bluesky
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Re: Michael - The Great Album Debate (Only Go Here if You Want To Continue The Controversy)
Well, nobody know whats happening behind the scene, so until we have something official, I will go with this post. I like what he said
********
As a MJ fan since childhood, a songwriter/recording artist for 15 years, a self-taught freelance digital sound engineer for 14, and a producer for 12, I believe this is Michael Jackson.
Just because the voice sounds less than perfect doesn't mean it's not Michael Jackson.
Vocals were cut, pasted and heavily processed to finish "Breaking News" without Michael's involvement.
Whether it's even ethical to do that to a posthumous MJ song is the topic of another debate. Either way, I've done that sort of detailed digital vocal editing, vocal extraction, FFT filtering etc. for 14 years and I consider myself an expert.
I do agree that Micheal's trademark perfection is missing from the song (because his final vocal takes aren't on it). Yes, the magic and natural delivery are lost on the song. Yes, Michael sounds different on this song. Michael's song "2000 Watts" sounds even less like his voice, but the song was released in his lifetime and represents how his voice inevitably changed and evolved over the years. Michael is a genius, but before that, he's human.
Everyone's voice changes with age. The same general public that failed to support Michael's last few albums have suddenly become die hard fans again. Of course the unfinished vocal outtakes of a 47 year old MJ won't sound like the perfect final takes of a 27 year old MJ. That doesn't mean it's not his voice on the song. Plus, the vocals were recorded in a very basic home studio at the Cascio home with poor sound isolation. Different equipment/room means different sound quality.
Yes, his family has voiced their disbelief of it being sung by MJ, but how often were they involved in the actual recording and mixing process in the studio? They, like most people, probably only heard the perfect final drafts of his songs. Suspiciously though, Michael's own nephew (Taryll Jackson), who had originally claimed the voice was not Michael's, is now speculated to have been there when the record was being put together. Given their collective track record, the credibility and intentions of the Jackson family's claims on anything is questionable at best. In contrast, the Cascios (Michael's "2nd family") proved their loyalty to Michael by respecting his privacy for decades and being there during his darkest hours. The Jackson family's reason for discrediting the Cascio recordings could be as simple as jealousy.
Nonetheless, longtime collaborator/producer Teddy Riley has gone on the record saying this is in fact Michael Jackson. His opinion should carry weight, because he really knows Micheal's voice inside and out and he heard Michael's vocal outtakes live and in person all the way into the Invincible album. Several other producers (Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze) who have worked with MJ numerous times have gone on the record as saying they have no doubts that this is Michael himself. These gentlemen were a part of numerous MJ rough drafts.
Some are claiming that the voice on the song is Jason Malachi. Jason Malachi is a good impersonator and can replicate Mike's vocal techniques pretty well.
***However, there are many parts of this song where every other word is cut from a different take. If they hired Malachi, there would be no need to do this as he could've recorded those lines straight through. Most engineers and producers will universally agree that this sort of cutting is a last resort technique that's only used when the artist is unavailable to re-record takes.
Furthermore, Malachi himself has denied any involvement with the song. ***
Some are even claiming that it's not Malachi, but a different impersonator. During Michael's lifetime, the best impersonators made their names and sound pretty well known. It seems highly unlikely that Sony would find (or even waste time searching for) a new and unknown impersonator who was hiding in the woodwork all this time. How would Sony even go about discretely finding such a voice with every step of this project generating so much publicity? And why would Sony pay a quarter of a billion dollars for Michael's real catalog and then put out a fake song? Nonetheless, having examined the acappella's waveform at length, I can say the entire song's lead vocals are sung in the same person's voice. I am not alone in my assertion. A well known forensic musicologist was hired by the Estate to confirm whether the voice was Michael's. Sony also hired another world renown forensic musicologist to cross reference the first musicologist. Both sources (yes both) confirmed that the voice is none other than of Michael himself. Everyone is entitled to their opinion though.
source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AQH4slc7tE&feature=related
Well, nobody know whats happening behind the scene, so until we have something official, I will go with this post. I like what he said
********
As a MJ fan since childhood, a songwriter/recording artist for 15 years, a self-taught freelance digital sound engineer for 14, and a producer for 12, I believe this is Michael Jackson.
Just because the voice sounds less than perfect doesn't mean it's not Michael Jackson.
Vocals were cut, pasted and heavily processed to finish "Breaking News" without Michael's involvement.
Whether it's even ethical to do that to a posthumous MJ song is the topic of another debate. Either way, I've done that sort of detailed digital vocal editing, vocal extraction, FFT filtering etc. for 14 years and I consider myself an expert.
I do agree that Micheal's trademark perfection is missing from the song (because his final vocal takes aren't on it). Yes, the magic and natural delivery are lost on the song. Yes, Michael sounds different on this song. Michael's song "2000 Watts" sounds even less like his voice, but the song was released in his lifetime and represents how his voice inevitably changed and evolved over the years. Michael is a genius, but before that, he's human.
Everyone's voice changes with age. The same general public that failed to support Michael's last few albums have suddenly become die hard fans again. Of course the unfinished vocal outtakes of a 47 year old MJ won't sound like the perfect final takes of a 27 year old MJ. That doesn't mean it's not his voice on the song. Plus, the vocals were recorded in a very basic home studio at the Cascio home with poor sound isolation. Different equipment/room means different sound quality.
Yes, his family has voiced their disbelief of it being sung by MJ, but how often were they involved in the actual recording and mixing process in the studio? They, like most people, probably only heard the perfect final drafts of his songs. Suspiciously though, Michael's own nephew (Taryll Jackson), who had originally claimed the voice was not Michael's, is now speculated to have been there when the record was being put together. Given their collective track record, the credibility and intentions of the Jackson family's claims on anything is questionable at best. In contrast, the Cascios (Michael's "2nd family") proved their loyalty to Michael by respecting his privacy for decades and being there during his darkest hours. The Jackson family's reason for discrediting the Cascio recordings could be as simple as jealousy.
Nonetheless, longtime collaborator/producer Teddy Riley has gone on the record saying this is in fact Michael Jackson. His opinion should carry weight, because he really knows Micheal's voice inside and out and he heard Michael's vocal outtakes live and in person all the way into the Invincible album. Several other producers (Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze) who have worked with MJ numerous times have gone on the record as saying they have no doubts that this is Michael himself. These gentlemen were a part of numerous MJ rough drafts.
Some are claiming that the voice on the song is Jason Malachi. Jason Malachi is a good impersonator and can replicate Mike's vocal techniques pretty well.
***However, there are many parts of this song where every other word is cut from a different take. If they hired Malachi, there would be no need to do this as he could've recorded those lines straight through. Most engineers and producers will universally agree that this sort of cutting is a last resort technique that's only used when the artist is unavailable to re-record takes.
Furthermore, Malachi himself has denied any involvement with the song. ***
Some are even claiming that it's not Malachi, but a different impersonator. During Michael's lifetime, the best impersonators made their names and sound pretty well known. It seems highly unlikely that Sony would find (or even waste time searching for) a new and unknown impersonator who was hiding in the woodwork all this time. How would Sony even go about discretely finding such a voice with every step of this project generating so much publicity? And why would Sony pay a quarter of a billion dollars for Michael's real catalog and then put out a fake song? Nonetheless, having examined the acappella's waveform at length, I can say the entire song's lead vocals are sung in the same person's voice. I am not alone in my assertion. A well known forensic musicologist was hired by the Estate to confirm whether the voice was Michael's. Sony also hired another world renown forensic musicologist to cross reference the first musicologist. Both sources (yes both) confirmed that the voice is none other than of Michael himself. Everyone is entitled to their opinion though.
source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AQH4slc7tE&feature=related
Last edited:
Alien, Unearthly?!
