Timbaland working on MJ tracks?

[bobmoo79]

It's not too hard.
As you say, it could easily be done with very little expense, but the decision to include the raw demos has to be made from a commercial point of view. The MJ Estate has limited material to work with. do they want to unleash the raw demos at this point in time? Or hold on to them for later years. My guess is they'll do the latter.


They have to be sensible.
They're not going to gain much by releasing the demos now (IMO).


WHEN the product is announced we'll found out more but until then it's all just speculation, that's why it's important not to push too much criticism on the Estate, or any artist or producer. The MJ fans should approach this with optimism and enthusiasm. As a community we all need to be more receptive to new ideas. Let's not trash a product we haven't heard. It's stupid.


Those people saying all modern music isn't good are either just showing their age or showing their limited musical taste. They're falling into a common trap.
When Elvis, Beatles and Rock and Roll came around the elders of that generation were appalled. They didn't consider it to be proper music. They probably preferred to listen to Bing Crosby or something.
The same when Punk hit the scene. Parents appalled, but young punks loving it.
I'm confident that when Madonna, Prince and solo MJ were all starting to hit the scene the older generation said it was crap and preferred to listen to Elvis or something (or some other artist from their own generation).
This scenario happens generation by generation.. In another 20 - 25 years the kids of this generation will denounce whoever is making music at the time and remember the good old days when 1Direction and Justin Bieber made 'proper' music. See my point??

That's why I said previously that MJ's music isn't timeless. Nor is that of Elvis and the Beatles, they are all very much a figment of the time they were produced in and it's all very subjective.

My parents generation may say Elvis and Beatles music is timeless because that was the music produced when they were young. It was aimed at them during the impressionable period of their lives. But it's not timeless. It sounds dated and doesn't appeal to the current generation who are being brought up on 1D and Bieber.

Similarly people who grew up on Madge, Prince and MJ (my generation) may think their music is timeless. It's not, particularly the 80s stuff. It sounds very dated and the current generation are not overly interested in it. In general they prefer 1D and Bieber - the people they can relate to.

 

[AlwaysThere]

I love Timbaland. I love The 20/20 Experience. But I do hate the Estate for allowing this to happen again. Why not Rodney Jerkins? Why not pay will.i.am and RedOne huge amount of money for their songs? Neff-U? I hope he is on board for this project. I hope Teddy Riley do Joy for this album. 2 songs from Dr. Freeze..

I'm all for updating the sound, but not like this. And releasing a bonus cd with the original versions is something that has to be done. Just for the fans. They don't need producers for that, no expences, just put the songs on one cd, that's all. Great release - so easy. But apparently it's too hard for them.

I respect yours as well, but this is how I see it. Not every point I make is directed at you, just to say

Do you know what happened? No. How can you or anyone hate the estate on a matter none of us truly understand? I do know that Teddy Riley apparently isn't involved this time around, and no one has been able to budge will.i.am yet. As far as any other producer, we don't know. The estate isn't going to pay obscene amounts of money to get a producer way past his time to work on songs when there's a cheaper producer on the sidelines that is capable of much more. Any of us would make that decision if it came down to it.

And the fact of the matter is, we will NOT get a second CD of demos! Everyone needs to get that thought out of their heads because it will not happen. The estate in actuality doesn't have as much as we think they do and they need to save material for the future. If they issue the reproductions now they can give us the original demos in a few years on a box set. Issuing all of the demos now can easily turn a future project from The Ultimate Collection to Number Ones. Besides, 2 CDs in one package = more expensive to manufacture = more expensive for the consumer to buy. Why do you think HIStory was more expensive than Dangerous or Invincible?

In honesty, the estate doesn't need to give us this as much as we argue they have to. The Sony contract details ten PROJECTS, not ten albums. They could easily go on their merry way and just give us five more box sets of material we already have. (These would be commercial failures of course, but they could do it if they really wanted to.) They're optioning to give us a new album and for that I thank them. But at FIRST mention of this project people are already demanding that certain producers and songs need to appear, only to get mad at the estate when they don't get what they want. There was never any concrete understanding that the estate NEEDED to provide us with a certain producer or song. Whatever we get is what we get. Until we see a final track listing, discussion and opinions at the opposite end of the spectrum are fine. Blatant hate for something none of us yet understand is not.

 

[HIStoric]

I respect your opinion but I don't agree with you at all.

I love Timbaland. I love The 20/20 Experience. But I do hate the Estate for allowing this to happen again. Why not Rodney Jerkins? Why not pay will.i.am and RedOne huge amount of money for their songs? Neff-U? I hope he is on board for this project. I hope Teddy Riley do Joy for this album. 2 songs from Dr. Freeze..

I'm all for updating the sound, but not like this. And releasing a bonus cd with the original versions is something that has to be done. Just for the fans. They don't need producers for that, no expences, just put the songs on one cd, that's all. Great release - so easy. But apparently it's too hard for them.

I don't think will.i.am is going to give up his songs, I believe around the time 'Michael' came out he said he had no intention of releasing his tracks because Michael isn't here to add his 'magic' to it or something, I'm not sure. They have to be financially careful too and can't just offer big money to someone with some tracks.

"But apparently it's too hard for them." Hey, we don't know yet, they haven't said much about this project Here's hoping they do though !

Those people saying all modern music isn't good are either just showing their age or showing their limited musical taste. They're falling into a common trap.
When Elvis, Beatles and Rock and Roll came around the elders of that generation were appalled. They didn't consider it to be proper music. They probably preferred to listen to Bing Crosby or something.
The same when Punk hit the scene. Parents appalled, but young punks loving it.
I'm confident that when Madonna, Prince and solo MJ were all starting to hit the scene the older generation said it was crap and preferred to listen to Elvis or something (or some other artist from their own generation).
This scenario happens generation by generation.. In another 20 - 25 years the kids of this generation will denounce whoever is making music at the time and remember the good old days when 1Direction and Justin Bieber made 'proper' music. See my point??

That's why I said previously that MJ's music isn't timeless. Nor is that of Elvis and the Beatles, they are all very much a figment of the time they were produced in and it's all very subjective.

My parents generation may say Elvis and Beatles music is timeless because that was the music produced when they were young. It was aimed at them during the impressionable period of their lives. But it's not timeless. It sounds dated and doesn't appeal to the current generation who are being brought up on 1D and Bieber.

Similarly people who grew up on Madge, Prince and MJ (my generation) may think their music is timeless. It's not, particularly the 80s stuff. It sounds very dated and the current generation are not overly interested in it. In general they prefer 1D and Bieber - the people they can relate to.

While I respect everyones opinion on their musical tastes, you do raise good points about opinions on modern music. FYI, The current generation does show some interest in MJ, but not THAT much... and fair enough, Michael hadn't released a substantial piece of work since 2001, and the tabloids certainly didn't help. I know that Michael, well his music anyway, is respected by a lot of people in this/my generation.

However, I completely disagree with your statement that Michael's music can't be timeless. Look, I'm not one of those over-the-top fans who believes every single song he wrote is timeless but I am someone though who believes a number of his songs are undoubtedly timeless. They may be reflective of their era, but that doesn't mean they can't be timeless.

time·less /ˈtīmlis/
Adjective
1. Not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion: "timeless designs".

I'll use Billie Jean as my example, arguably his most iconic piece of work (alongside Thriller anyway). Decades on, this piece is still regularly played around the world despite being over 30 years old. People from old to young recognise the classic instrumental to it and I still regularly hear it in clubs I walk past from time to time. I don't think a single person in my school wouldn't recognise it. To me, if a song still remains relatively well recognised by a diverse and large audience, a significant time after it's release, then it is timeless. Another few of Michael's songs that could be considered timeless are ABC, Thriller, Beat It, Black or White, Bad. I remember knowing that classic guitar riff in Black or White before I even knew the song was made by Michael Jackson (I was young ok).

Other non-Michael songs that are an example of this are:
-Hey Jude by The Beatles (almost half a century on, this song was played at the Olympics !)
-C.R.E.A.M. by Wu-Tang Clan (Despite being 2 decades old, I constantly hear this track being played or referenced by those of the current generation)
-We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions by Queen (Especially with We Will Rock You, still recognised by millions upon millions of people, young and old, all over the world).

These examples are just off the top of my head and while, yes, they can sound dated, all the tracks I mentioned in this post are still recognised by millions and millions of people around the world decades on from their release. That is why I believe this music is timeless.

 

[ivy]

I know where I'm eating though. At Timbaland's Grille where a frozen steak is served up every night. I don't like frozen steak. Forgive me for not being overly enthused.

and u don't see the problem with that? first of all you have never heard Timbaland doing a MJ song before so you don't know it would be like so "Timbaland grill" is new and you don't know what he would serve you. If you are talking about an "Estate restaurant" and they are always serving you something you don't like then why do you even care about the future releases? I haven't seen any rational person going to a restaurant, having bad experience and coming back and again and again for the same bad food and complain about it. There's no rational thought in that.

In other words if you think Estate did not do anything right in the past and if you believe they could not do anything right in the future, you are only wasting your own time and dealing with your own negativity. It's like that you put yourself in this unhappy, unsatisfied, negative position and you constantly go in circles. Waste of time if you ask me. I would personally rather call it a day, focus on MJ albums released in his life time and ignore any Estate releases rather than being in a constant negativity and spending this much time of my life to focus on such bad stuff.

 

[Billyjeanplxiv]

Ill always stand behind any post Always There makes. They are put together and true.

Anyone want to hear a truth?

I Am a Loser is repetitive and boring.
Days in Gloucestershire is vastly incomplete.

bam. You see that? Its my opinion but I know others have the same feelings. So everyone should tone their hopes down because MJ isn't here.
We aren't getting a two disc album, save the demos for the future.
Timbaland will kill this project, he will hit it out of the park im sure. So we should be greatful we have a good producer this time around.

1 producer = cohesive sound
many producers = non cohesive sound, something the Michael album suffered from. It didn't know what it wanted to be.

 

[Courtney]

I think this is particularly more exciting for those who are fans of Timbaland's work. It's clear some of you here are. But for those who don't like his music or aren't familiar with it are a little more skeptic. The problem is that Timbaland's music doesn't appeal to a variety of different groups. If you look at the MJ fanbase, you'll find a mixture of pop fans, rock fans, hip-hop fans, rap fans, classic 60, 70's, and 80's music fans, elderly fans, middle-aged fans, young fans and even country fans (I know many), etc. who enjoy his music. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt Timbaland's fan base is that broad. Look at these boards for example. We all clearly have different musical preferences, but we all love Michael's music despite that. The same cannot be said about Timbaland. Some of us like him, some of us don't. Michael made music that could appeal to everybody. Not just one or two specific groups. That's why I don't like how Timbaland said it's Michael's vocals and HIS music. Because I'm not a fan of HIS music just like some other people on here aren't. That's why there are concerns. We want this to sound like Michael Jackson's music not Timbaland's. No, we shouldn't flat out say it's going to "suck," but we also shouldn't set our expectations really high either because we haven't heard it yet. I think it's ok to be excited if you're a fan, and it's ok to be concerned if you're not. In my opinion, both sides still need to keep an open mind. I think if the fans are still divided on this after we hear the music, then it probably wasn't a good idea in the first place. My opinion, though....

 

[ChrisC]

and u don't see the problem with that? first of all you have never heard Timbaland doing a MJ song before so you don't know it would be like so "Timbaland grill" is new and you don't know what he would serve you. If you are talking about an "Estate restaurant" and they are always serving you something you don't like then why do you even care about the future releases? I haven't seen any rational person going to a restaurant, having bad experience and coming back and again and again for the same bad food and complain about it. There's no rational thought in that.

In other words if you think Estate did not do anything right in the past and if you believe they could not do anything right in the future, you are only wasting your own time and dealing with your own negativity. It's like that you put yourself in this unhappy, unsatisfied, negative position and you constantly go in circles. Waste of time if you ask me. I would personally rather call it a day, focus on MJ albums released in his life time and ignore any Estate releases rather than being in a constant negativity.

Okay first of all, breathe. I never mentioned the Estate once in this thread so 80% of your rant is completely redundant if aimed solely at me as it appears.

The restaurant angle was supposed to be a little tongue in cheek, but if we are taking it very literally then I'm happy to clarify what was meant by it. I wouldn't go back to a restuarant I had eaten in several times before when I had found it cheap and not to my taste. This is probably why I don't follow Timbaland's career closely or buy his products. Timbaland's work sticks out like a sore thumb the vast majority of the time. He uses particular techniques and styles with whomever he works with, unlike certain other producers, give or take across the board. Although, the very point I was making at the end of the post you partially quoted was that I am hopeful Timbaland will do great work with MJ despite all that. But I will remain on the fence (I've expressed my concerns and caution and I've expressed my hopefulness). If we really are determined to have a balance here on the basis that none of us currently know the outcome, then you can't express negative OR positive views in this regard. But at the moment it's anything that isn't OTT positive that's getting flamed. And for the record, I think it's better to be positive in the face of the unknown than anything else, but I'm pretty much applying your argument here.

Although I'm not going to address any of the rest of your post as it has nothing to do with me, I will say this: I love MJ so I will always come back. Timbaland and the Estate are separate entities unto themselves as far as I'm concerned.

I won't comment further on this subject, with it being Michael's birthday there are better things I could be doing to honour him than petty arguments on a fan forum. I do invite you to reply back however and rest assured I will read it.

 

[ivy]

Okay first of all, breathe. I never mentioned the Estate once in this thread so 80% of your rant is completely redundant if aimed solely at me as it appears.

how about some respect?. there's nothing in my brief comment warranting to reply with "breathe" and "rant". and no, I don't reply to such posts.

 

[OnirMJ]

Anyone want to hear a truth?

I Am a Loser is repetitive and boring.
Days in Gloucestershire is vastly incomplete.

Judging on 20 sec snippet? Wow!

 

[HIStoric]

Judging on 20 sec snippet? Wow!

I was about to say... I thought we only had a ~13 second snippet or something, so how exactly would we know it's repetitive ?

 

[HIStory]

It's not too hard.
As you say, it could easily be done with very little expense, but the decision to include the raw demos has to be made from a commercial point of view. The MJ Estate has limited material to work with. do they want to unleash the raw demos at this point in time? Or hold on to them for later years. My guess is they'll do the latter.


They have to be sensible.
They're not going to gain much by releasing the demos now (IMO).


WHEN the product is announced we'll found out more but until then it's all just speculation, that's why it's important not to push too much criticism on the Estate, or any artist or producer. The MJ fans should approach this with optimism and enthusiasm. As a community we all need to be more receptive to new ideas. Let's not trash a product we haven't heard. It's stupid.


Those people saying all modern music isn't good are either just showing their age or showing their limited musical taste. They're falling into a common trap.
When Elvis, Beatles and Rock and Roll came around the elders of that generation were appalled. They didn't consider it to be proper music. They probably preferred to listen to Bing Crosby or something.
The same when Punk hit the scene. Parents appalled, but young punks loving it.
I'm confident that when Madonna, Prince and solo MJ were all starting to hit the scene the older generation said it was crap and preferred to listen to Elvis or something (or some other artist from their own generation).
This scenario happens generation by generation.. In another 20 - 25 years the kids of this generation will denounce whoever is making music at the time and remember the good old days when 1Direction and Justin Bieber made 'proper' music. See my point??

That's why I said previously that MJ's music isn't timeless. Nor is that of Elvis and the Beatles, they are all very much a figment of the time they were produced in and it's all very subjective.

My parents generation may say Elvis and Beatles music is timeless because that was the music produced when they were young. It was aimed at them during the impressionable period of their lives. But it's not timeless. It sounds dated and doesn't appeal to the current generation who are being brought up on 1D and Bieber.

Similarly people who grew up on Madge, Prince and MJ (my generation) may think their music is timeless. It's not, particularly the 80s stuff. It sounds very dated and the current generation are not overly interested in it. In general they prefer 1D and Bieber - the people they can relate to.

Yes music is subjective in many ways, on the other hand there are objective measures to tell if a music is made with genuine care for quality and for art or it's just thrown out there for the masses to consume for purely commercial reasons. Not everything is subjective about it. So no, the difference between Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber's or One Direction's music is not just they are a different generation.

 

[Billyjeanplxiv]

I heard about 3 minutes.

 

[KingMikeJ]

I Am a Loser is repetitive and boring.
Days in Gloucestershire is vastly incomplete.

Have I missed something? What do we know about Days in Gloucestershire except for that one second snippet?

 

[Billyjeanplxiv]

Days in Gloucestershire is chorus and mumbling and a bridge.

IAAL repeats iaal.a million times. The prechrous is nice though.

"How did our love ever dieeeee"

 

[OnirMJ]

But at FIRST mention of this project people are already demanding that certain producers and songs need to appear, only to get mad at the estate when they don't get what they want. There was never any concrete understanding that the estate NEEDED to provide us with a certain producer or song. Whatever we get is what we get. Until we see a final track listing, discussion and opinions at the opposite end of the spectrum are fine. Blatant hate for something none of us yet understand is not.

""Hollywood Tonight," then, has gone through many incarnations: the several different demos Jackson recorded with Brad Buxer and Michael Prince, from 1999 to 2008; the two versions Theron Feemster worked on following Jackson's death (one of which is reportedly quite impressive); the polished album version completed by Teddy Riley; and, of course, the new single. All are necessarily approximations to what Jackson would have ultimately put out in finished form. That's the nature of posthumous releases. They will always be imperfect and they will always generate fierce debate."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-vogel/inside-michael-jacksons-h_b_834857.html

"one of which is reportedly quite impressive" but "Sony didn't feel it was quite right and subsequently gave Teddy Riley a shot".. Why?

That's what I'm talking about. Why is Timbaland working on a song that is already up-dated and maybe re-recorded in 2000 with Darkchild?

It's all about selling records, trying to appeal to younger generation, chart success, exploiting Michael. They tried that before (Michael album, Pitbull..) and they failed.

People would appreciate authenticity more than this and would buy albums anyway. Bring Quincy back to do older songs.. Teddy and Billy to do Dangerous outtakes.. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for History, Darkchild for his Vince outtakes, Neff-U for latest stuff. It all can be done. I'm sure Quincy would agree, even will.i.am and RedOne if they would handle things with respect and love for Michael and not like this. Both Rodney Jerkins and will.i.am wanted at some point to release their stuff on Michael album but when they saw what was going on behind the scenes with McClain, Branca, Cascios, Sony.. they decided to not be a part of that. They messed up big time and they are continuing the same way. That Bieber duet wasn't coincidence.. that will happen.. sooner or later. In my opinion Pitbull is worse than Bieber!

 

[Dorian]

Onir, stop it with `people wanted to release and they stopped because of the behind the scenes`. They didn't release the songs because they wanted more money. They don't give a crap about Michael's legacy.

 

[HIStory]

However, I completely disagree with your statement that Michael's music can't be timeless. Look, I'm not one of those over-the-top fans who believes every single song he wrote is timeless but I am someone though who believes a number of his songs are undoubtedly timeless. They may be reflective of their era, but that doesn't mean they can't be timeless.

time·less /ˈtīmlis/
Adjective
1. Not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion: "timeless designs".

I'll use Billie Jean as my example, arguably his most iconic piece of work (alongside Thriller anyway). Decades on, this piece is still regularly played around the world despite being over 30 years old. People from old to young recognise the classic instrumental to it and I still regularly hear it in clubs I walk past from time to time. I don't think a single person in my school wouldn't recognise it. To me, if a song still remains relatively well recognised by a diverse and large audience, a significant time after it's release, then it is timeless. Another few of Michael's songs that could be considered timeless are ABC, Thriller, Beat It, Black or White, Bad. I remember knowing that classic guitar riff in Black or White before I even knew the song was made by Michael Jackson (I was young ok).

Other non-Michael songs that are an example of this are:
-Hey Jude by The Beatles (almost half a century on, this song was played at the Olympics !)
-C.R.E.A.M. by Wu-Tang Clan (Despite being 2 decades old, I constantly hear this track being played or referenced by those of the current generation)
-We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions by Queen (Especially with We Will Rock You, still recognised by millions upon millions of people, young and old, all over the world).

These examples are just off the top of my head and while, yes, they can sound dated, all the tracks I mentioned in this post are still recognised by millions and millions of people around the world decades on from their release. That is why I believe this music is timeless.

I agree. Being timeless is not the same as not sounding "dated" (I so hate this expression though, because it's usually used in a derogatory way as if sounding 2013 automatically means that music is superior...) and mistaking the two is where many people make their mistakes IMO. The Beatles music sounds "dated" because it has that 60s sound and not 2010s sound. But it's still timeless. People still listen to it and not only those who were young in the 60s. With Elvis' music it's more debatable. I see him more as a nostalgia act, but the Beatles still do have their appeal to younger generations. And I see that with Michael as well. A radio in my country, which is usually targeted to young people (they play today's chart music mainly) dedicated the whole week to MJ in honor of his birthday, which meant they played a lot of his music and they had some stars from my country talk about him and how he influenced them and also to sing some of his songs live in the studio. It was very nice and their listeners sent them tweets and messages how MJ was the best and so on. So yeah, Michael's music and the love for his music is still very much there even in a mainstream general audience.

Heck, Mozart is "dated", but how is he not a classic? That doesn't mean billions of young people go out and buy Mozart records and listen to his music and that Mozart's music is on the charts. That's not what it means being a classic or timeless. But he IS undoubtedly a timeless classic.

 

[OnirMJ]

Onir, stop it with `people wanted to release and they stopped because of the behind the scenes`. They didn't release the songs because they wanted more money. They don't give a crap about Michael's legacy.

And you know that how?

On the other hand, you have Cory Rooney working on Michael album on his song "She Was Loving Me" and then refused to release it because he didn't want his song to be on the same album with Cascio songs. He confirmed that.

And Timbaland is more expensive than Rodney Jerkins for sure, he is the biggest producer right now, he produced 3 #1 albums this year.

 

[Pentum]

Anyone want to hear a truth?

I Am a Loser is repetitive and boring.
Days in Gloucestershire is vastly incomplete.

Do NOT listen to this guy.

 

[Dorian]

And you know that how?

On the other hand, you have Cory Rooney working on Michael album on his song "She Was Loving Me" and then refused to release it because he didn't want his song to be on the same album with Cascio songs. He confirmed that.

Just because they didn't release it doesn't matter they refused it becasue of the so called "fake tracks" you specify. Let's have a little common sense here. Most of the words they said were interpreted by people to sound that way.

Let's see. We have Will.I.Am who refused to release songs, we have Rodney Jerkins who refused to release songs and who else? I already told you my take regarding those guys, claiming more money than it should be normal. Maybe tomorrow I'll make longer post regarding, I have to go anytime now.

The main reason why the fanbase is this way it's because of the ego. When "Slave To The Rhythm" leaked for the first time people were saying "oh, this is the difference between a real leak and a fake song". Everybody was enjoying it. After people learned that Tricky mixed the song they started saying "OMG IT'S A CRAP MIX" "HOW DARE HE?". It's not like they praised this version before finding out about it. Personally I think the mix is kinda incomplete, but it still sounds nice.

People shouldn't judge until hearing the final product. And regarding the release of the "demos", it would end just like the release of BAD25. Low single releases sales heading to no more singles, meaning no airplay, no nothing. Most of the people say `Of course Michael's music is timeless. It can attract the new generation without being remixed`, but think a bit. How many new fans like "Price Of Fame" compared to Nero's mix of "Speed Demon"?

Also the Estate missed a big chance today. They should have released a single on iTunes or a statement. They will never have a more prosper release of a song than it was today. Failed big time.

I'm out.

 

[OnirMJ]

The main reason why the fanbase is this way it's because of the ego. When "Slave To The Rhythm" leaked for the first time people were saying "oh, this is the difference between a real leak and a fake song". Everybody was enjoying it. After people learned that Tricky mixed the song they started saying "OMG IT'S A CRAP MIX" "HOW DARE HE?". It's not like they praised this version before finding out about it. Personally I think the mix is kinda incomplete, but it still sounds nice.

I agree with you on that one. But I never liked that Slave mix that leaked. It sounded too much techno and incomplete to me too. On the other hand I love Do You Know Where Your Children Are even though I don't know who produced that version.

 

[Dorian]

I agree with you on that one. But I never liked that Slave mix that leaked. It sounded too much techno and incomplete to me too. On the other hand I love Do You Know Where Your Children Are even though I don't know who produced that version.

12 O'Clock wasn't changed that much to it's original source. Only the guitar solo it's different.

What I'm trying to say is that we should wait and listen to what has been mixed. The Estated failed many times (including today) already and maybe they learned their lesson even if it's not "Much Too Soon".

Let's make some commentaries regarding the "MICHAEL"(2010) album. None of the producers except Akon worked on their tracks. Neff-U worked on "Best Of Joy" (which was a Brad Buxer track if I remember well) and did a wonderful job (considered by some fans) apart from the little autotune used on his voice.

If we are gonna let aside the Cascio tracks, on the "MICHAEL"(2010) album and "BAD25"(2012) the most played songs were the one that were modernised, "BAD" (Afrojack's mix) and "Speed Demon" (Nero's mix) on one hand and "Hollywood Tonight" (Teddy's Mix), "Hold My Hand" (Akon's mix) and "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" (Neff-U's mix). Most of the people fail to see that even though they screwed up big time with the album, they tried to repair the things they did.

If we take into acount the Throwback mix, it is indeed closer to what Michael said about "Hollywood Tonight" in his notes (e.g. "Billie Jean" - like baseline). Sony Music rejected Teddy's mix for the song because of the fans' reaction to the autotune in the voice and the butchered instrumental. The Cascio tracks were planned to be the lead singles and they were taken down even though for some of them ("Monster") the mixes were already ok.

Regarding the producers of the albums, as I said. The ones that already worked with Michael on that very song resulted into a disaster according to most of the fans. Akon's take on "Hold My Hand" , Lenny Kravitz's take on "Another Day", Neff-U's take on "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" and also Eddie Cascio.

What I'm trying to say is that if Neff-U did a good job on a track he never worked ("Best Of Joy"), I'm sure that Timbaland has enough experience to do it the same. Regarding Rodney, I can't say that his music is timeless, even though he worked on "Chicago" (if it's the song we are thinking to). He was barely a producer back then and I really can't say that "You Rock My World" is exceptional. I'll give him credit for "We've Had Enough", even though I believe MJ had the main role in creation of that one. Let's take a look at his recent work: "Telephone" with Lady Gaga or "Sleepwalking" with Jason Derulo. Good songs, catchy tune, but nothing timeless. I may be wrong, but this is my opinion at the moment.

Let's just keep the critique until after the release of the album and try to keep a neutral appreciation of the whole image.

 

[OnirMJ]

Let's make some commentaries regarding the "MICHAEL"(2010) album. None of the producers except Akon worked on their tracks. Neff-U worked on "Best Of Joy" (which was a Brad Buxer track if I remember well) and did a wonderful job (considered by some fans) apart from the little autotune used on his voice.

If we are gonna let aside the Cascio tracks, on the "MICHAEL"(2010) album and "BAD25"(2012) the most played songs were the one that were modernised, "BAD" (Afrojack's mix) and "Speed Demon" (Nero's mix) on one hand and "Hollywood Tonight" (Teddy's Mix), "Hold My Hand" (Akon's mix) and "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" (Neff-U's mix). Most of the people fail to see that even though they screwed up big time with the album, they tried to repair the things they did.

If we take into acount the Throwback mix, it is indeed closer to what Michael said about "Hollywood Tonight" in his notes (e.g. "Billie Jean" - like baseline). Sony Music rejected Teddy's mix for the song because of the fans' reaction to the autotune in the voice and the butchered instrumental. The Cascio tracks were planned to be the lead singles and they were taken down even though for some of them ("Monster") the mixes were already ok.

Regarding the producers of the albums, as I said. The ones that already worked with Michael on that very song resulted into a disaster according to most of the fans. Akon's take on "Hold My Hand" , Lenny Kravitz's take on "Another Day", Neff-U's take on "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" and also Eddie Cascio.

What I'm trying to say is that if Neff-U did a good job on a track he never worked ("Best Of Joy"), I'm sure that Timbaland has enough experience to do it the same. Regarding Rodney, I can't say that his music is timeless, even though he worked on "Chicago" (if it's the song we are thinking to). He was barely a producer back then and I really can't say that "You Rock My World" is exceptional. I'll give him credit for "We've Had Enough", even though I believe MJ had the main role in creation of that one. Let's take a look at his recent work: "Telephone" with Lady Gaga or "Sleepwalking" with Jason Derulo. Good songs, catchy tune, but nothing timeless. I may be wrong, but this is my opinion at the moment.

Neff-U worked on Best of Joy, Hollywood and new version of The Way You Love Me before MJ died. Joe Vogel confirmed about Hollywood and Neff-U himself confirmed about The Way You Love Me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TxYH0hAjQ

I think he worked on Best Of Joy too. Brad Buxer recorded the vocals, but I think he worked with Neff-U on production and music.

I love Hold My Hand and think Akon did a wonderful job. In my opinion Lenny did very good job on Another Day, I prefer the finished version of the song.

 

[bobmoo79]

Also the Estate missed a big chance today. They should have released a single on iTunes or a statement. They will never have a more prosper release of a song than it was today. Failed big time.

I'm out.

I agree, there has been quite a bit of buzz about MJ music lately with all the discussions of the Queen tracks, the Bieber leak and the Timbaland video.
Today would have been the perfect day to release a song to radio, or maybe to announce a new project. Despite all the rumours and the recent leaked track they haven't done that. I'm disappointed though I can't say I'm surprised. I'm sure they're working to their own timescale, and there must be reasons for the schedule they have planned, but it's a shame they couldn't do something today.


Apparently there will be a special birthday surprise for people attending the MJ ONE show today but I don't think that will be new music. Maybe they'll prove me wrong.

 

[Sunwalker7]

And the fact of the matter is, we will NOT get a second CD of demos! Everyone needs to get that thought out of their heads because it will not happen. The estate in actuality doesn't have as much as we think they do and they need to save material for the future. If they issue the reproductions now they can give us the original demos in a few years on a box set. Issuing all of the demos now can easily turn a future project from The Ultimate Collection to Number Ones. Besides, 2 CDs in one package = more expensive to manufacture = more expensive for the consumer to buy. Why do you think HIStory was more expensive than Dangerous or Invincible?

That’s how I see it too. I mean, I love the idea of releasing a regular album and then a double album with the original demos for the fans, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. It would be great to hear both the original demos and the tracks Timbaland produced at the same time, but even though it would be great right now, I’m not sure it’s the best decision in the long run. I don’t think they have that much material left, and they do need to save material for future projects as well. If they release too much new material too soon what are they going to do in 10 or 20 years? Fans wouldn't then have any exciting new releases to look forward to. And I think having new releases and giving fans something to look forward to and talk about is extremely important for the fandom.

I know many people want to hear the original demos, and I want to hear them too, I just hope we can keep in mind that the Estate can’t just think about this release, they need to plan further ahead and make decisions that are good in the long run too. Even if the demos are not released right now it doesn’t mean they’re never going to get released.

 

[jtabbott8]

I Am a Loser is repetitive and boring.
Days in Gloucestershire is vastly incomplete.

strongly disagree, how can you say a song is "repetitive and boring" when u have only heard a few second snippet of it...
also, Days in Gloucestershire is a song that has been worked on since the 90's and reworked numerous times, including his later years.. I highly doubt its "vastly incomplete" .

 

[Dorian]

Neff-U worked on Best of Joy, Hollywood and new version of The Way You Love Me before MJ died. Joe Vogel confirmed about Hollywood and Neff-U himself confirmed about The Way You Love Me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TxYH0hAjQ

I think he worked on Best Of Joy too. Brad Buxer recorded the vocals, but I think he worked with Neff-U on production and music.

I love Hold My Hand and think Akon did a wonderful job. In my opinion Lenny did very good job on Another Day, I prefer the finished version of the song.

I know he worked on "Hollywood Tonight" and "(I Like) The Way You Love Me". That was the idea I was trying to point out. Even though people who worked intially on the track produced the final version, some of the fans didn't enjoy them. It's all a matter of taste after all.

 

[Pentum]

That’s how I see it too. I mean, I love the idea of releasing a regular album and then a double album with the original demos for the fans, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. It would be great to hear both the original demos and the tracks Timbaland produced at the same time, but even though it would be great right now, I’m not sure it’s the best decision in the long run. I don’t think they have that much material left, and they do need to save material for future projects as well. If they release too much new material too soon what are they going to do in 10 or 20 years? Fans wouldn't then have any exciting new releases to look forward to. And I think having new releases and giving fans something to look forward to and talk about is extremely important for the fandom.

I know many people want to hear the original demos, and I want to hear them too, I just hope we can keep in mind that the Estate can’t just think about this release, they need to plan further ahead and make decisions that are good in the long run too. Even if the demos are not released right now it doesn’t mean they’re never going to get released.

^ So they are going to milk the demos, that's what you are saying. Make updated versions of demos, release them, wait years, release the demos of the update demos.

Just no, this is not how it should be. Branca is not in charge of the Estate forever either, so I don't know what he is waiting for.

 

[bobmoo79]

The MJ Estate is a business. They are trying to look after the business interests. What some fans want is not in the best interest so they won't do it.


Some fans think there is lots of material lying around, but IMO the 'Michael' album demonstrated that there isn't much material in a complete, releasable state.
If there was, 'Michael' wouldn't have been the album it was. The songs wouldn't have been the way they were. I don't want to get into a big debate about the authenticity of that album, that's a whole different argument by itself.


BUT if people use common sense they'll realise that IF there were loads of songs with complete vocal tracks, good instrumentation, recorded in good studios, the quality of the tracks on 'Michael' would have been different. We wouldn't have had Taj doing a vocal bridge. we wouldn't have producers using autotune. we wouldn't have so much processing that there is a debate over whether MJ actually sang the whole song or not. We wouldn't have ad libs being copied and pasted from old songs. Those things were all done because the material they had was not good enough to do anything else.


If there was lots of complete material that simply wouldn't have happened.


I became aware over my years as a MJ fan that MJ kept reworking tracks from his heyday. He was quite clever in a sense. In his early adult years he recorded lots of tracks, and he drew upon these same songs for his later albums. Consider Earth Song. Consider Blood On The Dancefloor. He even used 'Come Together' from the BAD era on the HIStory album. Then we heard that he was reworking 80s/90s tracks for Vince!! Even before MJ died I believed that he did NOT have a massive collection of releasable tracks. That he WAS NOT as prolific as the MJ fan community would like to believe. A prolific artist does not need to keep reworking songs from his golden era. He just writes new songs - ones that suit the current time.
Anyway, I digress. The point is the MJ Estate has a SMALL collection of material to work with, despite the long list of song titles that circulate the fan community - I'm sure most are barely started and far from complete. Anybody who believes anything else is going to be disappointed as the years go by.

 

[ivy]

^ So they are going to milk the demos, that's what you are saying. Make updated versions of demos, release them, wait years, release the demos of the update demos.

Just no, this is not how it should be. Branca is not in charge of the Estate forever either, so I don't know what he is waiting for.

I think the point was to increase the longevity of the Estate. If they release for example 2 CD's of unreleased songs (like you wanted) or release new versions and untouched versions together, it would reduce the number of possible future releases. however for example if they do one CD album now and another one 3 years later, or release new versions now and release untouched versions later it can increase the longevity of the Estate. And I don't think Branca's length of executorship is relevant. (he also has quite sometime until MJ's kids turn 30-40) even more so MJ Estate won't end because Branca leaves, it would continue on for decades and decades. ( don't mix up probate process with estate). It's not like any current executor would release everything they have in 5 years and then close shop. They might be planning on leaving something for down to road, even decades later when other executors, Michael's kids and even grandkids take over the Estate.