wow! I can really hear the difference! Do you have the original version of "Rock With You"?

Is this the version that appeared on the original 1979 pressings of the album? Was the song remixed or altered on later pressings?

SoulAlive said:

yep this is the one. Michael added more strings and added adlibs at the end. The one that's available on CD now was originally used on the bside of the Rock With You 7' single

bboy87 said:

I wish he had left the song alone.I like this original version better.

For real???

The version on the LP is different?

I guess I'm gonna have to re-convert that LP to CDR then, cuz after I burnt it the disc got damaged and I recently replaced it with the 2001 remaster.

For real???

The version on the LP is different?

I guess I'm gonna have to re-convert that LP to CDR then, cuz after I burnt it the disc got damaged and I recently replaced it with the 2001 remaster.

This guy's doing a "play along" on the bass

anc282 said:

There are several songs on Off The Wall and Bad that are different on the original vinyl pressings versus re-pressings and ALL CD releases. Here is the MJ rundown:

Here's the rundown on Michael Jackson:

Off The Wall

The original pressings of Off the Wall contained different mixes of "Rock With You" and "Get on the Floor." When the "Rock With You" single was released, which was backed with "On the Floor," those songs were remixed, and future LP pressings were replaced with the remixed versions, which "disappeared" and have never been issued on CD. Jackson did the same thing with some of the songs from "Bad," such as "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," which omitted the spoken intro after the early US pressings.

"Rock With You", as on the original 1979 LP, cassette, and 8-track, is different than anything you find now on CD. After the first run of the album, MJ ordered all future releases of the album contain the single mix, starting with the half-speed version. This is why all CDs contain the single mix. By th eway, the actual 45 is edited too. The difference between the original mix and the single mix is that the guitar track is different and there are no handclaps on the original. Also, the hi-hat was boosted on the remix. The "Rock With You" 45 was an edit of the remixed version, cutting the middle instrumental break in half. It's only been issued on CD on an out-of-print Japanese CD3, coupled with "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough." But that would be very easy to recreate yourself.

"Get On The Floor" has more radical differences between the original mix and the remixes found on all CDs.

Thriller

The version of "Thriller" on "Number Ones" is NOT the US 45 edit - it's the DJ edit. The 45 version completely omitted the Vincent Price rap - it's just music where the first two lines of the rap would have been, then it cuts to the section after the first portion of the rap, and fades out before the second part of the rap. It also omits the sound effects and "build" at the beginning of the song. The actual running time of the single is 4:09, not 3:56 as labeled. This has been issued on a Japanese CD3 and is the only place it appears on CD.

Human Nature was a slightly different mix on the single release and has also been issued on Japanese CD3 only. The only obvious difference is at the brief instrumental break in the middle of the song - clearly a different instrument playing. More of an "organ" sound. It also cuts about 15 seconds out towards the end of the song, running only 3:47.

The 45 of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was actually a 4:15 edit of the extended dance mix, which is very slightly different from the LP version. The dance mix has been issued on a couple import CDs, but the 45 mix is M.I.A. on CD... and it's not quite possible to create the 45 version from the dance mix (there's one edit point that doesn't match up). The 45 was actually its own mix.

Bad

"The Way You Make Me Feel" was remixed for single release. This is the same mix that appeared on the "HiStory" CD, but the 45 version was a good 30 seconds shorter, cutting out one chorus. It was issued as a 3-inch CD single in the US. "Dirty Diana" received a single remix with a lot more punch than the LP version, also faded out about 10 seconds earlier. It also was issued as a US CD3. (I understand that has also been swapped on newer pressings of the "Bad" CD.) "Another Part of Me" and "Smooth Criminal" were both edits of the Extended Dance Remixes, which were slightly speeded up from the original LP versions. The single versions were issued on CD3 in Japan, and on the US promo CD singles. "Man in the Mirror" was slightly edited. Again, it was released as a CD3 in the US.
[Edited 2/20/09 3:24am]

Weird. For the "Get On The Floor" original version, I can hear the difference but on the "Bad" and "Rock With You", they sound the same to me. Am I missing something?

ViintageJunkiie said:

The handclaps are missing in the original "Rock With You" and you hear more horns on the bridge in the original "Bad" (the horns you heard on the music video).

Rock With You (original mix)

SoulAlive said:

I think the 1980 mix is slightly better. The ending need something


I uploaded the rare single mix of his 1975 track "Take Me Back", but Universal Motown swooped in and took it off.....barely 3 minutes after it processed!

ViintageJunkiie said:

The handclaps are missing in the original "Rock With You" and you hear more horns on the bridge in the original "Bad" (the horns you heard on the music video).

Timmy84 said:

Whoa! I didnt even realize the hand claps were missing! I dont hear the difference in "Bad". I know the Video version of the song has different horns on the break down but the version posted sounds like the one I have. I might have to sit here and really listen

Damn, now I'm gonna have to go out & cop that "Bad" remaster.

The mind definitely boggles though, when reading that list.

Why would he go back & mess with those songs after releasing 'em?

I just don't understand.

check your orgnotes later
[Edited 2/20/09 19:06pm]

bboy87 said:

I've got both "Bad" and "Off The Wall" on LP and I just checked: the version of "Rock With You" that you posted is RIGHT THERE on the LP....so, I think I'll be ripping it again & burning it to a CDR. Same goes for the "Bad" album, so no need to Orgnote me.... but thanks for the offer anyway.

Mind you, I played this album on New Years Eve on a relative of mine's PC. It was in fact the LP rip that I'd originally made, no less. Then on my way back home I listened to the remaster on my iPod and I..sorta noticed something slightly different, but it didn't really register that he'd gone back and added handclaps.

It was real nice though, I had somebody dancin and singin to MJ's music all nite long...beautiful

By the way, it's not just Michael Jackson who did this, Sade did the same kind of thing on her "Diamond Life" album. I'd go into details but we'd be gettin all kinds of side-tracked.