Description
How was the monster album “Thriller” made? We will examine Michael Jackson’s demos, alternate versions, and unreleased songs in chronological order as much as possible. This is the fifth and final edition. During the making of “Thriller”, creative differences arose between Michael and Quincy Jones. Quincy did not want to include “Billie Jean” on the record at first. Michael insisted on including it, so Quincy suggested shortening the intro and changing the title to “Not My Lover”. “We packed it with great songs and performances, did everything perfectly, including the mixdown, but what we got was 24 carats of sonic shit. Records have to be made realistically. Sides A and B have to be under 19 minutes each. That’s the rule.” From Quincy Jones’ autobiography. In the previous Vol.4, we tried to recreate the sonic shit edition of the album “Thriller” as much as possible. This time, we will recreate “Thriller,” the realistic record that Quincy spoke of, with each side A and B less than 19 minutes long, which would be the ultimate sales record. The album was completed on November 8, 1982, and “Thriller” was released with a total length of 42 minutes and 19 seconds. In order to get the version that Quincy wanted, about 4 minutes had to be cut. This was made possible by the existence of the single version. It was a further edit of the album version, and this work must have been done during the editing of “Thriller.” The version consisted of four songs: “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Thriller,” “Beat It,” and “Human Nature.” The result was a total of 37 minutes and 39 seconds. Quincy’s desired “Thriller” is properly established. When you actually listen to it, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” ends very quickly, and “Thriller” is no longer redundant, but fading out is not the true ending. “Beat It” has a strong presence, with Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo. “Human Nature” is a little lacking, but if you can hear the full-length version on a 12-inch, you will surely be able to reaffirm the charm of the song. If it had been released on this album, many hit songs would have been born, and if you could hear the full-length version on a 12-inch, and if “Carousel” and others were B-sides, I think it would have had monster sales. Of course, that would have been if the edit of “Thriller” had been properly closed. And here are the demos that didn’t fit on Vol. 1 to Vol. 4 of “Thriller Sessions Definitive Edition”. First, here is a recording of Michael searching for a melody for “The Girl Is Mine”. And then there’s the 1979 demo. Some say that “The Girl Is Mine” was written by Michael much later, not in 1979, so it’s fake, but as far as I can tell, it’s Michael’s voice, and the latter part of the song, which Michael and Paul wrote at Quincy’s request, is like a bud of Michael’s natural voice, which occasionally mixes in. But there’s still a chance that it was written in 1979. I’ve left it as it is. And then there’s the recording of “Human Nature,” in which Michael sings with piano in the background, as it was recorded in 1982. I’m not sure if it was 1982, but I’m sure it was. And the singing style is slightly different and has new ideas, so it’s not fan-made. And then there’s the unplugged version of “Human Nature,” in which Michael sings with acoustic guitar in the background. This is thought to be fan-made, but it’s quite beautiful, so I included it. “Someone in the Dark,” which was written during the production of “Thriller,” was released as a promotional single for the audiobook of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The track is split into two parts, the “Opening Version” and the “Closing Version”, with different lyrics. Since they overlap the release of “Thriller”, we have included them side by side here. Please enjoy the development. “Thriller” was released on December 1, 1982. The first single, “The Girl Is Mine”, was already a good seller, reaching number 2 in sales. Michael’s first collaboration, emphasizing Michael’s soft rock leanings, invited Paul McCartney to co-sing lead vocals with him on “The Girl Is Mine” (initially with other singers in mind, including Freddie Mercury, who would soon collaborate with him the year after “Thriller” was released). The second single, “Billie Jean”, would push into new and unnameable territory. “Billie Jean” became a pop smash hit, topping the charts in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. One of the factors behind the success of this single was undoubtedly its memorable music video. The video was the first to break the unspoken racial barriers of the then-fledgling MTV. After Michael, MTV began to air more black artists. Another factor in the success of this single was his sensational performance on Motown’s 25th Anniversary Special in 1983, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. Airing on May 16, 1983, Michael demonstrated his signature moonwalk (a move that appears to slide backwards) and showed the world his mature talent. And most notably, Eddie Van Halen was featured as the lead guitarist on “Beat It,” creating one of the most iconic guitar solos in pop history. Eddie bridged Michael’s access to metallic hard rock. “Beat It,” with its cinematic video, was another big hit on MTV and helped propel “Thriller” into the stratosphere. The album flows smoothly from disco to pop to soul, showcasing his musical versatility in a magical way. He released “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'”, “Human Nature” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”, all of which reached the top 10, and “Thriller” remained at the top of the album charts. The final single, “Thriller”, became more than just a music video. Michael asked director John Landis to turn the song into a short musical horror movie. By the time the album had finished its two-year run on the charts, it had spent 37 weeks at number one, from February 26, 1983 to April 14, 1984, and sold 29 million copies, making it the biggest-selling album of all time. Michael Jackson said about “Thriller”: “It was a complete change. I studied composition from a young age. Tchaikovsky was my biggest influence. When you listen to an album like The Nutcracker Suite, every song is great. So I asked myself, ‘Why not have a pop album where every song is great?'” In addition, recordings from after the release of Thriller were included. Paul McCartney’s “Say Say Say” from Pipes of Peace was recorded in April to May 1981, and Paul made a demo of “The Man” in May 1981 at the same time. At this time, Michael asked Paul if he wanted to do a duet like “Say Say Say,” but it was not completed at that time, so Michael visited London in February 1983 and recorded more, completing it on June 8th. That “The Man” is included. And “Nite Line” written by Glen Ballard, Bree Howard, and Davey Faragher and produced by Quincy Jones. This song was provided to the Pointer Sisters and was included on “Break Out” under a new name, “Niteline”. This time, we have included a gorgeous fan-made version of “Niteline (Feat. Michael Jackson)” that skillfully blends the vocals of Michael Jackson and the Pointer Sisters. In addition, we have included a fan-made extended version of “Thriller” that includes the effects of the movie that goes beyond the “Thriller” music video. This is a fitting closing song for the finale of the “Thriller Sessions Definitive Edition” series. 1.Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Single Version) 4:19 2.Baby Be Mine 4:20 3.The Girl Is Mine 3:42 4.Thriller (7″ Special Edit) 4:38 5.Beat It (Edit) 3:05 6.Billie Jean 4:53 7.Human Nature (Single Version) 3:46 8.P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 3:58 9.The Lady In My Life 4:58 10.The Girl Is Mine (Home Songwriting) 3:18 11.The Girl Is Mine (Home Demo 1979) 3:10 12.Human Nature (Piano And A Microphone Session 1982) 4:33 13.Human Nature (Unplugged Version) 4:10 14.Someone In The Dark (Opening Version) 4:53 15.Someone In The Dark (Closing Version) 3:06 16.The Man (Remastered 2015) 3:56 17.Niteline (Pointer Sisters Feat.Michael Jackson) 4:13 16.Thriller (Extended Version) 9:41
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.