Jacksons Michael Jackson Jacksons Michael Jackson/Victory Alternate Edition

The album “Thriller” was a huge hit that rewrote history. The title track was the last single from the album. The release of the groundbreaking short film for “Thriller” at the end of 1983 may have been the peak of Michael Jackson’s popularity while he was still a solo artist. The Jacksons, the group Michael was in at the time, had their father Joe, whose contract had expired, return as manager and began full-scale recording of an album at the end of 1983. With “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever,” Jermaine Jackson, who had been a solo artist at Motown until then, returned to the group (for now), and the Jacksons were now six members. The album was reported to be scheduled for release in February 1984, but was delayed until July, and this time we will explore the appeal of the Jacksons’ album “Victory” from various sources. Disc 1 first contains an alternate album with a unique interpretation of “Victory.” “Torture,” the opening song of “Victory,” released as the second single in August 1984, was written by the eldest son, Jackie Jackson, in November 1983, with Motown writer Cathy Wakefield providing writing support. Jackie was originally scheduled to record vocals with Michael, but Jermaine, who was unclear about his participation in “Victory” until the very end, ended up taking the vocals in place of Jackie (Jackie’s singing part remains). During the Jackson 5 era, there were songs where not only Michael, the fifth son of the Jackson family, but also the third son, Jermaine, took the lead, and there were many girls who said that Jermaine was better than the young Michael (Jermaine took the lead in his amateur days, and Michael started singing by imitating Jermaine). In 1975, Jermaine married Berry Gordy’s daughter, and he decided to stay with Motown and release a solo album. Meanwhile, the Jacksons, who moved to Epic and became the mainstay of Michael, started self-producing and had a hit with “Shake Your Body” in 1978, his solo album “Off The Wall” was a success in 1979, and “Triumph” in 1980 was the first album to reach number one on the R&B album chart under the name of the Jacksons. Jermaine also had a hit with “Let’s Get Serious” which reached number one on the R&B annual chart in 1980 (Michael’s “Rock With You” was second), but Michael released the megaton-class smash hit “Thriller” and left him far behind. The song in which the two of them take the lead is “Torture”. “Even if you cut me with a knife without love, I can’t stop these feelings” is a song about “torture”, but it is more of a first-person song than a duet. However, Jermaine sings “They told me to keep walking, but I shouldn’t have come here” and Michael sings “She’s climbing the stairs for no reason”, and the lyrics also hint at the relationship between the two. The music video for “Torture” was also conceived by Michael and is in the style of a horror movie like “Thriller”, but Michael himself and the other main character Jermaine are not in it. However, Michael appears as a wax figure. As a result, it is not six people, but 4+1 Jacksons (dolls). Skeletons that are thought to be Jacksons are also shown, but there are five of them (one of them is moving like a moonwalk). Perhaps the music video was prepared for Jackie and Michael. Despite the high cost of filming, it ranked 17th in the pop charts. The music video production company went bankrupt because of this. Here is the music video version of “Torture” with the wind blowing sounds in the intro and outro on the 12-inch version. Before the “Victory” sessions, Freddie Mercury and Michael recorded three songs, “State of Shock”, “There Must Be More To Life Than This” and “Victory”. Unfortunately, only “Victory” has not been leaked. However, the song was originally a slow ballad that Michael had come up with on a whim, and Freddie and I developed it into a song together. It is said that Michael was the main vocalist, Freddie was the backing vocalist, and the two of them sang together in the final part. However, due to their schedules, it was never completed. The album “Victory” does not include a title song. And the title of the album was thought up by Michael. “The song that we actually wrote together that was left was called “Victory,” and then Michael used it as the title of the Jacksons’ album. We wrote the song before that. It’s funny, but I think that song is frozen. It was the only time that we actually wrote it together. So we made a demo and it was really good. “Freddie Mercury, “A Musical Prostitute: Freddie Mercury Interview”, 1984 In fact, there is a story that Michael presented “Victory” with Freddie to the Jackson brothers as a candidate for the album. And it was Jackie who particularly liked “Victory.” Jackie, together with one of the album’s producers, David Paich, made changes to the lyrics and chord progressions of the verses sung by Michael, and while keeping the lyrics, structure, and chord progressions of the parts sung by Michael and Freddie almost the same, he was inspired by the song “Action This Day” by drummer Roger Taylor from the Queen album “Hot Space” and sped up the tempo to make it more danceable. Steve Lukather then added a guitar solo in the style of Queen guitarist Brian May, and the result was “Wait”. The song is credited only to Jackie and Paich, not to Michael or Freddie. The lead vocals are by Jackie, but there is a back-and-forth between Michael and Jermaine at the end. “Wait” became the fourth single in some countries, and it is actually a great dance song. Michael may have declined the credit because he appreciated the arranging skills of Jackie and the others, which are different from the original song. But Freddie… just didn’t notice? It’s a mystery. The version of “Wait” here is a duet between Jackie and Michael, with Michael’s vocals brought forward by AI processing. The third track, “One More Chance,” is a beautiful medium tempo song written by Randy, the sixth son. Randy also plays the keyboards and drums, and sings. Randy does almost everything except the percussion, and his attitude is Prince-like. The B-side song for the single “If” from Janet Jackson’s “Janet.” in 1993 was a cover of “One More Chance,” and this time we have included a version of that song, cleverly edited to make it a duet between Randy and Janet. The fourth track, “Be Not Always,” was composed by Marlon and Michael, the fourth son. Michael sings a beautiful ballad alone, with Greg Polley on acoustic guitar. Here we have included a fan-made 9-minute long version. The fifth song, “State of Shock,” a collaboration between Michael and Randy Hansen, known as the right-handed Jimi Hendrix, was released as the first single from the album on June 18, 1984. It was a hard rock tune with twin vocals by Michael and Mick Jagger, and was destined to be a big hit. However, when it was released, it was ranked 3rd in the pop charts. Perhaps the reason it didn’t reach number one was because it didn’t have a PV. On July 7, Prince’s “Beat Me Up” reached number one, and stayed at number one for five consecutive weeks. Then, on August 11, Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” reached number one for three consecutive weeks. Both songs had PVs, and above all, they were hits that were linked to movies, not just short films. Neither “Torture” nor “Body” had PVs with Michael or Jermaine, so I think they were only minor hits because they were overly concerned with MTV and video, even though it was the era of video. “State of Shock” was recorded once as a duet with Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury at Hayvenhurst in May or June 1983. The demo features David Williams’ guitar and bass, a Linn drum, and, according to Bill Bottrell (who mixed the track), Michael playing drums in a closet during the recording session. There is indeed a Prince-esque Linn drum on “State of Shock,” but the credits on Victory say it is Michael Jackson. Freddie’s personal assistant at the time, Peter Freestone, said, “State of Shock was already recorded, and Freddie simply added vocals to it. Unfortunately, the two never completed their work together due to work commitments.” Michael eventually completed the song with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. In this version, the basic tracks of the original 16-track demo (duet version with Freddie) are left intact, and vocals and percussion are overdubbed. Here, Michael, Mick, and Freddie’s dream collaboration “State of Shock” is created and recorded. The sixth track “We Can Change The World” was written by the second son Tito, who is also the lead singer. The bass is played by Louis Johnson and Nathan East, the rhythm guitar is David Williams, and the percussion is played by Lenny Castro, who also participated in Toto. Tito himself also plays keyboards, Linn drums, and guitar, making it closer to a band sound. The album version is recorded here. The seventh track “The Hurt” was written by Michael, Randy, David Paich, and Steve Porcaro. The lead singer is falsetto Randy, and the backing vocals are provided by Jermaine, Michael, and other Jackson brothers. Randy’s lively and swinging keyboard work, supported by the members of Toto, makes this a very well-made dance tune. Still, it would have been nice to have Michael’s voice involved in the composition. Here, we have recorded a version that features Michael’s voice more through AI processing. The eighth track, “The Body,” was written by Marlon, who left the group with Michael after “Victory,” and was the third single. There was no backing singer, and although a music video was made, Michael did not appear, perhaps due to his busy schedule, so it is unclear why this was chosen as a single. However, with Marlon’s tasteful vocals and a light sound that is more than enough to heat up the dance floor, the guitar is particularly amazing, and Greg Wright’s refreshing solo in the middle,The listener can’t help but dance to the pleasant guitar cutting of David Williams, who comes in halfway through the song. If Jermaine had participated and made a music video with Michael, it might have had a chance at first place. It reached #47 in pop and #39 in R&B. The 12-inch version is included here. And the latter half of Disc 1 and Disc 2 contain all the 7-inch and 12-inch versions that were singles on Victory (the ones on the alternate album are not included because they are duplicates). Also included is an AI-processed version of “Torture” so that only Michael is singing, and on Disc 2, a fan-made extended version of “The Hurt,” and an AI-processed version of “Body” so that only Michael is singing. Also included are the album version and 12-inch version of “Playing With Fire,” which Jackie, the eldest son, provided to Greg Phillinganes, because it was a Victory session at the time. And also includes a demo of “State of Shock” by Michael and Freddie. In a session with Freddie that began in 1983, Michael recorded “There Must Be More to Life Than This” together. This song was written by Freddie Mercury and recorded with the band for Queen’s album “Hot Space” in 1982, but was shelved without being completed. Two years earlier, Michael and Freddie had been in contact since they first met backstage at Queen’s The Game Tour, and Freddie visited Michael’s studio in Los Angeles and recorded it with Michael’s vocals, but it was also unfinished (later re-recorded it for Queen’s “The Works” in 1984, but it was also unfinished). However, it was included in Freddie’s solo debut album “Mr. Bad Guy” in 1985 without Michael Jackson being featured. However, a recording of the 1983 session has been leaked. It is the version in which only Michael sings. And the piano backing is by Freddie. Freddie’s voice giving instructions to Michael is also included. Michael would have been able to empathize with Freddie’s lyrics, “Why do you try to judge things in black and white? There’s more to life than what you see.” However, there is also a real version in which the two of them sing together, called Golden Duet, which is a wonderful version in which the two of them sing in harmony, and this is also included. And then there’s the Freddie piano-focused version of “Mr. Bad Guy,” the band version made up of Queen members, and the version by William Orbit, who has remixed Madonna and others. This can be called a complete take, with vocals by Freddie and Michael over backing by Queen. Disc 1 1.Torture (Music Video Version) 6:19 2.Wait (Feat. Michael Jackson AI) 5:27 3.One More Chance (Feat. Janet Jackson) 5:18 4.Be Not Always (Long Version) 9:00 5.State Of Shock (Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger & Freddie Mercury Trio Version) 5:02 6.We Can Change The World 4:46 7.The Hurt (Feat. Michael Jackson AI) 5:29 8.Body (12″ Version) 5:49 9.Torture (Michel Jackson Solo Version AI) 4:55 10.Torture (7″ Version) 4:31 11.Torture (12″ Version) 6:15 12.Torture (12″ Version Instrumental) 5:06 13.Wait (7″ Version) 4:21 Disc 2 1.State Of Shock (7″ Version) 4:07 2.State Of Shock (12″ Version Dance Mix) 5:40 3.State Of Shock (12″ Version Instrumental) 4:40 4.The Hurt (DJT Extended Version) 6:38 5.Body (7″ Version) 4:23 6.Body (7″ Version Instrumental) 4:16 7.Body (12″ Version Instrumental) 6:46 8.Body (Michael Jackson Solo Version AI) 5:07 9.State Of Shock (Michael Jackson & Freddie Mercury Demo) 4:43 10.There Must Be More To Life Than This (Michael Jackson Solo Demo) 2:04 11.There Must Be More To Life Than This (Golden Duet Version) 2:55 12.There Must Be More To Life Than This (Freddie Mercury Version) 3:01 13.There Must Be More To Life Than This (Queen Version) 3:25 14.There Must Be More To Life Than This (William Orbit Mix) 3:27 15.Greg Phillinganes – Playin With Fire 4:45 16.Greg Phillinganes – Playin With Fire (12″ Version) 6:37