CandaceS said:

He seems to be a nice and fun guy to be with. Would love to come along

Actually nice to see him in some everyday gear. Hope he brings this new more relaxed style to the stage.

angel345 said:

Some people who have met him say he's really nice. I recently posted this interview from 1979 when he was promoting Off The Wall and he met a fan there and invited her to Hayvenhurst, she stayed a couple of days there with him and LaToya

Somebody on a MJ forum who lived in Santa Barbara said they met Michael at a Taco Bell and they spent some time talking.

bboy87 said:

When I saw him in NY over twenty years ago, he seems to have that warm, innocent, and cool presence about him. With his bodyguards around, it was impossible for anyone to greet him

bboy87 said:

When I saw him in NY over twenty years ago, he seems to have that warm, innocent, and cool presence about him. With his bodyguards around, it was impossible for anyone to greet him

Okay i don't know if this is true or not but i have a friend who has contacts who work in MJs camp and apparently the plan is for there to be a new single released at the end of next month (may). Now take it for what its worth, but this guy has been right about things in the past and he has no reason to lie about it.

rsggamer said:

we've heard the same thing but we don't know much

rsggamer said:

There is a high possibility that this could be true, o2 promoter already stated that there is gonna be a single before the first date, end of next month is pretty much reasonable.

this is it is an old MJ outtake so i wouldn't be surprised if it was rerecorded for a single. it'll probably have will i am, akon and fergie all over it about how great MJ is and MJ will probably have much vocals on it

unique said:

Who said it was called "This Is It"?

And you're right, he does have a song called This Is It from 1980

bboy87 said:

i'm always right!

i've never seen anyone anywhere, even a fan, say the single would be callled this is it, but it would make sense wouldn't it? and for a comeback, to dig out an old track for nostalgia reasons, dust it up with new production and release it would be an easy option for a hit, in a beatles anthology free as a bird kind of way, and he was working with will i am, fergie and akon on the thriller remixes, and akon is supposedly opening the tour, and all those guys will do a guest spot on anyones record

the moment i say "this is it" as the catchphrase for the tour i presumed it would be the name of both a single and album. unfortunately most of his outtakes are unreleased for good reason as they are pretty crap. there's not a single one i could say i wished he released it. he doesn't keep his good stuff locked away and release the crap stuff like prince does

bboy87 said:

LOL..exactly,No one here said that his new single will be called "This is it"

No one knows, Im sure we will get new news soon about the single.

unique said:

You are wrong....

Not all the unreleased stuff is crap, thats a silly generalization, there is sometimes unfinished stuff , demo versions that later gonna be recorded to get the final product..

Someone put your hand out
They don't care about us
Superfly sister
Earth song
sunset driver
Streetwalker
Fly away( A great song)
We've had enough
little susie
Blood on the dance floor

were all unreleased stuff, or demo versions that he re-recorded to put on his albums...

seeingvoices12 said:

i said most of, not all. and most of the tracks you've named are pretty crap, especially compared to stuff on thriller and off the wall. i'm talking about songs that have never been released, rather than alternate versions of songs that have been released. there's a ton of unreleased and rare stuff and it's mostly pretty crappy, as demonstated well by your list of tracks that have mostly if not all been released

SoulAlive said:

This would be great.

unique said:

OK OK OK

If all the songs I have posted are crap then thats your opinion , Nothing more Nothing less.

There's been some great unreleased MJ songs that have surfaced post Invincible.

Fly Away is a great little ballad, We've Had Enough is superior to the majority of Invincible and Monkey Business has a wonderful bluesy-funky vibe going on. I also love how quirky that song is... so much of MJ music lacks humour but this song is firmly tongue-in-cheek.

[quote]

SoulAlive said:

So a Madge-style 4-part set, eh? I love the acoustic set idea!


Do people expect a huge production overall? Or a relatively simple show? I'm thinking (hoping?) for the latter. The less money spent on production, the more money earned for everybody behind this.

I think it would be cool to see the show split into different human moods

Happiness

Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
Get on the Floor
Off the Wall
Rock with You
Burn this Disco Out

Story: The guy is not the most normal guy
Thriller

Story: So the girl got scared of the guy, and she ran away, and hurt his feelings, and now the guy feels sad and depressed


Isolation

She's out of My Life
Human Nature
Stranger in Moscow


Peer Pressure,Anger, and Love

Wanna be Starting Something
Beat It
I just Can't Stop Loving You
The Way You Make Me Feel
Dirty Diana
Scream
Leave Me Alone
Smooth Criminal
Dangerous
Black or White


Hope

Heal the World
Will You Be There
Keep the Faith
Man in the Mirror
Earth Song
[Edited 4/12/09 14:50pm]

MattyJam said:

songs that have leaked/released post 2001:

Sunset Driver (from Off The Wall sessions)
Slapstick (original version of Hot Street)
Nightline (from Thriller sessions)
Hot Street (from Thriller sessions)
She's Trouble (from Thriller sessions)
Carousel (from Thriller sessions)
Starlight (original version of Thriller)
For All Time (original mix from Dangerous sessions)
For All Time (new version with re-recorded parts)
Got The Hots (from Thriller sessions)
PYT (demo version)
State of Shock (demo)
There Must Be More To Life Than This (from Victory sessions)
Love Never Felt So Good
Scared of The Moon
Streetwalker (from Bad sessions)
Fly Away (from Bad sessions)
We Are The World (demo)
We Are Here To Change The World
Cheater
Dangerous (early version)
Serious Effect
If You Don't Love Me
Monkey Business
Work That Body
She Got It
Lisa It's Your Birthday
In The Back
Escape
The Way You Love Me
I Have This Dream
Beautiful Girl
We've Had Enough



then you have the Jackson 5 unreleased tracks, other demos and alternate mixes, songs that aren't being shared by certain fans....

bboy87 said:

that list is a good example of what i'm talking about. if you compare the unreleased songs from the songs that were released from the same sessions on the final album, you can clearly see that the outtakes aren't a patch on the released songs. whilst some of them have been released since on compilations, for some reason they weren't even considered worthy of a b side release at the time, and there were plenty of singles released, so plenty of outlet for the songs at the time. i think they were aware that the tracks were poor, particularly compared to the released tracks, and specifically held them aside to avoid flack, so all people heard was the best quality tracks from the albums, and they couldn't say "but x bside was crap"

releasing them years later on wasn't such a problem as fans were looking forward to new material so much, especially with the rehashes and constant compilations of the same material. they still didn't even release some of the thriller stuff on the first rerelease of the cd, instead sticking crappy interviews on instead, and on the second rerelease they stuck crap remixes instead of just putting all the thriller outtakes and demos on instead. now they can rerelease it all over again in that format, with the 12" versions and instrumentals

it's interesting to hear some of the demos and outtakes, but whilst with prince you can go through the 100s of unreleased songs thinking why didn't he release it, he's got dozens of albums worth of good, great and utter fantastic songs here, with the MJ stuff you hear it and realise why it wasn't released. hearing the post invincible stuff from the rumoured seven album makes you realise that not releasing it was probably the best idea. invincible was an extremely poor album, especially if you compare it to previous albums. you can say that about a lot of artists, usually as many have past it, but some artists try something different and new and it doesn't go down with the fanbase, but invincible and what came after wasn't anything new, which was mostly the problem. it was boring rnb by numbers. the songs themselves weren't very strong, and the end production didn't do anything to make them better. blood on the dancefloor is the only track on that album that could even compare to the better tracks on dangerous or history, and those are exceptionally patchy albums themselves

it would maybe make an interesting official boxset if he compiled all the demos and rarities together in some kind of listenable chronological order, but i doubt very much that will happen as i don't think he wants to be thought of by the second rate material, which is why i don't think they were released originally on the albums or as b sides. certainly he doesn't have a "crystal ball" or "vault" worth of releasable old material that would have anything thinking, why wasn't this released before

the thing that's particularly strange is in his peak he could have his pick from any writers or producers, and had some of the best, but whilst jam and lewis magic worked on janet jackson and others, it just didn't work with MJ, which i find very strange. janet had a string of great J&L hits, so how come they didn't repeat the success with MJ? it wasn't like janet was particularly talented or had a great voice, far from it. imagine if MJ had released some of the biggest janet hits of the 80s, they would have worked for him, so if they could write and produce work of that quality for janet, how come it didn't work for MJ? since the 90s, most of the best MJ tracks have all been slow tempo tracks like ballads, he's only really had about 2 or 3 decent hits that weren't slow tempo, and they weren't really a patch on any pre 90s material

unique said:

everyone has an opinion on music, so I am going to let you have yours, and hope that in return you respect mine.

For me part of the creative process is working your way to the final list of songs that will eventually form your "artwork". With regards to the tracks that have been released as "unreleased" tracks most of these are indeed demo tracks that didn't make it past the initial rough draft. If you listen to songs like Monkey Business, In the Back etc you will hear Michael mubling through lines just verbally sketching the vocal melody to fill in later (you can even hear this in the demo version of Billie Jean for example). I think in the process of recording an album Michael sketches out a lot of songs, then hones down to the ones he feels are most appealing. Are all the unreleased songs of equal weight to the songs that made it on the albums - no not all, though some do show promise of what could have been if they had been crafted further.

As for calling Dangerous and HiStory patchy albums, I have to disagree. I think those albums have some true moments of brilliance and still sound fresh today, and the number of tracks released as singles from those albums attest to them being more than just patchy.

Invincible for me is an album that had a lot of promise but suffered from having too many tracks on it. I have stated previously that there are some great songs on there "Butterflies" "Heart Breaker" "Whatever Happens" for example but that there are just a few too many songs that lose the albums focus. Something I fear Michael feels he needs to have to achieve another cross-over smash album.

As for working with J&L. Your comments diminish the influence Janet had on the songs she wrote with them. Michael's own work with them, for me, resulted in some great songs - Tabloid Junkie, Scream, 2BAD, History. Theses songs have some great production and layering of sounds and for me are amongst some of the best tracks on that album.

Swa

CandaceS said:

I think people will expect an MJ SPECTACULAR. Michael's concerts have always been a mix of a live show and a theatrical experience. And I think this will continue.

Swa

Swa said:

what youre suggesting is something i've been saying for years, in that it's the production that made the classic michael jackson hits from off the wall, thriller and bad. i've always given credit to quincy jones for this, for the great session musicians involved and the way quincy turned an awful sounding home demo like billie jean into the huge hit it became

i've heard hundreds or thousands of demos from other artists and you can normally tell if a song is good or bad from the demo version. there are some demos that are very basic, such as accoustic piano or guitar demos, whent the finished version has a full band, and it can be interesting to see how the track evolves, but with most of the michael jackson demos mentioned, they are recorded with band, vocals and even backing vocals in most cases they aren't half recorded demo's. as so much has already been recorded you can get a clear idea of what the finished track will be like, you have the tune and the melody, and that's the main thing. unless the tracks were completely rewritten and rerecorded like PYT (which you could consider two seperate songs with the same name), they aren't going to sound far better than the demos. the quality of the recording and musicianship can be improved and changed, but the song itself wouldn't

if you take most prince outtakes for example, the songs that are changed when released still sound pretty much the same, in fact sometimes better, and the songs that haven't been released at all still sound great. there are very few prince outtakes that you would listen to and think "if they did X to it, that could be a hit"

listening to the post invincible tracks and comparing them to invincible itself, i can't really imagine what they would do, even radically, to alter the tracks to make them good. you need to have a decent original melody and/or lyrics to start with, and base your recording on that, instead of using a drum machine pattern and some sequenced bass and keyboards as a starting point

on the same basis, you couldn't honestly think that any amount of work put into the thriller outtakes would make them half as good as the other tracks on the album do you? if they could, why didn't they complete them for later use? plenty of other non album tracks were used in other ways, and they are similarly poor, both compared to music by other artists at the time, and moreso compared to the standard of other MJ tracks

i really wouldn't say any of the MJ and J&L tracks were great, not to the standard of other music at the time, and certainly not to either the standard of other MJ tracks or other J&L tracks. scream is the best of the bunch, but it's far from a classic track. i would really doubt that the input of janet jackson to a J&L production is the magic fairy dust that made all the great and classic hits from control and rhythmn nation, especially as she had almost no writing input on her first two albums which failed miserably. on that basis, your almost suggesting that the J&L tracks for MJ weren't of the same high quality as thriller, bad and off the wall, or of control and rythmn nation because MJ's input to the tracks wasn't as good as janets

from what you say yourself about dangerous and history as having some moments of brilliance, you sound like you agree with me as it being patchy, as otherwise you would have said the whole albums are brilliant. they aren't as they aren't of the same consistent quality throughout. thriller, bad and off the wall were of consistent quality all the way through, but subsequent albums weren't, dangerous was half filled with second rate tracks, and historys disc of new material was half filled with filler

surely there can't be a single MJ fan that doesn't honestly disagree that the post 80s albums aren't a patch on the previous three albums, taking the full albums in their entirety?

CandaceS said:[quote]


Yeah,I like how Madonna separates her show into different "acts",with each act having a different theme/look.It gives the show a theatrical feel.This strategy would work well for Michael,too.The acoustic set would be the highlight of the entire show,for many fans.I've been saying for years that Michael needs to strip things down a bit and concentrate on the beautiful,melodic songs in his catalog.What fan wouldn't go crazy hearing "I Can't Help It" in this setting?!

unique said:

LOL....you overanalyze things so much, the question is why you compare his recent albums to "thriller", "Bad" and "off the wall”? Why don't you appreciate each album with its own merit? you won't be able to appreciate music if you constantly keep comparing albums .....every album is different from the other for any artist , this is not only with MJ but with every other artist…every album is different.

and from your own statements I knew what kind of (fan?) you are, you are one of those who believe that MJ is finished after Bad, in other words , after he left Quincy Jones , so there is really no point debating this with you, if I say that sun shines from the east you would say no ,it shines from the west, in other words , you won’t be convinced cause you don’t want to be convinced , some of MJ’s best work as songwriter came after bad , but I won’t discuss this with you, cause there is no point to do so.

PatrickS77 said:

WackoPacko!!!!!

eireboy34 said:

\

oh lord do you realize people have been calling him wacko since the 80"s it is so tired and played out

seeingvoices12 said:

yeah just ignore him he sounds like one of those prince fans who refuses to acknowledge the fact that michael wrote most of his hit songs by himself


i wonder what he has to say about heartbreak hotel which is a brilliant composition and production that michael did with quincy nowhere in sight

cdcgold said:

People have been calling PatrickS77 wacko for that long???!!! Jeez! I Am behind!!!