Never-before heard audio clip from ‘In The Studio With Michael Jackson’ seminar
Brad Sundberg was kind enough to share this intimate, unreleased audio clip of Michael Jackson on Swedish radio recently. The short snippet features Jackson and Bill Bottrell in the studio and it was captured right before the collaborative session in which the epic "Give In To Me" was conceived. Hit the source here or go straight to the audio clip.
"Like a Rolling Stone. Like the FBI. Like the CIA,” sings Michael Jackson on a just-released, never-before heard audio clip taken by the King of Pop's ex-studio technical director and engineer, Brad Sundberg.
Sundberg generously shared the clip with a Swedish radio program earlier this week. It is just one of the countless unreleased Michael Jackson moments that feature as part of Sundberg's 'In The Studio With MJ' seminar, which is set to make its next stop in Toronto, Canada next month.
"Sounds familiar," comments Bill Bottrell of Jackson's rendition. "John Lennon," responds Jackson. "Like the BBC. BB King... And Doris Day," he continues. "They called it 'Can Ya Dig it'. It's like a little short piece. Like a transitional thing. He's just screamin' out stuff."
The newly-released clip, which is featured in full below, we hear Jackson candidly discussing the technology and hardware in recording studios with Sundberg and Bottrell, and how things had (and hadn't) changed since he started his recording career more than 25 years earlier.
"Do you think they'll always have those big tapes like that?" Jackson asks. "Do you think they'll ever do away [with them]? I feel like they've been that big and that heavy ever since I've been workin' in studios. [But] everything else's changed! And all these cord things; I'm shocked that hasn't changed."
On its own the clip is just a bit of chatter between Jackson and his studio buddies. However, in the grander scheme of things, the clip is very significant.
During the clip Jackson suggests that he and Bottrell have a jam session, with Bottrell on electric guitar and Jackson on vocals.
"I'm tellin' you it would be neat for you to sometime just hook up your electric guitar or whatever and and just start playin', and get me a mic... Out of the moment, you know, which would be really, really fun. A lot of magic is created out of the moment like that. It really is."
The King of Pop wanted to make "magic" - and within hours, he'd done it.
What started out as a draft for a possible dance track, with a drum beat programmed to play while Jackson sang and Bottrell played guitar, quickly turned into one of Jackson's most popular rock tracks - "
Give In To Me".
"
Give In To Me", which features Slash on guitar, was released as part of Michael Jackson's 'Dangerous' album in November 1991. It reached the Top 10 in at least nine countries around the world – including New Zealand where it spend 4 weeks at #1, and the UK and Ireland where it peaked at #2. The track, on which Bottrell is rightfully credited as co-writer, was never officially released as a single in North America or Asia.
During his 'In The Studio With MJ' seminars Brad Sundberg shares an edited-down 15-minute version of the
two-hour collaborative jam session between Jackson and Bottrell, allowing fans the privilege of listening to the King of Pop's creative process and experiencing his genius in full swing.
Click here to book tickets to the highly-anticipated Toronto seminar, which takes place between 12 noon and 7pm at D. C. Music Studios on November 23rd, 2013.