“Michael” Stays Away from the Vaults (Mostly)
Sony has released the track list for upcoming Michael Jackson posthumous album Michael, and…it’s exactly what you’d expect. The estate and Sony are starting small, focusing on tunes Jackson recorded after 2001’s Invincible, likely an attempt to sound as “new” as possible. (Never mind the fact that Michael’s material from as long as 40 years ago sounds fresher than his material from, say, a decade ago.)
That said, there’s a few songs to be included on the disc that definitely come from some of the richer periods in Michael’s career. The album’s penultimate track, “Behind the Mask,” was originally recorded by Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra and subsequently covered by Eric Clapton and Greg Phillinganes, the famed session keyboardist who contributed to Thriller (Jackson added lyrics to Phillinganes’ version, which will likely be the basis for this tune). “Much Too Soon” was written around the Thriller era (as Jackson testified in a 1993 copyright infringement case) and may have evolved into “Gone Too Soon” from the Dangerous album in 1991.
Otherwise, a few tracks have leaked before, namely “(I Can’t Make It) Another Day,” which features Lenny Kravitz, and “Hold My Hand,” a duet with Akon that will be released as the first official single on Monday. The estate also recently released an open letter doing their best to assure fans that Jackson indeed sang on “Breaking News,” released earlier this week as a teaser for the album.
The new press release is here; read the full track list after the jump.
Michael Jackson, Michael (Epic, 2010)
- Hold My Hand (Duet with Akon)
- Hollywood Tonight
- Keep Your Head Up
- (I Like) The Way You Love Me
- Monster (featuring 50 Cent)
- Best of Joy
- Breaking News
- (I Can’t Make It) Another Day (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
- Behind the Mask
- Much Too Soon
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2 thoughts on ““Michael” Stays Away from the Vaults (Mostly)”
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It seems clear that Sony is pursuing a more current sound for MICHAEL, further evidenced by the reported rejection of a track which would have featured new production by Burt Bacharach:
http://www.showbiz411.com/2010/11/09/michael-jackson-producers-rejected-burt-bacharach-arrangement-for-new-song
Michael lent sympathetic backing vocals to “Just Friends,” produced by Burt for Carole Bayer Sager’s underrated SOMETIMES LATE AT NIGHT album; it’s too bad that another collaboration between these giants wasn’t allowed to proceed. Ah well, maybe one day…!
“Behind the Mask” is a vault track that I’m interested in. I hope they didn’t screw it up too much.