Pick your fave

[filmandmusic]

Max 2 votes possible for each voter. This is a gift from me to you because all songs here are BEAUTIFUL

 

[ChanceToDance]

I like Be Not Always, it's like Little Susie from the Thriller era.

 

[Hiker]

I have not heard any of these . I am still stuck in the 'mainstream published' songs. Thanks for the list though, I am going to find then and listen and vote.

 

[zinniabooklover]

I have not heard any of these . I am still stuck in the 'mainstream published' songs. Thanks for the list though, I am going to find then and listen and vote.

I know what you mean. Most of the stuff I know is from the albums. I've never made much effort to track down rarities or whatever. At the moment I'm all over the place. Just recently I came across (on this board) a great duet featuring Michael. I thought it was some massively obscure thing. Turned out to be a Paul McCartney / MJ song on one of McCartney's solo albums!!! Here's another one - I've been coming across recommendations for the song 'Best of Joy' for ages now. I kept meaning to look it up online. You know, another really obscure thing. Well, turns out it's on the 'Michael' album. Which I bought in April 2021.

I added a comment to the 'demo' thread yesterday. Except one of my choices isn't a demo at all.

I really have no idea what I'm doing.

I wanted to jump onto the 'underrated' songs thread but was too nervous. Everyone seemed to be listing obscure stuff (obscure to me) whereas I could only nominate really obvious things from the albums.

But this board is an amazing resource. The people here know so much and they have all this fabulous stuff and they post links and it blows my mind. It definitely is a great place to educate myself about Michael's output. Like A Chance to Dance has just suggested a song (Be Not Always, never heard of it) is in the same ballpark as Little Susie. If that's the case, I need to check that out asap.

I'm still working my way through a list from filmandmusic. I'll have to come back to this one in a bit - apart from Be Not Always. That one I have to get onto straightaway.

 

[filmandmusic]

I cheated a bit as some of these are "Jacksons" tracks but they all have Michael on lead. I wanted to pick some ballads, these are all ballads and notoriously underrated even among fans imo

I find Be Not Always a weird comparison with Little Susie, I think Scared of the Moon would be a better comparison. In either case both are hauntingly beautiful songs!

 

[ChanceToDance]

I find Be Not Always a weird comparison with Little Susie, I think Scared of the Moon would be a better comparison. In either case both are hauntingly beautiful songs!

It's a fair comparison IMO, they have similar melodies and a similar piano, it's like a less completed Little Susie.

 

[OhButItsRed]

Honestly like all of these but Someone In The Dark and Carousel, hands down, are my favorites.

 

[Michaels Lover]

Someone In The Dark

 

[83magic]

'someone in the dark' - michael's phrasing and breath control make it one of his best vocal performances. perfectly captures his wide eyed wonder and magic. i see this as a sequel to 'ben'.

'carousel' - so smooth. michael's crooning here. sunny and sad at the same time. sounds like something michael himself would have written. the fairground setting/analogy is so fitting. had this been released, i really believe it would have been the hit that 'careless whisper' by george michael was.

 

[filmandmusic]

- Carousel shows Michael should have released more albums. It is absolutely fantastic and would have fit on the greatest album of all time but there simply wasn't any room for it anymore. The lady in my life and billie jean were also cut short. It deserved a release, he could have put it on victory or as a B side to a single. 10/10

- Someone in the dark is even better, it is simply one of the best songs of all time. If Spielberg used this for ET it would have become legendary just like the film. 11/10

- Push me away, so dreamy, love the mid tempo rhythm, absolutely drop dead gorgeous vocals, the dramatic strings. I just cannot understand this isn't better known among fans 9/10

- scared of the moon. Top top vocals, minimalistic production showcasing Michael's vocals , haunting song. Sweet lyrics, reminds me of little susie lyrically. Chorus gives me goosebumps every single time 10/10

- Be not always Superb vocal, just a guitar and some strings, very emotional, meaningful lyrics. Love the pause in the song, criminally underrated. His voice sells this stuff, it gets me emotional, it sells the lyrics. "Faces, did you see their faces, did they touch you, have you felt such pain?" "To have nothing, to dream something, then lose hoping is not life but lame" 10/10

- time waits for no one. I'm repeating myself but another brilliant showcase for his vocals. heartbreaking lyrics "if only I had shown her love". Nice string section again. This was the type of music Michael was doing late 70s early 80s, his ballads were never better. Awesome climax, incredible harmonies! 9/10

- find me a girl. Have I mentioned Michael's vocals yet? This was done live in 1978, I want to see videos of this performance. Michael has many songs longing for love and this has one of the best choruses. Love the call/response section with his brothers. Great horns as well 9/10

Simply put if all those songs were used on a solo album they would have gotten a lot more attention, at any given day in time these could all be my favorite MJ tracks. I wanna know more about these tracks, I want studio footage, background info, anything!

 

[ChanceToDance]

- Carousel shows Michael should have released more albums. It is absolutely fantastic and would have fit on the greatest album of all time but there simply wasn't any room for it anymore. The lady in my life and billie jean were also cut short. It deserved a release, he could have put it on victory or as a B side to a single. 10/10

- Someone in the dark is even better, it is simply one of the best songs of all time. If Spielberg used this for ET it would have become legendary just like the film. 11/10

- Push me away, so dreamy, love the mid tempo rhythm, absolutely drop dead gorgeous vocals, the dramatic strings. I just cannot understand this isn't better known among fans 9/10

- scared of the moon. Top top vocals, minimalistic production showcasing Michael's vocals , haunting song. Sweet lyrics, reminds me of little susie lyrically. Chorus gives me goosebumps every single time 10/10

- Be not always Superb vocal, just a guitar and some strings, very emotional, meaningful lyrics. Love the pause in the song, criminally underrated. His voice sells this stuff, it gets me emotional, it sells the lyrics. "Faces, did you see their faces, did they touch you, have you felt such pain?" "To have nothing, to dream something, then lose hoping is not life but lame" 10/10

- time waits for no one. I'm repeating myself but another brilliant showcase for his vocals. heartbreaking lyrics "if only I had shown her love". Nice string section again. This was the type of music Michael was doing late 70s early 80s, his ballads were never better. Awesome climax, incredible harmonies! 9/10

- find me a girl. Have I mentioned Michael's vocals yet? This was done live in 1978, I want to see videos of this performance. Michael has many songs longing for love and this has one of the best choruses. Love the call/response section with his brothers. Great horns as well 9/10

Simply put if all those songs were used on a solo album they would have gotten a lot more attention, at any given day in time these could all be my favorite MJ tracks. I wanna know more about these tracks, I want studio footage, background info, anything!

I feel inspired to make my own review now hahaha , but my opinions are:

Push Me Away: Haven't listened to it.

Someone In The Dark: One of MJ's best ballads, I wish it came out on the Thriller album instead, 9/10.

Scared Of The Moon: The vocals aren't bad but overall I don't like the song, I don't know what Michael saw in this song for him to work on it for half his career, 4/10.

Time Waits For No One: I Love the song except for the chorus, it doesn't match the pace of the song, 8/10.

Be Not Always: I like seeing a somber song at a time he'd make upbeat music, some elements of it remind me a lot of Little Susie, it's like listening to its demo, 8/10.

Find Me A Girl: Haven't listened to it.

Carousel: I like the song and the lyrics, but the song is nothing compared to Human Nature, 7/10.

 

[mjprince1976]

Someone in the Dark is magical. It would have enjoyed more success, had Thriller been released a bit later.

Just a minute - blasphemy! How could Thriller be delayed!

 

[83magic]

- Carousel shows Michael should have released more albums. It is absolutely fantastic and would have fit on the greatest album of all time but there simply wasn't any room for it anymore. The lady in my life and billie jean were also cut short. It deserved a release, he could have put it on victory or as a B side to a single. 10/10

- Someone in the dark is even better, it is simply one of the best songs of all time. If Spielberg used this for ET it would have become legendary just like the film. 11/10

- Push me away, so dreamy, love the mid tempo rhythm, absolutely drop dead gorgeous vocals, the dramatic strings. I just cannot understand this isn't better known among fans 9/10

- scared of the moon. Top top vocals, minimalistic production showcasing Michael's vocals , haunting song. Sweet lyrics, reminds me of little susie lyrically. Chorus gives me goosebumps every single time 10/10

- Be not always Superb vocal, just a guitar and some strings, very emotional, meaningful lyrics. Love the pause in the song, criminally underrated. His voice sells this stuff, it gets me emotional, it sells the lyrics. "Faces, did you see their faces, did they touch you, have you felt such pain?" "To have nothing, to dream something, then lose hoping is not life but lame" 10/10

- time waits for no one. I'm repeating myself but another brilliant showcase for his vocals. heartbreaking lyrics "if only I had shown her love". Nice string section again. This was the type of music Michael was doing late 70s early 80s, his ballads were never better. Awesome climax, incredible harmonies! 9/10

- find me a girl. Have I mentioned Michael's vocals yet? This was done live in 1978, I want to see videos of this performance. Michael has many songs longing for love and this has one of the best choruses. Love the call/response section with his brothers. Great horns as well 9/10

Simply put if all those songs were used on a solo album they would have gotten a lot more attention, at any given day in time these could all be my favorite MJ tracks. I wanna know more about these tracks, I want studio footage, background info, anything!

'be not always' is by far the most depressing song of his. he he literally sings through tears. far more severe than 'she's out of my life'. some say it references the cold war. it's like a funeral for the world. according to his father joe, michael rehearsed it for the 'victory' tour, but he became too emotional and couldn't get through it. the middle 8 allows the song to branch off melodically, as well as lyrically. otherwise it's quite repetitive. it appears to be written in old english. i'm not sure why.. sounds a bit incomplete if i'm honest. beautiful vocal though. michael sounds bare, vulnerable, but eloquent.

i think 'scared of the moon' was better written. i don't take the lyrics at face value. i believe the 'moon' is a metaphor for something much darker. whatever traumatic experience the character has suffered at night, causes them to end up in a mental facility of some sort, with like minded victims; 'now there are others who sit in her room, and wait for the sunlight to brighten their gloom'. the mood is scary yet calming and reassuring at the same time. was it featured on the 'scream' compilation lp? it not, it should have been.

i've been wondering if 'heartbreak hotel' would have gotten more exposure during it's original release had it appeared on a solo album? although tito and randy play on the song, none of the brothers contribute vocally to it. i believe quincy jones would have improved the overall sound of it. michael also wanted the song to be a bit faster. the brothers out voted him on that. i agree with him 100%.

it just perplexes me when some fans discredit his song writing prior to 1987, when most of the themes he would later cover were already well established before then.

 

[zinniabooklover]

- Carousel shows Michael should have released more albums. It is absolutely fantastic and would have fit on the greatest album of all time but there simply wasn't any room for it anymore. The lady in my life and billie jean were also cut short. It deserved a release, he could have put it on victory or as a B side to a single. 10/10

- Someone in the dark is even better, it is simply one of the best songs of all time. If Spielberg used this for ET it would have become legendary just like the film. 11/10

- Push me away, so dreamy, love the mid tempo rhythm, absolutely drop dead gorgeous vocals, the dramatic strings. I just cannot understand this isn't better known among fans 9/10

- scared of the moon. Top top vocals, minimalistic production showcasing Michael's vocals , haunting song. Sweet lyrics, reminds me of little susie lyrically. Chorus gives me goosebumps every single time 10/10

- Be not always Superb vocal, just a guitar and some strings, very emotional, meaningful lyrics. Love the pause in the song, criminally underrated. His voice sells this stuff, it gets me emotional, it sells the lyrics. "Faces, did you see their faces, did they touch you, have you felt such pain?" "To have nothing, to dream something, then lose hoping is not life but lame" 10/10

- time waits for no one. I'm repeating myself but another brilliant showcase for his vocals. heartbreaking lyrics "if only I had shown her love". Nice string section again. This was the type of music Michael was doing late 70s early 80s, his ballads were never better. Awesome climax, incredible harmonies! 9/10

- find me a girl. Have I mentioned Michael's vocals yet? This was done live in 1978, I want to see videos of this performance. Michael has many songs longing for love and this has one of the best choruses. Love the call/response section with his brothers. Great horns as well 9/10

Simply put if all those songs were used on a solo album they would have gotten a lot more attention, at any given day in time these could all be my favorite MJ tracks. I wanna know more about these tracks, I want studio footage, background info, anything!

Be Not Always is my song of the moment. I want to build a shrine to his vocal performance on this song. The pause is epic. I actually counted, it's about 8 seconds long, I think. Don't know whether it was his idea or the producer's but it doesn't really matter. Even if it was the producer's idea Michael still had to execute it. I'm going Spinal Tap on this one. I'm taking it all the way up to 11/10.

 

[filmandmusic]

@zinniabooklover The 8 seconds pause might be there for Michael to regain his composure. If what @83magic said about Michael rehearsing it for the victory tour is right then it might indeed be that Michael couldn’t handle singing it without breaking down
I don’t see the repetitiveness as a problem at all, it helps focussing on the lyrics. Besides that Bob Dylan became the face of an entire cultural movement in the 60s with singing repetitive folk songs.

Good point on scared of the moon. There might be more to that, I always felt the same too, there is more behind the song. I personally always connected it to child abuse happening at night when the moon shines through the window, grim I know…

I also find heartbreak hotel to be a tad too slow, it is much better in concert but overall I never saw it as one of my favorites, love the outro though.

 

[zinniabooklover]

@zinniabooklover The 8 seconds pause might be there for Michael to regain his composure. If what @83magic said about Michael rehearsing it for the victory tour is right then it might indeed be that Michael couldn’t handle singing it without breaking down
I don’t see the repetitiveness as a problem at all, it helps focussing on the lyrics. Besides that Bob Dylan became the face of an entire cultural movement in the 60s with singing repetitive folk songs.

Good point on scared of the moon. There might be more to that, I always felt the same too, there is more behind the song. I personally always connected it to child abuse happening at night when the moon shines through the window, grim I know…

I also find heartbreak hotel to be a tad too slow, it is much better in concert but overall I never saw it as one of my favorites, love the outro though.

Oh, I hadn't even considered that. Good point, that does make sense. That would explain why the pause is so long.

It's interesting cos the whole She's out of my life thing doesn't work for me at all. I'm not saying Michael's emotional response to the song isn't genuine but it doesn't move me. Be Not Always, different league.

 

[zinniabooklover]

Finally am able to reply to this. Not going to vote but am listing the songs (more or less) in order of preference. Sort of, lol.

1 - Time Waits For No-one - even if I didn't already love the song, at 2m 22s when the drums and those beautiful harmonies really kick in, I'm lost. Lost and found.

2 - Push Me Away - the Hollywood-musical style strings would bind my heart to this song even apart from Michael's lovely performance.

3 - Find Me A Girl - Michael's never-ending lament, the search for true love. I only listen to the 3m 42s 7" version. At 3m 18s when the piano streaks in - omg!!! This song does more for me than LIML.

4 - Someone In The Dark - sheer bliss

5 - Carousel - love it

In joint last place is Be Not Always and Scared of the Moon. BNA - I loved it when I first encountered it back in the spring of 2022 but it hasn't stuck with me. There is a bleakness there which I either didn't properly key into at first or wasn't bothered by but now it's too much for me. Same sort of thing with SOTM. Have only listened twice. Really loved it the first time, second time it scared the bejesus out of me and I've avoided it ever since and plan to carry on doing so. These are both great songs and great performances from Michael but they are not for me. Not right now, at least.

 

[staywild23]

I'm never capable of choosing favorites of anything with Michael. But I am beyond obsessed with Push Me Away. Sometimes I listen to it on repeat for hours. I just love every single thing about it.

 

[Agonum]

I actually counted, it's about 8 seconds long, I think.

LOL!

 

[staywild23]

- Carousel shows Michael should have released more albums. It is absolutely fantastic and would have fit on the greatest album of all time but there simply wasn't any room for it anymore. The lady in my life and billie jean were also cut short. It deserved a release, he could have put it on victory or as a B side to a single. 10/10

- Someone in the dark is even better, it is simply one of the best songs of all time. If Spielberg used this for ET it would have become legendary just like the film. 11/10

- Push me away, so dreamy, love the mid tempo rhythm, absolutely drop dead gorgeous vocals, the dramatic strings. I just cannot understand this isn't better known among fans 9/10

- scared of the moon. Top top vocals, minimalistic production showcasing Michael's vocals , haunting song. Sweet lyrics, reminds me of little susie lyrically. Chorus gives me goosebumps every single time 10/10

- Be not always Superb vocal, just a guitar and some strings, very emotional, meaningful lyrics. Love the pause in the song, criminally underrated. His voice sells this stuff, it gets me emotional, it sells the lyrics. "Faces, did you see their faces, did they touch you, have you felt such pain?" "To have nothing, to dream something, then lose hoping is not life but lame" 10/10

- time waits for no one. I'm repeating myself but another brilliant showcase for his vocals. heartbreaking lyrics "if only I had shown her love". Nice string section again. This was the type of music Michael was doing late 70s early 80s, his ballads were never better. Awesome climax, incredible harmonies! 9/10

- find me a girl. Have I mentioned Michael's vocals yet? This was done live in 1978, I want to see videos of this performance. Michael has many songs longing for love and this has one of the best choruses. Love the call/response section with his brothers. Great horns as well 9/10

Simply put if all those songs were used on a solo album they would have gotten a lot more attention, at any given day in time these could all be my favorite MJ tracks. I wanna know more about these tracks, I want studio footage, background info, anything!

Gosh, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this review. I feel the same way about each of these songs, except I'd make Push Me Away another 10/10 since it's my current obsession. Besides that, the only difference is I've never heard Find Me a Girl, which I'm now so excited to listen to!

Anyway, this is once again one of those moments where I feel bad for any fans who don't venture into The Jackson's music. For me, it's basically an extra heap of Michael. How could anyone resist??

 

[zinniabooklover]

LOL!

Seriously! I was so intrigued by how long the BNA pause was.

That said, I no longer listen to the song.

 

[zinniabooklover]

'be not always' is by far the most depressing song of his.

I was so enthusiastic when I first came across this song last year. Now I can't listen to it at all. It's brilliant but too bleak for me.

he he literally sings through tears. far more severe than 'she's out of my life'. some say it references the cold war. it's like a funeral for the world.

Perfect description of the song.

i think 'scared of the moon' was better written. i don't take the lyrics at face value. i believe the 'moon' is a metaphor for something much darker. whatever traumatic experience the character has suffered at night, causes them to end up in a mental facility of some sort, with like minded victims; 'now there are others who sit in her room, and wait for the sunlight to brighten their gloom'. the mood is scary yet calming and reassuring at the same time. was it featured on the 'scream' compilation lp? it not, it should have been.

Another one where I've had a complete turnaround. This one I've only listened to a couple of times but the first time I loved it SO much. Then there was a gap and the second time I listened I found it really scary and quite traumatising so I haven't gone near it since. Powerful song but I think I'll keep my distance!

 

[filmandmusic]

They're all 10/10 for me which I why I picked these songs for the poll.

I think the 8 sec pause for BNA is brilliant, a moment of silence and contemplation, it gives the song even more weight. The song has 364 000 streams on Spotify it is criminal.
Time waits for no one 800 000 streams, Push M Away 1 million streams, find me a girl 666 000 streams. It's depressingly low. Where are the so called fans? These Jacksons songs are 100% MJ.

This is a good reaction video for BNA (and the only one I am aware of)

 

[Agonum]

Time Waits for No One