what ever was current at the time and made it is own thing. He didn't just blindly follow what was in the charts. That was the genius of Michael. He could make something current and timeless at the same time

EXACTLY WHAT I'M SAYING; THANKS.. this is not a fight, there are no agendas here, we all love Michael, ok?
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Any other reviews coming out of paris?
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Michael took what ever was current at the time and made it is own thing. He didn't just blindly follow what was in the charts. That was the genius of Michael. He could make something current and timeless at the same time

Absolutely.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

michael took what ever was current at the time and made it is own thing. He didn't just blindly follow what was in the charts. That was the genius of michael. He could make something current and timeless at the same time

exactly
 
This is what we know about the unnamed 8th track:

The Guardian said:
The second song – possibly called Chicago and cited by Timbaland as a future single – falls into the former camp, with Jackson utilising a harder vocal delivery that's encased in a big industrial melange of jackhammer beats.

While the album's stated purpose of making Jackson sound contemporary is followed to the letter, there are times when the production overwhelms songs that are perhaps not sturdy enough to support the added superstructure. The third song played is another Off the Wallesque, mid-paced love song with a youthful, almost naive-sounding vocal. It feels very much like a song that didn't make it on to an old album, and while the production is good – there's an amazing rolling beat throughout – it still feels slight. And when one of the songs directly recalls the bassline from The Way You Make Me Feel it seems like a step too far; a reminder again that these were songs that Jackson, ever the perfectionist, didn't finish for good reason.

Thankfully five songs in there's a proper, undeniably amazing hit in the shape of what may or may not finally be called Do You Know Where Your Children Are (the original incarnation of the song leaked in 2012).

Lewis Corner said:
Jackson practically gave birth to the genre 'dirty-pop', and track two throws back to that period when you wouldn't see him on stage without bolshy bass and hip-pop beats. "She lied to you/ She lied to me," he proclaims in his trademark growl, while the following cut is a flowing '80s-tinged serenade with orchestral bursts and choral harmonies. While we've been told that a range of producers such as Timbaland, Darkchild, Stargate and Jroc have "contemporised" the original demos, it's clear that they've also paid homage to the sound that turned MJ into a cultural icon.

Speakerphone said:
The first track on the album was Love Never Felt So Good, very breezy production.
I agree that there was definitely surprise in the room at the quality of the songs, and the enthusiasm went crescendo after the first couple songs - the latter half of the album seemed more modern and punchy. Couldn't single out a bad track, but I would say track 2 (forgot the name) and maybe 3 were the weaker ones.

Joe Vogel said:
Until the tracklist is released, I'll just say it's mid-tempo from the 1980s and not a song that people have heard.

So it's likely the third track on the album, positioned between Chicago (She Was Lovin' Me) and Place with No Name, and sounds like a love song.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Any other reviews coming out of paris?

as far as I know people who attended the party in Paris are not allowed to talk about the song details
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

As for working on Thriller 25, bodyguards say MJ wasn't enthusiastic. I'm not going to speculate why.Everyone is free to form their own conclusions.

Thanks for the post ivy :) I actually completely forgot about that, but I wasn't aware of what the bodyguards said about the T25 payment.

In regard to the above extract, my understanding is that (a) Michael was reluctant to do a project that looked backwards and wanted to continue working on a new album; and (b) he was still afraid that his toxic reputation would cause it to tank on the charts. That is apparently why MJ was heavily reluctant to finalize an album during his lifetime: he was always looking to make chart toppers (although later in his life he wasn't as dead set on it as he was around the late '80s) and he didn't want to make his first actual flop. I know you said you didn't want to speculate but hey, that's the fun of it! :p
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

I was just thinking didnt mkgenie say before the announcement that he had confirmation the announcement would definitely atleast be to do with the first single?

I wonder what happened and if this was indeed correct then why did they change plans. Perhaps they are still debating what is going to be the lead single?
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

So whats the real pre order #??

Also will it be necessary to no order the deluxe edition pencil we just purchase it day it goes on Sal.. anyone know if its goong to be too limited?
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

I was just thinking didnt mkgenie say before the announcement that he had confirmation the announcement would definitely atleast be to do with the first single?

I wonder what happened and if this was indeed correct then why did they change plans. Perhaps they are still debating what is going to be the lead single?

mkgenie said that it would be about the debut single at the very least. And it wasn't. It was about the album, which is a much bigger event.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

I suggest fans should avoid the spread of sale figures until we have actual reliable sources.

Posting fake and unconfirmed numbers is promotional suicide. If the album fails to meet or exceed first week projections by Billboard, it's rendered a flop which inevitably damages any chance of redemption; whether with quality or sales. Lady Gaga's ARTPOP suffered from inflated projection numbers spread by her excited fans. The album still did well, but it failed to meet the high standard that was set by the first week's expectation. This resulted in a domino effect that damaged the album's reputation (not even in regards to quality).
 
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Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Well that's just heartbreaking. We're not even getting a real photo of him. We're getting a bunch of different photos mixed into one
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

A brief addition to the above discussion. Raymone Bain in her lawsuit stated that she worked on Thriller 25 deal, arranged meeting between Michael and Sony and Michael signed a contract with Sony. Michael's own lawyers (when MJ was alive) stated Michael's lawyer McMillan was knowledgeable about Thriller 25. All of these suggest that there was a deal that Michael attended meetings at and signed a contract (while being represented by a lawyer). So I personally wouldn't classify it as "did not willingly work". If he didn't want to work with Sony at all, I would think he wouldn't even attend to a meeting with them, let alone sign an agreement.

Not only Thriller 25, but a separate contract for the Ultimate Collection and Visionary as well, despite the popular belief and what some people have said, his contract truly did end with Number Ones. He could have walked away from Sony and never looked back after 2003, but he chose to continue to work with them.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

It's funny how people are trying to make it look like Michael was totally ok with Sony. I think pretty much everybody confirmed that he wasn't. He might have agreed to do a project with them, because he wanted the house, his finances were in a bad shape and he knew that they had marketing power. But that doesn't mean at all that he wanted to work with them or was even contemplating giving them any new material. It's like saying that he wanted to work with AEG because he was doing a show with them and outlining some other projects - when it's obvious that he didn't and felt uncomfortable. In the last years of his life Michael, unfortunately, didn't always have the liberty to pick and choose who would sponsor his projects.

You may accept that the Estate is working with Sony now, but please don't try to whitewash the past. Unfortunately the situation with the last album showed that Michael was absolutely right when he didn't want them anywhere near his music. Hopefully L.A. Reid is able to handle it better.
 
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Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

It's funny how people are trying to make it look like Michael was totally ok with Sony. I think pretty much everybody confirmed that he wasn't. He might have agreed to do a project with them, because he wanted the house, his finances were in a bad shape and he knew that they had marketing power. But that doesn't mean at all that he wanted to work with them or was even contemplating giving them any new material. It's like saying that he wanted to work with AEG because he was doing a show with them and outlining some other projects - when it's obvious that he didn't and felt uncomfortable.

You may accept that the Estate is working with Sony now, but please don't try to whitewash the past. Unfortunately the situation with the last album showed that Michael was absolutely right when he didn't want them anywhere near his music. Hopefully Reid is able to handle it better.

Absolutely Agree.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

It really seems they're doing it right and better so far, I wish they keep it up. Michael deserves it.
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

Well that's just heartbreaking. We're not even getting a real photo of him. We're getting a bunch of different photos mixed into one
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

it looks like the general public and the 70mil+ fans on facebook dont bother about the new album. :[
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

it really does seem like they are doing it right this time.

We wanted songs like place with no name, slave to the rhythm, do u know where your children are, etc on the album..we got them. We wanted a nice, modern cover with mj in his recent years..we got it. We wanted another disk with the original demos..we got them.

Im absolutely stoked with what they are doing and have no complaints whatsoever..

Thank you estate for doing it right this time!!!!!
 
Re: News and discussion about new MJ album : Xscape, May 13, 2014.

The AEG situation is much different than the Sony situation. Michael was under the impression that he would have complete say over the tour and it's personnel when he signed the touring contract in 2008. He only began to rebel when he found out that (a) AEG was making many executive decisions against his suggestions (such as choosing Travis Payne over LaVelle Smith, Jr.) and (b) they wanted him to do fifty shows instead of the predetermined ten. In the case of the latter, Michael only began complaining that he "didn't want to do the shows" when the crew began showing signs of irritation over his constant absences in rehearsals. He agreed to ever single show on the roster. Even so, he did plan to take the tour overseas, starting in Kuala Lumpur. Why would he want to do this if he hated AEG so much?

But I digress. With Sony, Michael returned only when Mottolla resigned in January 2003 and did actively show interest in collaborating with them again. As previously mentioned, he has suggested releasing a commemorative version of Off the Wall in a similar format as T25. This was brought to Sony by him in November 2008 and was mostly spearheaded by MJ.

Michael only "hated" Sony because he felt his album was under promoted (and it was, but Sony had every right to do so). He got over it and went back on numerous occasions: Number Ones, The Ultimate Collection, T25 and unreleased projects. Keep in mind that he could have said no to any of these and could have walked away freely but chose not to.
 
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