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Michael - The Great Album Debate

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This thread is created purely for those who wish to discuss the authenticity and thier opinions of the Album "Michael"

Lets dissect analyse and make our feelings and concerns known - In a respectful manner of course.

This thread is open for discussion pro or con (believer or doubter) to tackle the topic not each other.


Description disclaimer:
Members coming into this thread you do so at you own responsibility, if you do not like the tone or what is being said here then you are duly asked to steer clear of this thread and do not post in the thread that you don't approve of this topic being discussed on MJJC or insult our members who are discussing it.
 
This thread is created purely for those who wish to discuss the authenticity and thier opinions of the Album "Michael"

Lets dissect analyse and make our feelings and concerns known - In a respectful manner of course.

This thread is open for discussion pro or con (believer or doubter) to tackle the topic not each other.

Description disclaimer:
Members coming into this thread you do so at you own responsibility, if you do not like the tone or what is being said here then you are duly asked to steer clear of this thread and do not post in the thread that you don't approve of this topic being discussed on MJJC or insult our members who are discussing it.
 
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PCR said:
In my very personal opinion, and please take is just as that, I would have love having the real MJ tracks as he left them.
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Agreed 100000%! :yes:
 
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My main issue with the album is that it, obviously, didn't have Michael's creative input into it, so therefore it's not had the deep thought process into putting the tracks into it.

I can't believe Michael would have chosen half the tracks on this, but then again I've heard some fans say the borderline similarities to Invincible (Monster reminds me of Threatened) are proof he's alive and pulling the strings from somewhere. Breaking News' intro is a direct copy (almost) of Tabloid Junkie's (from History obviously) intro too, that really leapt out at me.

Can't win ...
 
I didn't buy the album because I'm so bothered that they would change Michael's voice with processing- it's so unneccessary. And I don't know how much Porte's voice is added, but I really don't like how they weren't up front about it. And there was absolutely no need to mess with TWYLM- Michael was HERE when the first version was released.

The rest of the songs seem to have awesome vocals, but it's just hard for me to get on with the uncreative and electronic music they've put behind the songs. The music all sounds similar.
 
Unfortunately, putting out an album in 2010 with completed songs from the 90's wouldn't be very profitable for Sony or the Estate, for that matter. So I can understand why certain songs was added and why they did what they did to them. And ILTWYLM is infinitely better than the one that was released before, in my opinion of course. I think all the songs are sung by Michael, I know some of them have background vocalists, which are credited in the booklet, and I think in terms of a 2010 album release, it's one of the best all year. I'd also say it's better than BAD, for my own reasons.
 
AnnieAreYouOk,
You were really respectful with your post and there's nothing wrong with what you said, but this thread was created for those of us who wish to talk about how we are dissappointed by the album and don't believe it's 100% MJ on it.

MJJC News said:
There will be no talk of those who believe this is Michael and support this album.
QUOTE]

I wouldn't normally point that out because your post wasn't harmful at all, but this whole forum has just been revamped and the staff and members have put a lot of work into coming up with a solution.
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I think this album was a huge letdown, authentic and enjoyable songs sandwiched between downright terrible music and vocals. Authenticity aside, profits were put far, far ahead of artistry. I think the songs exist to where they could have easily created something far more cohesive and enjoyable for both fans and casual listeners alike. Couple it with a DVD with exclusive footage, interviews with the producers, etc.

Instead, it's a random collection of songs from different eras with some of the vocals so bad that even longtime fans are in disagreement about who they're listening to.

Some of the songs on the album I rate quite highly. But as an album - as a collection, I think it would've taken very little effort to create something much better.
 
Im all logic and nothing else... so lets dissect this.
It seems there is a Jackson side and a Sony side, and its all based on who we believe.
Some say Sony's lying
Some say the Jacksons are lying
Others say we can't trust either.
Heres my analysis.

Sony have signed a $250,000,000 contract to release 10 albums of unreleased material as well as an extension to their distribution rights to December 2017. Unfortunately this came at a price, the estate owns the songs and only gives Sony what THEY want released. Sony wanted an album of music from 2001-2009 but were given songs from all over the place, it was during the latter part of the production that the Cascio's gave Sony 5 of their stash of 11 songs that Michael recorded with them in 2007 (All I Need and Carry On being the other two) and Sony replaced a few songs intended for release with 3 Cascio tracks.
And THAT is why Michael has only 10 songs, it is also the reason the 3 Cascio tracks were edited and included in the album, without BN and Monster the album would have only had 2 songs that were upbeat, and hence the need to make the raw demos production quality
 
The deal is for 10 projects, not 10 albums. This includes re-issues, DVDs, etc.
 
I have gotten the album this past Wednesday in the mail. But I am so wishing even before I had gotten it that I didn't pre order the album. I still have yet to open the package that the album came in. But now I kind of now want to send the album back to Amazon.com. I never would thought I will feel this way about an MJ album before. I am sure the actual MJ songs on it are great to listen to I really L.O.V.E. Hollywood Tonight and Another Day. But this album is just like my This Is It cd that I only ever listen to it once. And that was on Christmas day of last year when I had gotten it as a Christmas present. I still just find it hard to listen to an MJ album that came out after what had happen to him. :sad:
 
This album is nowhere near worthy of being an official MJ album. It shouldn't have been put out in this manner. The three Cascio tracks are a joke, authentic or not. MJ wouldn't have liked this album. I wouldn't too if it was an album attributed to me. It adds absolutely nothing to Michael.
 
At the end of the day, the question is, is this an album Michael would be comfortable with? The obvious answer is, no. While I do think it's a great album, and I enjoy it more out of only one of his album releases, the most bothersome thing is, it's not what Michael would do. I really wish he were still here to grace these songs and put the final touches on them like he would normally do (regarding the 3 Cascio recordings, authenticity aside). Sadly, it can't be that way, that's what hurts so much, I love this record, but I think with all that's transpired, it's really hard getting past the fact that he's no longer here to work this stuff out himself. I don't blame The Estate, and I don't blame Sony, because only Michael would know himself more than any other individual, I just wish this could have been released in a more happier setting, so to speak. I really wish this didn't even have to be a discussion within the community, this shouldn't be happening, he should be here, and we should be celebrating this album the right way.
 
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^It's not an album that Michael has finished so in that sense I agree with you, but in his will he obviously made posthumous releases a possibility by not adressing the subject. I think the Estate has done considerably well putting this album together, for as much as they could without Michael. It's a solid album with some true gems.
 
I think the Estate and Sony couldn't win with the album no matter what they decided to do. Some people now say that they should have released it last year, but there would have been a lot of fans accusing them of milking the public interest due to Michael's passing. Some people say that they should have released demos, but an album of demos wouldn't get chart positions or interest the general audience, because demos are usually interesting only for diehard fans. If they had included many songs from previous decades, many fans would have been disappointed because we all know how eager everyone was to hear new music and how the album thread was full of "Sony give us new music" statements. The current situation also disappointed many people.
 
JMie said:
I think the Estate and Sony couldn't win with the album no matter what they decided to do.
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I wholeheartedly disagree.

10 songs, fairly recent (Invincible era onwards) that have not been released. True - you could never please everyone, but I think they could have done much, much better than this. Everything from the booklet to the tracklist just seems strange to me. I don't even consider this an album of any sort. This feels like it should be a bonus disc on a greatest hits compilation.

I was okay with songs like Escape and Hold My Hand, even though they've leaked. But a song clearly from the 80's (Behind The Mask) and a remix of a track from The Ultimate Collection, along with three songs where fans are arguing over who's sing lead vocals... just not feeling this project. I knew better than to expect a universally praised collection of songs along with a bonus DVD or something explaining the process, but I didn't expect this.
 
JMie said:
I think the Estate and Sony couldn't win with the album no matter what they decided to do. Some people now say that they should have released it last year, but there would have been a lot of fans accusing them of milking the public interest due to Michael's passing. Some people say that they should have released demos, but an album of demos wouldn't get chart positions or interest the general audience, because demos are usually interesting only for diehard fans. If they had included many songs from previous decades, many fans would have been disappointed because we all know how eager everyone was to hear new music and how the album thread was full of "Sony give us new music" statements. The current situation also disappointed many people.
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I totaly disagree

There are a lot FINISHED songs they could have include in the album from the Invincible era and you obviously know that
We had had enough Blue Gangsta Escape easily

I just dont get how you can say that
 
JMie said:
I think the Estate and Sony couldn't win with the album no matter what they decided to do. Some people now say that they should have released it last year, but there would have been a lot of fans accusing them of milking the public interest due to Michael's passing. Some people say that they should have released demos, but an album of demos wouldn't get chart positions or interest the general audience, because demos are usually interesting only for diehard fans. If they had included many songs from previous decades, many fans would have been disappointed because we all know how eager everyone was to hear new music and how the album thread was full of "Sony give us new music" statements. The current situation also disappointed many people.
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that's not true. none of the fans all think the same way. people are just focusing on the fans they wish to focus upon. i was never disappointed with rereleases. i have a copy of all the rereleases, so i wasn't one of the disappointed ones in rebuying MJ's classic material. and all of those rereleases went to number 1 so, many fans weren't disappointed..and neither was the general public. and that's been the case, through the years, while MJ was alive..not just only after MJ died.
 
144 said:
that's not true. none of the fans all think the same way. people are just focusing on the fans they wish to focus upon. i was never disappointed with rereleases. i have a copy of all the rereleases, so i wasn't one of the disappointed ones in rebuying MJ's classic material. and all of those rereleases went to number 1 so, many fans weren't disappointed..and neither was the general public. and that's been the case, through the years, while MJ was alive..not just only after MJ died.
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I agree that none of the fans think the same way and the current situation proves it. what I said was no matter how the Estate decided to handle the album there would have been some unhappy people because now that Michael is not with us, releasing his music is an extra sensitive matter.
 
JMie said:
I agree that none of the fans think the same way and the current situation proves it. what I said was no matter how the Estate decided to handle the album there would have been some unhappy people because now that Michael is not with us, releasing his music is an extra sensitive matter.
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no doubt, MJ's passing guarantees that many will be unhappy, yes.

and it's also true, that in all facets of life, somebody is going to be unhappy with a decision.

there's never been a case where everybody could be made happy by a decision.


but some decisions have been better than others, by virtue of chart performance.

nobody had to prompt fans into buying up MJ's material, after he died. the estate and sony didn't have to lift a finger. many fans went out, and bought stuff. that was automatic..and it made for a lot of strong chart performances..even without the release of this current album.
 
JMie said:
I agree that none of the fans think the same way and the current situation proves it. what I said was no matter how the Estate decided to handle the album there would have been some unhappy people because now that Michael is not with us, releasing his music is an extra sensitive matter.
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Sure but I promise you, LOTS of more fans would be happier if they just kept the fake stuff off the album. I would've bought a few copies then, and enjoyed it.

Was it so hard?
 
JMie said:
I agree that none of the fans think the same way and the current situation proves it. what I said was no matter how the Estate decided to handle the album there would have been some unhappy people because now that Michael is not with us, releasing his music is an extra sensitive matter.
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If you look back, before this album release, before the random streaming of Breaking News the majority of people here were happy about this album. It's the Cascio tracks that is causing the primary division, not the album itself.

I'm disappointed in Sony and the Estate for releasing songs that they knew would divide the fans, yes I believe they knew this would happen, they are billion dollar entities for crying out loud..

All the trouble the Cascio tracks have caused is not worth it all IMO, they should have just kept them off and none of this would be happening really..
 
Many of you don't seem to grasp the fact that Sony is a business, very well. They ARE NOT going to release Michael's first album in 9 years with solely demo's and tracks we've heard not more than a few years ago. It's just not plausible, and the hardcore fanbase alone isn't enough to bring in the profits that Sony/Estate were hoping for with the release of this album, no matter how you look at it, the music industry is a business. Sony is no different.
 
BE POSSITIVE FANS. BUT SONY HAS TO PROMOTE NOW THE FANS
HAVE DONE THEIR THING AND MOSLY BUYED THE ALBUM BY NOW.
SO NOW THE GENERAL PUBLIC HAS TO BUY THE ALBUM. AND WITH HOLD MY HAND
WE DON"T MAKE IT. WE HAVE TO HAVE A NEW SINGLE WITHIN WEEKS!!! WITH
VIDEO CLIP!!!!!!!!! otherwise it will go down very fast it's already happening in holland
he's at number 16 on i tunes from 5 in 3 days time. and ik the UK same is happening
so it's goning down too fast..
 
AnnieRUOkay89 said:
Many of you don't seem to grasp the fact that Sony is a business, very well. They ARE NOT going to release Michael's first album in 9 years with solely demo's and tracks we've heard not more than a few years ago. It's just not plausible, and the hardcore fanbase alone isn't enough to bring in the profits that Sony/Estate were hoping for with the release of this album, no matter how you look at it, the music industry is a business. Sony is no different.
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I know how a business works thank you very much. I have my own.

I've also worked in the music industry for a number of years. So I'm WELL AWARE how record companies work.

Sony could have chosen to release DYKWYCA, Slave To The Rhythm and Place With No Name instead of the bogus Cascio tracks. They chose not to do that. They chose to supplement original Michael Jackson songs with bogus songs performed by an impersonator.

That's not how most businesses operate. Hence the ill feeling.
 
samhabib said:
I know how a business works thank you very much. I have my own.

I've also worked in the music industry for a number of years. So I'm WELL AWARE how record companies work.

Sony could have chosen to release DYKWYCA, Slave To The Rhythm and Place With No Name instead of the bogus Cascio tracks. They chose not to do that. They chose to supplement original Michael Jackson songs with bogus songs performed by an impersonator.

That's not how most businesses operate. Hence the ill feeling.
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Would you be OK with the songs and the album if you weren't so convinced that it is an impersonator who sings on some tracks?
 
mariemarie said:
Would you be OK with the songs and the album if you weren't so convinced that it is an impersonator who sings on some tracks?
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I'm not sure 'happy' is the word I'd use. I feel sick to the stomach at the thought of all of the business flying around the name 'Michael Jackson' right now. If it's done with love and by people who actually care then it wouldn't be an issue. I thought the Opus looked great until I heard about all of the problems and the broken promises (whatever happened to the augmented reality video stuff?!?). But at least that was a beautiful product. And I went to the launch, it was done with love and care.

Look at The Beatles Anthology series that came out in 1997. That was done with care and attention.

Look at the Elvis releases in 2002, the 25th anniversary of his death releases. Done with love and care. I worked on some of those releases - the people in charge of those projects LOVED Elvis. One of them was on the board of directors of Gracelands.

Then look at this release. Michael Jackson isn't Usher! He is The Beatles, but more so. He is Elvis, but more so. And it's a complete shambles.
 
Even though I'm thankful for the album, it's still not really a Michael Jackson album seeing how #1 he was not here to choose and allow for what was being released and what wasn't, #2 half of these songs as we know are not probably even finished tracks but probably remixes of MJ's original demos and even with Hollywood tonight, I don't feel it has enough lyrics... like they loop it halfway through towards the end. #3 tracks as many of us suspect may not be as much as 60% MJ... I like the album, but it's not MJ all the way... More remixes than anything.... but I do love songs like Best of Joy, much too soon, and more.. I just look forward to the future projects and any other leaks that may occur on the side of Sony projects like dykwyca
 
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