Michael Jackson's 'Michael' has leaked...

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,464
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It's not bad but not that groundbreaking reall. If this is the best of the unreleased bunch, doesnt say much for the rest really.

None of his Darkchild/RedOne stuff is on there either. Does anyone know if the other albums that are planned to be released will have unreleased material on them too or will they all just be even more compilation albums?
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,655
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    they've probably spread out the good and bad stuff on all albums so there's more good stuff to released. Making more money.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,464
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    james-dean wrote: »
    they've probably spread out the good and bad stuff on all albums so there's more good stuff to released. Making more money.

    im sure i remember reading something along the lines of "a deal to release 10 more album, at least 1 of which include unreleased material"...?
  • gelbma0991gelbma0991 Posts: 4,783
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    I'm not really liking it that much so far - it's not up there at all with his other albums, as they are clearly trying to make it sounds like those but 'modern'.
    I believe Darkchild wanted nothing to do with the album, that could have just been speculation.
    I think it's funny they've used Earth Songs vocals on Keep Your Head Up.

    He has thousands of unreleased songs and they go with these? I don't get why they didn't just release a few different 'Ultimate' discs with different themes (like The Ultimate Collection) and included alternate versions and demos of his old stuff. I'd have bought that, and at least we know it's MJ in his hayday.
  • wildmovieguywildmovieguy Posts: 8,342
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    You will never know what the original songs sounded like. It would be the same with the demo versions of songs, they wouldn't be able to stop themselves tweaking them just to make them sound a bit better.
  • umr3000umr3000 Posts: 1,942
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    Speaking as a huge Michael Jackson fan i think it's a disgrace that music that was not intended to be released or had not been fully finished or approved by MJ himself is being put out there just to make money. MJ was a legendary mega star and a true pefectionist... therefore i don't think anyone should bother listening to or buying anymore of this so called 'new music'. I for one will am NOT.
  • glyn9799glyn9799 Posts: 7,391
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    As a MJ fan i'm really pleased that we are seeing some new material...

    However, He obviously has loads of tracks in the vaults somewhere all finished and just unused. I'm pretty sure there were loads of leftover tracks from Bad which were all completed and are just in the vaults somewhere. I would rather hear these instead of the stuff which is having to be padded out and completed by the likes of Akon and 50 Cent :cool:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,139
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    umr3000 wrote: »
    Speaking as a huge Michael Jackson fan i think it's a disgrace that music that was not intended to be released or had not been fully finished or approved by MJ himself is being put out there just to make money. MJ was a legendary mega star and a true pefectionist... therefore i don't think anyone should bother listening to or buying anymore of this so called 'new music'. I for one will am NOT.

    I agree completely, but of course people will still go out & buy it, like sheep
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,340
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    pretty lame album, but what do you expect from a dead guy. i can't think of any decent post-humous albums from anyone that were put together with bits of tape and crap though. it never stoppped tupac from releasing umpteen albums though

    it just goes to show that as many knowledgeable people have been saying for ages, there just isn't any much decent material left in the vaults worth releasing, apart from alternate versions of the classic material. most of the better outtakes from albums have been released on rereleases and compilations, yet there still hasn't been a decent rerelease of any of the albums. who wants parts of songs and interviews instead of full versions of tracks? and who wants to hear bill.me.not butcher the best singles and stick them on the end of a remaster?

    the best track by far is the cover version of yellow magic orchestras behind the mask which was originally intended for the thriller album, and released instead by his long time keyboard player, and also popularly covered by eric clapton. the original being an instrumental not a million miles from kraftwerk, but MJ added some extra lyrics for the cover versions. ex prince sax player mike phillips adds sax to the track. it's about the only track i could think that would made a decent single

    the rest of the tracks suffer from having the same lame drum styles as invincible and the horrible 90s works, in an obvious attempt to make the album sound like a MJ album. this is in keeping with the finished unreleased work from the last 10 years, that simply wasn't good enough for anyone to release. the tracks have been filled in with guest vocals and crapping by 50 pence. the lenny kravitz track that's been floating around for a long time appears in a finished mix, and at least that's a track that sounds like what it was intended to be

    one thing that fans will pick up on that highlights the demo nature of the vocals is the lack of the classic MJ backing harmonies. there's a lot of lead vocals that clearly aren't his, whether they are supposed to be his or the "feat." artists is another thing. how bad could things really be to have akon as one of the biggest guests on your record? he's the perfect example of everything that's wrong with commercial rnb at the moment, relying on autotune for vocals and garageband for the tune

    if this is the best they can come up with, imagine how bad the next one is going to be like? why don't they just do a decent ultimate version of thriller instead with the extended versions, instrumentals, outtakes and demos? who wouldn't want to hear the original version of beat it with the rockier drums?
  • celesticelesti Posts: 25,855
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    soundstory wrote: »
    I agree completely, but of course people will still go out & buy it, like sheep

    Or maybe they just want to hear some of his unreleased stuff and aren't mindless drones you can look down on.
  • SuperAPJSuperAPJ Posts: 10,402
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    Ahh, my first deleted post! Pfft. I have seen worse stuff on here!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,139
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    celesti wrote: »
    Or maybe they just want to hear some of his unreleased stuff and aren't mindless drones you can look down on.

    Well you clearly have your own opinion, I don't agree with you like many on this thread.

    Maybe you'd like to open up or contribute to the debate or are you yourself a mindless drone??
  • celesticelesti Posts: 25,855
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    Yeah, solid logic there.

    I haven't heard the album. I'm planning to give it a try because I want to, and not because of some nonsensical 'sheep' notion you apply to people who you don't agree with.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 40,102
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    They should let a dead man rest, really. I'm sure his back catalogue is enough to keep the royalties flowing for years.

    Why do they spoil someone's career with piss poor posthumous releases? The reason many songs are not released on earlier albums is because they're not good enough or not fitting.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,340
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    They should let a dead man rest, really. I'm sure his back catalogue is enough to keep the royalties flowing for years.

    Why do they spoil someone's career with piss poor posthumous releases? The reason many songs are not released on earlier albums is because they're not good enough or not fitting.

    it's all about the benjamins. there will always be fans who want to hear all the unreleased dross, and the bigger the artist the bigger the market for the rubbish

    few artists have a decent amount of quality unreleased tracks, and MJ isn't one of them
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,139
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    celesti wrote: »
    Yeah, solid logic there.

    I haven't heard the album. I'm planning to give it a try because I want to, and not because of some nonsensical 'sheep' notion you apply to people who you don't agree with.

    So you are happy to buy a cobbled together release that wasn't good enough to be released when he was alive??

    So are you offended by my "sheep" comment because you think I'm refering to you??
  • celesticelesti Posts: 25,855
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    No, I'm offended because it's a lazy way to castigate people who don't share your view on something, with no actual basis to it.

    I didn't say I was happy to buy an inferior product. I said I'll give it a listen and then decide. A number of previously unreleased tracks on his boxset were good, so I'm keeping an open mind.
  • Jamandell (d69)Jamandell (d69) Posts: 3,041
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    I don't think it was leaked because it's being streamed from his official Facebook page? Anyway, my favourite track on the album is probably Behind the Mask, its so catchy!
  • glyn9799glyn9799 Posts: 7,391
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    soundstory wrote: »
    So you are happy to buy a cobbled together release that wasn't good enough to be released when he was alive??

    Not being good enough was not the reason many tracks were not released when he was alive. It has been confirmed that there are many finished tracks from early albums which weren't released simply because there wasn't room for them or they didn't quite fit with the rest of the album.

    Look at tracks like 'Streetwalker'. It is a great track that didn't see an official release for over a decade. It was due to go on Bad but was removed at the last minute and replaced by something else (Another Part of Me i think - don't quote me on it thuogh....)

    I have a very strong feeling there are many more 'Streetwalkers' stuck in the vaults somewhere
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,139
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    celesti wrote: »
    No, I'm offended because it's a lazy way to castigate people who don't share your view on something, with no actual basis to it.

    I didn't say I was happy to buy an inferior product. I said I'll give it a listen and then decide. A number of previously unreleased tracks on his boxset were good, so I'm keeping an open mind.

    of course there is a basis for it, it's my opinion & we all have one.

    Me thinks you are taking this a little too seriously

    Interesting that you've jumped onto my initial comment & ignored all the similar ones in this thread.
  • celesticelesti Posts: 25,855
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    Nobody else is judging people they don't know. Your opinion has no basis because of this - how can you possibly know why people may buy the album? If someone likes the songs and buys the album, are they doing it because they like the songs and want to hear the rest? Or is it the farcical suggestion that they're 'sheep'?

    The irony being that there's little more generic than such sweeping statements.
  • performingmonkperformingmonk Posts: 20,086
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    Will.i.am, RedOne and Darkchild, amongst others, worked on tracks with Michael before his death. This is the material that would be worth hearing, not what's on this 'Michael' release. Will.i.am has already said that the stuff he did with MJ won't be released because it wouldn't feel right to him to put something ou there that wasn't MJ approved.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,139
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    celesti wrote: »
    Nobody else is judging people they don't know. Your opinion has no basis because of this - how can you possibly know why people may buy the album? If someone likes the songs and buys the album, are they doing it because they like the songs and want to hear the rest? Or is it the farcical suggestion that they're 'sheep'?

    The irony being that there's little more generic than such sweeping statements.

    All I saying is that it's an easy sell for Xmas & it little more than a cash-in.

    Ok, I'm not getting into the whole did he sing/didn't he sing debate even it does strengthen my point.

    Would this album have come out in this form if he was alive?
  • 2Legit2Quit2Legit2Quit Posts: 4,728
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    You can hear all the songs here, it'll open with Behind The Mask which I quite like but if it was recorded around the Thriller era (and you can easily tell that by the vocals) then why didn't Michael release it while he was alive? The reason is because he didn't want to so what gives The Estate the right to release it now?

    http://www.youtube.com/user/SoundtrackStation3#p/u/32/nCwpTrwL6d8

    All the tracks are OK but there's no stand out tracks for me. I just hope people won't buy this album thinking it's a proper Michael Jackson album.
  • 2Legit2Quit2Legit2Quit Posts: 4,728
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    Actually, I've changed my mind. :D
    I love Behind The Mask and Keep Your Head Up - that song has really grown on me after a few listens.

    I didn't realise Behind The Mask was co-written by Michael Jackson. :eek: Apparently it was recorded around the time of Thriller:





    Behind The Mask
    Written by Michael Jackson, Chris Mosdell, Ryuichi Sakamoto
    Produced by Michael Jackson, John McClain

    After hearing “Behind The Mask” as performed by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Michael contacted Ryiuchi Sakamoto asking for permission to add his lyrics on the track. It was recently completed by John McClain. The song is written by Michael Jackson, Chris Mosdell and Ryuichi Sakamoto and produced by Michael Jackson and John McClain. “Behind The Mask” contains a sample of the recording “Behind The Mask” as performed by Yellow Magic Orchestra.

    Vogel: "Behind the Mask" was originally intended for Thriller, but left off reportedly because of a song credit dispute. It was later covered by Jackson's keyboardist Greg Phillinganes as well as Eric Clapton. Had Jackson released it in 1982, the quirky Yellow Magic Orchestra adaptation likely would have been a big hit. Estate executor John McClain updates it skillfully in this new version, making it sound brand new and retro at the same time. It is definitely one of the highlights of the album. Still, many fans will likely be anxious to hear those classic sheets of synth and 80s production on the original demo. Modernizing the production does make it fit better with the album, though it's unclear if Jackson himself planned to update the track.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,340
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    You can hear all the songs here, it'll open with Behind The Mask which I quite like but if it was recorded around the Thriller era (and you can easily tell that by the vocals) then why didn't Michael release it while he was alive? The reason is because he didn't want to so what gives The Estate the right to release it now?

    http://www.youtube.com/user/SoundtrackStation3#p/u/32/nCwpTrwL6d8

    All the tracks are OK but there's no stand out tracks for me. I just hope people won't buy this album thinking it's a proper Michael Jackson album.

    behind the mask wasn't released at the time for legal reasons, because MJ added extra lyrics and thus needed the writers permission. you can record a straight cover of a song without songwriters permission, but if you change the arrangement/tune/lyrics notably, you have to obtain permission

    btw, the released version at least has new instrumentation, drums, sax etc, it sounds a completely new recording music wise, obviously the vocals aren't new
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