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Reply #360 posted 12/16/10 11:02am

Unholyalliance

errant said:

Frankly, of the songs Michael's done in the last 10-15 years, I think I'd rather hear "unfinished" versions. He was a perfectionist to the point of barely being able to release anything, and when he did, it was over-thought and over-produced to within an inch of its life. By the time he was done "perfecting" something, there was barely any life left in it.

I have really come to loathe this word. I think it's just another way of saying "I hate it" w/o having to actually say it and looking like some sort of uncouth plebeian.

I feel that a lot of people use it in place of a real critique on the music. Yet, in reality, again, it just depends what you are looking for in your music as everyone's taste is different rather than someone's being more superior than another's. Arguably, all pop music of the last 30+ or so years, this includes many things not on the top 40 as well, and techno/trance can be considered to be over-produced garbage. It's seems more like a reaction against the move forward when it comes to technology as people try to cling onto the past.

Whether or not this is influenced by influx of the hipster subculture that has formed within certain societies or that some people really have a hard time accepting change and letting go of the past, I can not say for sure.

There are times when things are, legitimately, over-produced to the point where it hampers the enjoyment of the song, but you rarely hear that come from someone's mouth to critique a song that they enjoy. All in all, I find the word to be overrated, overused, and an empty critique. Especially when the person is using it as a blanket term and fails to give true specifics as to why they feel that is the case.

Personally though, Will.i.Am and QJ are correct it is wrong to release his music w/o him here, but at the same time, as a fan, I would like to hear what other things he was working on. I would like to hear his creative process...if anything, I would prefer to hear them mostly untouched. Even if the song is a dud, that's all right. I would like to know what songs he felt unfit for release, him trying to piece something together, or even him just humming it out. This is the kind of MJ I feel that we have been robbed of for so long: MJ, the artist. Some of my most favorite footage of him is when he is testifying in court for various lawsuits where he explains how he went about creating his music and what things he's thinking about or looking for. This is still way more exciting to me than anything that went on his personal life.

Hearing his tape recordings of The Girl Is Mine were quite intriguing to listen to and then listen to all of the demos that I have and then the final, it's as if I can hear the conception, birth, and growth of the song.

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Reply #361 posted 12/16/10 11:03am

dag

avatar

"When Michael Jackson is just singing and dancing, you just think this is an astonishing talent. And he has had this astounding talent all his life, but we want him to be floored as well. We really don´t like the idea that he could have it all."
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Reply #362 posted 12/16/10 11:10am

angel345

dag said:

angel345 said:

Because he's mine hmph! lol

no no no! lol

lol

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Reply #363 posted 12/16/10 11:21am

errant

avatar

Unholyalliance said:

errant said:

Frankly, of the songs Michael's done in the last 10-15 years, I think I'd rather hear "unfinished" versions. He was a perfectionist to the point of barely being able to release anything, and when he did, it was over-thought and over-produced to within an inch of its life. By the time he was done "perfecting" something, there was barely any life left in it.

I have really come to loathe this word. I think it's just another way of saying "I hate it" w/o having to actually say it and looking like some sort of uncouth plebeian.

I feel that a lot of people use it in place of a real critique on the music. Yet, in reality, again, it just depends what you are looking for in your music as everyone's taste is different rather than someone's being more superior than another's. Arguably, all pop music of the last 30+ or so years, this includes many things not on the top 40 as well, and techno/trance can be considered to be over-produced garbage. It's seems more like a reaction against the move forward when it comes to technology as people try to cling onto the past.

Whether or not this is influenced by influx of the hipster subculture that has formed within certain societies or that some people really have a hard time accepting change and letting go of the past, I can not say for sure.

There are times when things are, legitimately, over-produced to the point where it hampers the enjoyment of the song, but you rarely hear that come from someone's mouth to critique a song that they enjoy. All in all, I find the word to be overrated, overused, and an empty critique. Especially when the person is using it as a blanket term and fails to give true specifics as to why they feel that is the case.

Personally though, Will.i.Am and QJ are correct it is wrong to release his music w/o him here, but at the same time, as a fan, I would like to hear what other things he was working on. I would like to hear his creative process...if anything, I would prefer to hear them mostly untouched. Even if the song is a dud, that's all right. I would like to know what songs he felt unfit for release, him trying to piece something together, or even him just humming it out. This is the kind of MJ I feel that we have been robbed of for so long: MJ, the artist. Some of my most favorite footage of him is when he is testifying in court for various lawsuits where he explains how he went about creating his music and what things he's thinking about or looking for. This is still way more exciting to me than anything that went on his personal life.

Hearing his tape recordings of The Girl Is Mine were quite intriguing to listen to and then listen to all of the demos that I have and then the final, it's as if I can hear the conception, birth, and growth of the song.

Over-produced is hiring an orchestra and 3 choirs to put on a song with 17 layers of drum beats, a guest rapper and a spoken word intro, and throwing in birds twittering in the background, just for good measure. There was a lot of that sort of thing in the later albums. Whether or not you like the word overproduced, a lot of his music was. There was an immediacy, a visceral feeling that moved your heart or your body, something to connect to on his earlier records, as polished as they were, that over-thinking and over-producing saps from a pop song of whatever genre. He could still occasionally leave them stripped down, even up through Invincible. But his instincts were to gild the lily more often than not.

He isn't the only one, of course. Be he was often the epitome of it.

"does my cock look fat in these jeans?"
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Reply #364 posted 12/16/10 11:57am

skywalker

avatar

errant said:

Unholyalliance said:

I have really come to loathe this word. I think it's just another way of saying "I hate it" w/o having to actually say it and looking like some sort of uncouth plebeian.

I feel that a lot of people use it in place of a real critique on the music. Yet, in reality, again, it just depends what you are looking for in your music as everyone's taste is different rather than someone's being more superior than another's. Arguably, all pop music of the last 30+ or so years, this includes many things not on the top 40 as well, and techno/trance can be considered to be over-produced garbage. It's seems more like a reaction against the move forward when it comes to technology as people try to cling onto the past.

Whether or not this is influenced by influx of the hipster subculture that has formed within certain societies or that some people really have a hard time accepting change and letting go of the past, I can not say for sure.

There are times when things are, legitimately, over-produced to the point where it hampers the enjoyment of the song, but you rarely hear that come from someone's mouth to critique a song that they enjoy. All in all, I find the word to be overrated, overused, and an empty critique. Especially when the person is using it as a blanket term and fails to give true specifics as to why they feel that is the case.

Personally though, Will.i.Am and QJ are correct it is wrong to release his music w/o him here, but at the same time, as a fan, I would like to hear what other things he was working on. I would like to hear his creative process...if anything, I would prefer to hear them mostly untouched. Even if the song is a dud, that's all right. I would like to know what songs he felt unfit for release, him trying to piece something together, or even him just humming it out. This is the kind of MJ I feel that we have been robbed of for so long: MJ, the artist. Some of my most favorite footage of him is when he is testifying in court for various lawsuits where he explains how he went about creating his music and what things he's thinking about or looking for. This is still way more exciting to me than anything that went on his personal life.

Hearing his tape recordings of The Girl Is Mine were quite intriguing to listen to and then listen to all of the demos that I have and then the final, it's as if I can hear the conception, birth, and growth of the song.

Over-produced is hiring an orchestra and 3 choirs to put on a song with 17 layers of drum beats, a guest rapper and a spoken word intro, and throwing in birds twittering in the background, just for good measure. There was a lot of that sort of thing in the later albums. Whether or not you like the word overproduced, a lot of his music was. There was an immediacy, a visceral feeling that moved your heart or your body, something to connect to on his earlier records, as polished as they were, that over-thinking and over-producing saps from a pop song of whatever genre. He could still occasionally leave them stripped down, even up through Invincible. But his instincts were to gild the lily more often than not.

He isn't the only one, of course. Be he was often the epitome of it.

I think that MJ had a lot of action/layers of production throughout his career. "Can you feel it?" being one example, the song "Thriller" being another. Hell, most of the Bad album is layers upon layers of sounds. MJ's sound was a lot of things, but it was rarely stripped down to it's essence.

Also, just for clarity, what song with 17 layers of drums and birds chirping are you referring to?

"New Power slide...."
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Reply #365 posted 12/16/10 12:01pm

ali23

avatar

dag said:

ali23 said:

My friend gave it to me!

eek eek eek eek eek eek eek I want friends like that!!!! eek eek eek eek eek eek

lol

No,I didnt mean it like that!

My friend posted it in my thread on another site.

Sorry for the confusion. wink

YOU DON'T NEED A BUS PASS FOR ME TO BUS YOUR ASS,NIGGA !
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Reply #366 posted 12/16/10 12:28pm

silverchild

avatar

A little rare, funky ditty from the Skywriter sessions...(from Joyful Jukebox Music / Boogie)

Check me out and add me on:
www.last.fm/user/brandosoul
"Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley
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Reply #367 posted 12/16/10 1:10pm

alphastreet

silverchild said:

A little rare, funky ditty from the Skywriter sessions...(from Joyful Jukebox Music / Boogie)

haven't heard this in ages!!! great track!

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Reply #368 posted 12/16/10 1:42pm

ViintageJunkii
e

avatar

I sure would love to get a few J5/Jacksons unreleased records right about now.

*calls up Motown*

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Reply #369 posted 12/16/10 2:29pm

ChocolateBox77
7

avatar

SherryJackson said:

love love love Beautiful!

He looks just like Janet here.........

prince "U can't buy happiness, but U can pay 4 the search" prince
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Reply #370 posted 12/16/10 3:18pm

Vanilli

avatar

Lisa it's your birthday..Happy birthday Lisa... music

Jammin to the Dangerous Special Edition second disc

MJ Fan 1992-Forever

My Org Family: Cinnie, bboy87, Cinnamon234, AnckSuNamun, lilgish, thekidsgirl, thesexofit, Universaluv, theSpark, littlemissG, ThreadCula, badujunkie, DANGEROUSx, Timmy84, MikeMatronik, DarlingDiana, dag, Nvncible1
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Reply #371 posted 12/16/10 4:30pm

Swa

avatar

Michael Jackson photos sold at Paris auction

PARIS — A collection of photo portraits of Michael Jackson, taken in Paris in 1999 as part of an image makeover for the legend, went under the hammer here along with hundreds of snaps from the photo shoot.

The 90 lots brought in 196,000 euros (265,000 dollars) at the sale late Monday, with a large format shot showing the late singer bare-chested and draped in a golden cape fetching the top price of the evening at 26,000 euros.

The photos were taken by French photographer Arno Bani, in part to illustrate Jackson's 2001 album "Invincible," and were built around four themes -- the blue eye, the silver hand, the red curtain and the golden cape.

But the record company finally used other shots for the album cover and Bani's pictures were shelved for a decade before being put up for sale.

The 12 portraits -- three on each theme -- were sold along with 55 selected pictures from the photo shoot and 31 contact sheets, a total of almost 700 images of the king of pop.

The images had been on display since Saturday at the Salomon de Rothschild mansion in Paris ahead of their sale by auction house Pierre Berge and Associes.

Michael Jackson photos and memorabilia have racked up top prices at auction since his death from cardiac arrest on July 25, 2009, with a portrait by Andy Warhol selling for 812,500 dollars and a glove for 350,000 dollars.

Bani took the shots in a giant studio set up for the occasion in a warehouse near Paris, complete with helipad and access for Jackson's bullet-proof car.

"He gave me complete carte blanche," Bani recalled of the marathon two-day shoot. "I even asked him to cut his hair, and he agreed."

One of the themes shows Jackson with a glittering blue make-up circle around one eye, wearing a shiny Yves Saint Laurent dinner suit.

A second shows him in a speckled black polo neck, pulled up to below dark shaded eyes, against a backdrop of multicoloured dots.

Image number three has Jackson standing in front of a red opera curtain, and the fourth shows him wrapped only in a metallic gold cape.

"I'm not human I'm a dove, I'm ur conscience. I am love"
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Reply #372 posted 12/16/10 6:34pm

whatsgoingon

avatar

errant said:

Unholyalliance said:

I have really come to loathe this word. I think it's just another way of saying "I hate it" w/o having to actually say it and looking like some sort of uncouth plebeian.

I feel that a lot of people use it in place of a real critique on the music. Yet, in reality, again, it just depends what you are looking for in your music as everyone's taste is different rather than someone's being more superior than another's. Arguably, all pop music of the last 30+ or so years, this includes many things not on the top 40 as well, and techno/trance can be considered to be over-produced garbage. It's seems more like a reaction against the move forward when it comes to technology as people try to cling onto the past.

Whether or not this is influenced by influx of the hipster subculture that has formed within certain societies or that some people really have a hard time accepting change and letting go of the past, I can not say for sure.

There are times when things are, legitimately, over-produced to the point where it hampers the enjoyment of the song, but you rarely hear that come from someone's mouth to critique a song that they enjoy. All in all, I find the word to be overrated, overused, and an empty critique. Especially when the person is using it as a blanket term and fails to give true specifics as to why they feel that is the case.

Personally though, Will.i.Am and QJ are correct it is wrong to release his music w/o him here, but at the same time, as a fan, I would like to hear what other things he was working on. I would like to hear his creative process...if anything, I would prefer to hear them mostly untouched. Even if the song is a dud, that's all right. I would like to know what songs he felt unfit for release, him trying to piece something together, or even him just humming it out. This is the kind of MJ I feel that we have been robbed of for so long: MJ, the artist. Some of my most favorite footage of him is when he is testifying in court for various lawsuits where he explains how he went about creating his music and what things he's thinking about or looking for. This is still way more exciting to me than anything that went on his personal life.

Hearing his tape recordings of The Girl Is Mine were quite intriguing to listen to and then listen to all of the demos that I have and then the final, it's as if I can hear the conception, birth, and growth of the song.

Over-produced is hiring an orchestra and 3 choirs to put on a song with 17 layers of drum beats, a guest rapper and a spoken word intro, and throwing in birds twittering in the background, just for good measure. There was a lot of that sort of thing in the later albums. Whether or not you like the word overproduced, a lot of his music was. There was an immediacy, a visceral feeling that moved your heart or your body, something to connect to on his earlier records, as polished as they were, that over-thinking and over-producing saps from a pop song of whatever genre. He could still occasionally leave them stripped down, even up through Invincible. But his instincts were to gild the lily more often than not.

One

He isn't the only one, of course. Be he was often the epitome of it.

His earlier work could be seen as polished, but not necessarily over-produced. From Bad onwards everything seems over-done. The "He-Hes " and "awws" alone, bogged some of his songs down, that they almost sounded like parodies, a good example is "the way you make me feel", it's one of the reasons why I have never liked that song, plus it hasn't aged well at all. Now MJ had been doing the he-hes from time, however the difference was on the earlier songs he used them sparsley and they enhanced the song, rather than drown it out. A good example of using he-he sparsley to enhance a song is "Don't Stop till you get enough"

[Edited 12/16/10 18:38pm]

[Edited 12/16/10 18:40pm]

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Reply #373 posted 12/16/10 6:51pm

smoothcriminal
12

whatsgoingon said:

errant said:

Over-produced is hiring an orchestra and 3 choirs to put on a song with 17 layers of drum beats, a guest rapper and a spoken word intro, and throwing in birds twittering in the background, just for good measure. There was a lot of that sort of thing in the later albums. Whether or not you like the word overproduced, a lot of his music was. There was an immediacy, a visceral feeling that moved your heart or your body, something to connect to on his earlier records, as polished as they were, that over-thinking and over-producing saps from a pop song of whatever genre. He could still occasionally leave them stripped down, even up through Invincible. But his instincts were to gild the lily more often than not.

One

He isn't the only one, of course. Be he was often the epitome of it.

His earlier work could be seen as polished, but not necessarily over-produced. From Bad onwards everything seems over-done. The "He-Hes " and "awws" alone, bogged some of his songs down, that they almost sounded like parodies, a good example is "the way you make me feel", it's one of the reasons why I have never liked that song, plus it hasn't aged well at all. Now MJ had been doing the he-hes from time, however the difference was on the earlier songs he used them sparsley and they enhanced the song, rather than drown it out. A good example of using he-he sparsley to enhance a song is "Don't Stop till you get enough"

[Edited 12/16/10 18:38pm]

[Edited 12/16/10 18:40pm]

So let me get this straight, You don't like a lot of Michael's music because he "hee-hees" too much?

lol

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Reply #374 posted 12/16/10 6:53pm

ali23

avatar

smoothcriminal12 said:

whatsgoingon said:

His earlier work could be seen as polished, but not necessarily over-produced. From Bad onwards everything seems over-done. The "He-Hes " and "awws" alone, bogged some of his songs down, that they almost sounded like parodies, a good example is "the way you make me feel", it's one of the reasons why I have never liked that song, plus it hasn't aged well at all. Now MJ had been doing the he-hes from time, however the difference was on the earlier songs he used them sparsley and they enhanced the song, rather than drown it out. A good example of using he-he sparsley to enhance a song is "Don't Stop till you get enough"

[Edited 12/16/10 18:38pm]

[Edited 12/16/10 18:40pm]

So let me get this straight, You don't like a lot of Michael's music because he "hee-hees" too much?

lol

lol

YOU DON'T NEED A BUS PASS FOR ME TO BUS YOUR ASS,NIGGA !
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Reply #375 posted 12/16/10 6:56pm

mookie


WEAKEND CHART PREVIEW: At this point, it's too close to call for #1 next week as Taylor Swift and Susan Boyle battle it out for the final chart before the holidays. However things play out over the weekend, it looks pretty certain that Sony Music will have five in the Top 6 and six in the Top 10. Here's how it's shaping up headed into the weekend.

Taylor Swift (Big Machine) 225-250k
Susan Boyle (Columbia) 225-250k
*Michael Jackson (Epic) 210-225k
Jackie Evancho (Columbia) 210-225k
*R. Kelly (Jive/JLG) 155-170k
Glee Cast Christmas (Columbia) 155-170k
Kid Rock (Atlantic) 90-100k
Glee Cast Vol. 4 (Columbia) 80-90k
Justin Bieber My Worlds Acoustic (Island/IDJ) 70-80k
Nicki Minaj (YM/Cash Money/Universal Motown) 70-80k
Mariah Carey (Island/IDJ) 70-80k
Justin Bieber My World 2.0 (Island/IDJ) 65-75K
Katy Perry (Capitol/EMI) 65-75k
Rihanna (Def Jam/IDJ) 60-70k
Black Eyed Peas (Interscope) 60-70k
*Diddy Dirty Money (Bad Boy) 60-70k

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Reply #376 posted 12/16/10 7:00pm

shipoffools

avatar

My favorite period of Michael's music has been from 1987 through 2009. I think Michael created his best work during those years.

That being said, I think the new album is fantastic, and it's my fourth favorite MJ album (after HIStory, Dangerous, and Bad.) There isn't a weak track on the cd.

Although I am getting a bit tired of all the overexposure and controversy this album has gotten. Enjoy the music, and shut up, already! lol

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Reply #377 posted 12/16/10 7:02pm

whatsgoingon

avatar

smoothcriminal12 said:

whatsgoingon said:

His earlier work could be seen as polished, but not necessarily over-produced. From Bad onwards everything seems over-done. The "He-Hes " and "awws" alone, bogged some of his songs down, that they almost sounded like parodies, a good example is "the way you make me feel", it's one of the reasons why I have never liked that song, plus it hasn't aged well at all. Now MJ had been doing the he-hes from time, however the difference was on the earlier songs he used them sparsley and they enhanced the song, rather than drown it out. A good example of using he-he sparsley to enhance a song is "Don't Stop till you get enough"

[Edited 12/16/10 18:38pm]

[Edited 12/16/10 18:40pm]

So let me get this straight, You don't like a lot of Michael's music because he "hee-hees" too much?

lol

Well, it's all part of his music being over-done and I don't like music that is over-done. Also I don't think his latter music has age well. OFF The Wall still sounds fresher than Bad and Dangerous. "Let Me Show You the Way to Go" which is well over 30 years old, sounds fresher than practically everything he did in the last 20 years of his career.

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Reply #378 posted 12/16/10 8:06pm

babybugz

avatar

shipoffools said:

My favorite period of Michael's music has been from 1987 through 2009. I think Michael created his best work during those years.

That being said, I think the new album is fantastic, and it's my fourth favorite MJ album (after HIStory, Dangerous, and Bad.) There isn't a weak track on the cd.

Although I am getting a bit tired of all the overexposure and controversy this album has gotten. Enjoy the music, and shut up, already! lol

It’s hard for people to enjoy it if they don’t think it’s him on the songs. lol

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Reply #379 posted 12/16/10 10:15pm

dag

avatar

ali23 said:

dag said:

eek eek eek eek eek eek eek I want friends like that!!!! eek eek eek eek eek eek

lol

No,I didnt mean it like that!

My friend posted it in my thread on another site.

Sorry for the confusion. wink

Oh lol

"When Michael Jackson is just singing and dancing, you just think this is an astonishing talent. And he has had this astounding talent all his life, but we want him to be floored as well. We really don´t like the idea that he could have it all."
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Reply #380 posted 12/17/10 2:51am

CPest1

whatsgoingon said:

His earlier work could be seen as polished, but not necessarily over-produced. From Bad onwards everything seems over-done. The "He-Hes " and "awws" alone, bogged some of his songs down, that they almost sounded like parodies, a good example is "the way you make me feel", it's one of the reasons why I have never liked that song, plus it hasn't aged well at all. Now MJ had been doing the he-hes from time, however the difference was on the earlier songs he used them sparsley and they enhanced the song, rather than drown it out. A good example of using he-he sparsley to enhance a song is "Don't Stop till you get enough"

[Edited 12/16/10 18:38pm]

[Edited 12/16/10 18:40pm]

Whilst I appreciate and like a lot of MJ's later work, and even some of the stuff you would consider over-produced I think you have a point. Although It's never the vocals that I felt were over-done, he can hee hee all he likes!

But I can't imagine hearing a song like History that has a lot of sound clips, samples of classical music, numerous different people on the backing vocals (A choir and Boys 2 men I think?) on an album before History or Dangerous. I don't necessarily think thats either good or bad, but I think there was a change in production from earlier to later work. Depends on what floats your boat though really..

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Reply #381 posted 12/17/10 4:38am

Unholyalliance

errant said:

Over-produced is hiring an orchestra and 3 choirs to put on a song with 17 layers of drum beats, a guest rapper and a spoken word intro, and throwing in birds twittering in the background, just for good measure. There was a lot of that sort of thing in the later albums. Whether or not you like the word overproduced, a lot of his music was. There was an immediacy, a visceral feeling that moved your heart or your body, something to connect to on his earlier records, as polished as they were, that over-thinking and over-producing saps from a pop song of whatever genre. He could still occasionally leave them stripped down, even up through Invincible. But his instincts were to gild the lily more often than not.

He isn't the only one, of course. Be he was often the epitome of it.

I can't agree with you, because as someone said earlier, what you explained has been a quality of his work since...Triumph, and I would argue since Off The Wall. Even he admitted that in Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough he had to overdub his vocals a couple of times to get it to sound like it does. There's also added sound effects added into it as well.

While I know that you are over exaggerating in your example, the ultimate truth is this: what someone considers to be over-production IS and will ALWAYS be subjective. If you do not like the song, then, most likely, you will find it to be 'over-produced.' Personally, I do not, so I will not agree with you on that end. Example, personally, I find She's Out of My Life on Off The Wall, to be painfully over-produced. All of the production saps all the so-called emotion that people and critics claim that it's in Mike's vocal delivery. Well guess what? With all of that shit going in the instrumentation I don't hear it. Coincidentally, I also hate that song. Yet, I respect the opinions of those who disagree and try not act all pissy, claiming that my opinion = fact. Maybe to me, but that's it. The same goes for you, and everyone else here.

Yet, according to your description & what people, generally, use the terms for, all of his music has been over-produced from since his first solo album. This is why I find the word to be an easy way out for so-called critics and really just an empty term that doesn't mean much. That is unless they were talking about something that was a little more objective, such as if it was a real technical issue, such as the drums are too loud and the vocals suffer because of it. Other than that? Meh.

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Reply #382 posted 12/17/10 5:51am

Marrk

avatar

As a producer, i believe Michael knew his way around a studio better than most people give him credit for. All i know is here's a guy who started recording back in 1969. He picked up a shitload of knowledge on his way. How many evolutions of popular music did he go through, How much did recording techniques change in that time? All the while being at the top of his game and top of the pile through most of them?

A small thing like death aint stopping MJ neither.

I can count on one hand the amount of songs of his i dislike. Most of them on 'Michael', so not his fault there either!

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Reply #383 posted 12/17/10 5:55am

Marrk

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Unholyalliance said:

I find She's Out of My Life on Off The Wall, to be painfully over-produced. All of the production saps all the so-called emotion that people and critics claim that it's in Mike's vocal delivery. Well guess what? With all of that shit going in the instrumentation I don't hear it. Coincidentally, I also hate that song. Yet, I respect the opinions of those who disagree and try not act all pissy, claiming that my opinion = fact. Maybe to me, but that's it. The same goes for you, and everyone else here.

Interesting. Do you prefer the demo? Just an acoustic guitar with his voice. I think it's beautiful and owns the original.

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Reply #384 posted 12/17/10 8:21am

errant

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Unholyalliance said:

errant said:

Over-produced is hiring an orchestra and 3 choirs to put on a song with 17 layers of drum beats, a guest rapper and a spoken word intro, and throwing in birds twittering in the background, just for good measure. There was a lot of that sort of thing in the later albums. Whether or not you like the word overproduced, a lot of his music was. There was an immediacy, a visceral feeling that moved your heart or your body, something to connect to on his earlier records, as polished as they were, that over-thinking and over-producing saps from a pop song of whatever genre. He could still occasionally leave them stripped down, even up through Invincible. But his instincts were to gild the lily more often than not.

He isn't the only one, of course. Be he was often the epitome of it.

I can't agree with you, because as someone said earlier, what you explained has been a quality of his work since...Triumph, and I would argue since Off The Wall. Even he admitted that in Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough he had to overdub his vocals a couple of times to get it to sound like it does. There's also added sound effects added into it as well.

While I know that you are over exaggerating in your example, the ultimate truth is this: what someone considers to be over-production IS and will ALWAYS be subjective. If you do not like the song, then, most likely, you will find it to be 'over-produced.' Personally, I do not, so I will not agree with you on that end. Example, personally, I find She's Out of My Life on Off The Wall, to be painfully over-produced. All of the production saps all the so-called emotion that people and critics claim that it's in Mike's vocal delivery. Well guess what? With all of that shit going in the instrumentation I don't hear it. Coincidentally, I also hate that song. Yet, I respect the opinions of those who disagree and try not act all pissy, claiming that my opinion = fact. Maybe to me, but that's it. The same goes for you, and everyone else here.

Yet, according to your description & what people, generally, use the terms for, all of his music has been over-produced from since his first solo album. This is why I find the word to be an easy way out for so-called critics and really just an empty term that doesn't mean much. That is unless they were talking about something that was a little more objective, such as if it was a real technical issue, such as the drums are too loud and the vocals suffer because of it. Other than that? Meh.

My point is that there is a difference between the polish of his earlier work and the everything but the kitchen sink approach of the later years. It could very well be the difference between Quincy Jones' production instincts vs. later producers (who often use beats and flash as substitutes for melody and arrangement). Or it could be that Quincy was respected by MJ and powerful enough to curb MJ's gaudier instincts on record, whereas the younger producers of the post-Quincy period let those "more is better" instincts ride rough-shod over their productions.

Of course there is also changing technology. MJ and Quincy Jones grew up in production environment where music was made organically. As time progressed, more and more technology was invented that didn't even require a real instrument anywhere in the mix to create music.

I often have the same problem with Prince's production values once he had built Paisley Park. There is a marked difference between the sound of SOTT/the Black Album and Lovesexy. He had a brand new state of the art facility with all the amenities. He had unfettered access to studio time and anything he could ask for. His production sensibilities changed drastically. The tracks he produced were wall to wall sound, including endless layers and sound effects. It completely changed his production style, and I don't think it was for the better. There was a stunning simplicity, a dryness, and a lot of space in his earlier records that was (and sometimes still is) missing in his post-Paisley Park tracks. Time and technology are not necessarily the producer's friend. An interesting sound or production trick that a producer has to really put work into in order for it to come off always sounds better to me than if they can just bring it in with the push of a button.

Michael also spent a lot more time laboring over his tracks on the last several albums, trying to make everything bigger and better than what came before. Whether it was his own instincts coming through or those of the younger producers he was working with or the availability of technology and lots and lots of time and money being pumped into them, the end result was a lot of over-production that often obscured the heart and soul of the songs and the vocals.

"does my cock look fat in these jeans?"
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Reply #385 posted 12/17/10 8:22am

errant

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Marrk said:

Unholyalliance said:

Interesting. Do you prefer the demo? Just an acoustic guitar with his voice. I think it's beautiful and owns the original.

absolutely agreed!

"does my cock look fat in these jeans?"
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Reply #386 posted 12/17/10 8:28am

alphastreet

Michael's music and voice evolved with time, I would have found it boring if he stuck with the same sound as off the wall and thriller. I like off the wall, but most of the album does sound like a 70's disco era album, though at the same time I'm not writing it off as one and it is a classic in it's own right. I think the singles are classics, but the rest does sound 70's though they are excellent songs. I feel MJ sounds more confident and edgy in Bad and Dangerous, and a good blend of both soft and hard in Thriller.

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Reply #387 posted 12/17/10 8:29am

amit1234

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I have a question regarding the quality of sound on this album.

I played the new version of "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" alongside the 2004 from The Ultimate Collection on my iPod.

The 2004 version is pristine. MJ's voice is more clear. The sound quality is just better.

Is anyone else finding the same thing?

I'm not an audio expert but I just feel the audio engineering/sound quality on this album doesn't live up to MJ standards.

I do like/love many of the songs on the album....

[Edited 12/17/10 8:30am]

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Reply #388 posted 12/17/10 9:40am

sag10

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I feel so guilty I bought Michael.

I couldn't resist...

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, it means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections... unknown
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Reply #389 posted 12/17/10 9:55am

Militant

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My 2 cents on overproduction..... I disagree that it's something one says to avoid directly stating that they don't like a song.


A couple of examples - I love "Fury" by Prince. One of his best heavy guitar songs in years. I absolutely love that song, but I think the album version is overproduced compared to the live version. The guitar on the album version is too quiet in the mix and processed too cleanly, same with the drums. There's too many layers of things going on that detract from the raw energy of the song. But, I do still love the song.

"Behind The Mask", I love this song. But again, the new version is a tad overproduced, that's why I started working on my "OG Vibe" mix. The new version is good and I really like it, but I don't think it needed all the crowd effects and the samples from the Dangerous tour towards the end. When it's stripped down and on top of the original music, it's somehow more effective.

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