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Post by Russg on Aug 3, 2017 10:11:33 GMT
MICHAEL JACKSON HIStory - Past, Present And Future - Book I (Epic - MJJ Productions) Released June 16, 1995 Recorded 1978–95 Chart US: No 1 UK: No 1
Tracklist:
Disc One 1. Billie Jean (Jackson) 2. The Way You Make Me Feel (Jackson) 3. Black or White (Jackson - Bottrell) 4. Rock With You (Temperton) 5. She's Out My Life (Bahler) 6. Bad (Jackson) 7. I Just Can't Stop Loving You (Jackson) 8. Man In The Mirror (Garrett - Ballard) 9. Thriller (Temperton) 10. Beat It (Jackson) 11. The Girl Is Mine (Jackson) 12. Remember The Time (Jackson - Riley - Belle) 13. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Jackson) 14. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Jackson) 15. Heal The World (Jackson)
Disc Two 1. Scream (Jackson - Jackson - Harris III - Lewis) 2. They Don't Care About Us (Jackson) 3. Stranger In Moscow (Jackson 4. This Time Around (Jackson - Austin - Swedien) 5. Earth Song (Jackson) 6. D.S. (Jackson) 7. Money (Jackson) 8. Come Together (Lennon - McCartney) 9. You Are Not Alone (Kelly) 10. Childhood (Jackson) 11. Tabloid Junkie (Jackson - Harris III - Lewis) 12. 2 Bad (Jackson - Rene - Austin) 13. History (Jackson - Harris III - Lewis) 14. Little Susie (Jackson) 15. Smile (Turner - Parsons - Chaplin)
"This Time Around", "Money" and "D.S." are superb slices of organic funk that will fuel many of the summer's busiest dance floors". - Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Daily News
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Post by Liberian Girl on Aug 3, 2017 11:17:44 GMT
Ah, History. Perfection. To me, this album is the peak of Michael's creativity. I always viewed this album as being so deep in the "creative well," it's unbelievable. As a life long fan, of course I've loved all of his work to varying degrees, but History for me is my favourite because it feels so raw, vivid, personal. I feel Michael reveals so much of himself in these songs that it is hard not to love them... These songs give such a massive insight into his psyche - far more than any article or interview he has given.
I think HIStory is the closest thing we will have to a post Moonwalk biography from Michael. We have it all - from Childhood, to Tabloid Junkie, to D.S, to Smile. The tracks encompass Michael's life, his feelings, his experiences. I don't think anything could make it better, I think it is creatively a masterpiece.
My favourite songs off this album are (NOT in any particular order):
- Scream - Tabloid Junkie - TDCAU - History - Earth Song
When I talk about HIStory, I'm ignoring the first disc. It always bothered me that there was a greatest hits collection tacked onto it, purely so the record company could charge twice as much money. Fans ended up having to buy all the songs they already owned, purely to get to the new material...anyway, that aside, I think HIStory is Michael's best work.
Favourite videos are Earth Song and Scream. WOW. I remember seeing Earth Song for the first time and being blown away.
It will always be my favourite album. That whole era, the album, the tour, the subsequent promotion (interviews, statue down the Thames, the video DVD releases etc) were just so much fun for me as a fan. I loved it all.
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Post by mjjfan810 on Aug 3, 2017 17:13:18 GMT
I don't like it, generally speaking.
I really like Scream and it was the only song I listened to before the release, I didn't even listen to Childhood on the b-side to the single as I wanted it to be a surprise.
I can't figure out what MJ was trying to accomplish here. The cover of the album is atrocious. That statue doesn't even look like MJ and it was misguided to do something as brazen as sailing statues of himself down the Thames after all the controversy of the previous years. Surely the aim with History was to get the public back on side, but instead he seemed intent of pissing them off further? I do love MJ, but sometimes he really is his own worst enemy.
There are some History songs besides Scream that I do really like. They Don't Care About Us, Stranger In Moscow and Earth Song win best songs of the 90s. But the album as a whole featured quite a bit of filler. I never go to play songs like D.S., This Time Around, or Money or Come Together. You Are Not Alone is his most overrated hit and the title track is a complete mess of a song.
Another marketing thing I hate hate hate is when labels force you to re-buy old songs you've already paid for, just to get the new ones. History was the beginning of this, and it got worse as time went on, with special editions, boxsets and other compilations all trying to lure fans in with just a handful of new songs.
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Post by respect77 on Aug 3, 2017 18:44:59 GMT
Recently this is probably my favourite MJ album. It is not as easily accessible as the pop albums of the 80s, it is heavy thematically and musically. But IMO artistically it is very rewarding when you get it.
To me it is actually difficult to pick a favourite MJ album from OTW to HIStory because they are all different but all great on their in their own way. The only album that is a bit below to me is Invincible. But from OTW-HIStory I wouldn't trade any of these albums for anything.
BTW, let me copy here this post I wrote on MJJC last year:
For months now I am in HIStory era mood. I created a playlist on Spotify called "Alternative HIStory" where I created a version of HIStory which incorporates also the thematically similar songs from BOTDF and one (Threatened) from Invincible as I tried to build an almost chronological story from it. To me HIStory and BOTDF belong together and if I had to make one album of them it would look like this (plus I cheated a bit with the addition of Threatened but it so belonged there to me thematically).
So my AH playlist looks like - and this is my fave playlist currently:
1. Scream (Someone once said - actually, I think it was MattyJam - the album starts with a Scream and ends with a Smile and I think that's great to put it that way.) 2. They Don't Care About Us 3. Stranger in Moscow 4. Morphine (I replaced This Time Around with Morphine, because TTA was just never my fave on HIStory and I felt Morphine kind of more belongs there thematically and in terms of telling MJ's story during that time. In SIM he expresses the loneliness and the emotional pain, the inner turmoil, then in Morphine you see him struggle with the drug issues as a result. I think he also wrote these two songs around the same time. One is a nice, ear-pleasing ballad, the other is a hard-hitting, disturbing industrial sound. Nice juxtaposition IMO to show the emotional side of the whole situation.) 5. 2 Bad (Here MJ is back standing up defiantly to his accusers...) 6. Money (...and calls them out for their greed. Because let's face it, all of these allegations have been motivated by money, as well as the media's drive for sensationalism.) 7. Earth Song (not really thematically connected to the previous tracks but it is OK to take a break here from the hard hitting sound of the previous tracks - although this is not easy listening and not a light hearted subject either). 8. You Are Not Alone (MJ getting married to LMP also belongs to his story at the time. We are getting a little break from the dark themes.) 9. Tabloid Junkie (Here another cycle starts which deals with MJ's relationship with the media and the public. First a general criticism of irresponsible "journalism".) 10. Is It Scary (Then exploring the theme even deeper from an emotional-psychological POV. It isn't just about the media, but about the public's perception of him in general - no doubt largely shaped by the media, but also people's own thirst for juicy gossip, jealousy and ill-will. From MJ's perspective the whole thing looks like this: "I'm tired of being abused / You know you're scaring me too / I see the evil is you / Is it scary for you baby". Putting up a mirror in front of the mob lynch mentality of the masses.) 11. Threatened (I see this a kind of follow up to Is It Scary thematically. Now MJ also explores the psychological reasons behind why people are so hell bent on thinking the worst of people they don't know. "The major ingredient of any recipe for fear is the unknown". It's fear of the unknown and projecting our own darkest thoughts that make us unfairly label and lynch others. And often also coupled with jealousy ("Every time your lady speaks she speaks of me, threatened / Half of me you'll never be, so you should feel threatened by me"). But who really is the monster here? Maybe people should look into the mirror to find that out.) 12. Childhood ("But if you came to see / The truth the purity / It's here inside / A lonely heart" he said in Is It Scary and here we see more of that purity and lonely heart that totally contradict the monster portrayals and fantasies of the media and the public.) 13. History (Despite of the smear campaigns and attempts at destroying him his legacy continues to stand strong. He built his history and it remains victorious despite all the attacks.) 14. Little Susie (Kind of off thematially, like Earth Song, but to me it does belong to this album still. We can attach it to it thematically, maybe, that this showcases MJ's real relationship to children - the way he feels empathy for them and speaks up against their neglect and abuse.) 15. Smile (Like said before. The album starts with a Scream but when it goes full circle it ends with a Smile. It's not a totally honest smile, because his heart is still breaking inside, though, but it is nevertheless a smile as he tries to move on, trying to find some peace.)
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Post by Russg on Aug 4, 2017 9:45:12 GMT
the title track is a complete mess of a song. I think the title track is an amazing MJ classic, anthemic, feel-good, experimental and also sincerely beautiful.
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Post by HIStoric on Aug 4, 2017 10:01:07 GMT
I've been playing HIStory a bit more recently, today I was working and had it on and within seconds of Scream starting, I was caught in it. I really like what you said Respect and I have to agree. It's definitely not as accessible as his earlier albums, it's definitely more thematic but it absolutely has it's moments.
I like how it was also his first attempt at a concept album too. I shall copy and paste a section I posted earlier in another thread:
I think the Greatest Hits disc improved HIStory in every way. It evolved the album from a simple studio album, to that of a concept album. HIStory: Past, Present and Future: Book I. By having his greatest hits on Disc 1, it allowed him to present 'The Past', then evolve into 'The Present' on Disc 2. Disc 2 starts with 'Scream', but ends with a 'Smile', hinting at a positive outlook for The Future. All of this is his story, his HIStory. Never mind that the subtitle 'Book I' further suggested that Michael Jackson was not finished just yet (I imagine many people thought he was done after '93 allegations, so this just adds further weight to the statement). I would've loved to see Michael work on a Book II. Separating the two discs effectively rids itself of the concept album status.
HIStory isn't perfect, it's the first album by Michael to essentially have fillers. This Time Around, D.S., Money. Gotta be honest, they always had a 'filler' vibe to them, but, with the context of what happened leading up to the album, I can see why they as songs meant so much to Michael.
I always wish Michael got around to making a Book II. Maybe he'd include B-Side hits on Disc I?
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Post by HIStoric on Aug 4, 2017 10:04:38 GMT
the title track is a complete mess of a song. I think the title track is an amazing MJ classic, anthemic, feel-good, experimental and also sincerely beautiful. I love it too. Whenever I listen to it, it makes me realise the impact I as an individual can have not just on the planet, but especially to the people around me. I admire his creative incorporation of not just historical documents (i.e. MLK's snippet of 'I have a Dream!', 'Some men see things as they are and say why, I dream of things that never were and say why not'), but also that of important dates in history at the end. Would be cool if there was a list of the milestones read out.
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Post by respect77 on Aug 5, 2017 14:58:45 GMT
This Time Around, D.S., Money. Gotta be honest, they always had a 'filler' vibe to them, but, with the context of what happened leading up to the album, I can see why they as songs meant so much to Michael. I agree about TTA and D.S. but I absolutely LOVE Money. Brilliant.
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Post by MattyJam on Aug 5, 2017 16:13:43 GMT
This Time Around, D.S., Money. Gotta be honest, they always had a 'filler' vibe to them, but, with the context of what happened leading up to the album, I can see why they as songs meant so much to Michael. I agree about TTA and D.S. but I absolutely LOVE Money. Brilliant. I don't agree that any of those songs are fillers. D.S. is perhaps one of the most underrated songs in MJ's career, I've never understood why fans rag on it. I dunno, maybe it's because I'm a big rock fan and a massive GNR fan, so MJ + Slash = heaven to my ears. But I just love how pissed he sounds and the little dog panting noises he makes, its just such a great F-U to He Who Shall Not Be Named. I also love Money. No way is that a filler. I know at one point that was planned to be a single in Europe, I remember reading that in HIStory magazine at the time (anyone else remember that magazine?). I love how a lot of the choruses on HIStory are more like chants than traditional pop choruses. TDCAU, D.S., This Time Around, Scream, 2 Bad... they all have choruses that sound like angry slave chants. The only filler on HIStory is Come Together. Minus that song, the album is perfect. It is my favourite Michael Jackson album, always has been, always will be.
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Post by HIStoric on Aug 6, 2017 1:11:16 GMT
I don't agree that any of those songs are fillers. D.S. is perhaps one of the most underrated songs in MJ's career, I've never understood why fans rag on it. I dunno, maybe it's because I'm a big rock fan and a massive GNR fan, so MJ + Slash = heaven to my ears. But I just love how pissed he sounds and the little dog panting noises he makes, its just such a great F-U to He Who Shall Not Be Named. I also love Money. No way is that a filler. I know at one point that was planned to be a single in Europe, I remember reading that in HIStory magazine at the time (anyone else remember that magazine?). I love how a lot of the choruses on HIStory are more like chants than traditional pop choruses. TDCAU, D.S., This Time Around, Scream, 2 Bad... they all have choruses that sound like angry slave chants. The only filler on HIStory is Come Together. Minus that song, the album is perfect. It is my favourite Michael Jackson album, always has been, always will be. I definitely wouldn't consider D.S. one of the most underrated MJ songs, and I certainly wouldn't consider Come Together filler either (will very happily acknowledge my biased towards that track haha). As for why fans aren't too keen on those tracks, I suppose it's similar to Just Good Friends. It's an average song, it's not bad but it's not great either. When it's bookended by absolute masterpieces such as Liberian Girl, Another Part of Me, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal etc, then it's averageness stands out even more. So you have D.S., TTA, Money surrounded by Earth Song, Tabloid Junkie, Stranger in Moscow, TDCAU, Scream - all these songs that are simply incredible, and I think being surrounded by such great songs, the averageness of D.S., TTA and Money is just highlighted even more. Might give Money another chance soon though, I quite like the chorus on that one (same with TTA) and I liked how it was included on Michael Jackson: The Experience! I just find they're tracks that I rarely play outside of an album listening, that's all. I've been playing this album quite a bit over the past few days, I've always appreciated it and I'm coming to appreciate it even more now - which is cool. I found the full lyrics to Tabloid Junkie and it's really great to finally see what Michael is spitting out in the bridge
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Post by Russg on Aug 6, 2017 23:53:03 GMT
In 1992, Dangerous made me a fan.
On June 16th, 1995, HIStory made me an obsessive fan. The Greatest Hits album is good, and, despite being too Thriller heavy, has a decent variety of songs. But there is some magic in that studio album. It's just such a trip, so effortlessly inventive. Even today, I don't know anything quite like it. My brain says Dangerous and Bad are all better albums, but my heart says HIStory will always be #1 with me.
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Post by suzie on Aug 8, 2017 12:24:46 GMT
This was a great album. But like Dangerous and Invincible it's too long and some songs don't fit. I also think this album should've been closely followed up with all new material in 97/98ish but it's obvious from Invincible MJ didn't know where to go.
1. Scream (Jackson - Jackson - Harris III - Lewis) 2. They Don't Care About Us (Jackson) 3. Stranger In Moscow (Jackson 5. Earth Song (Jackson) 6. D.S. (Jackson) 7. Money (Jackson) 9. You Are Not Alone (Kelly)-too strong of a song to leave off. Should've been the first single 10. Childhood (Jackson) 14. Little Susie (Jackson)-I always keep this in because it's just so fucking weird lol 15. Smile (Turner - Parsons - Chaplin)-As a bonus -Add Morphine
With those you have a pretty solid concept album
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Post by Russg on Aug 9, 2017 8:10:53 GMT
This was a great album. But like Dangerous and Invincible it's too long and some songs don't fit. I also think this album should've been closely followed up with all new material in 97/98ish but it's obvious from Invincible MJ didn't know where to go. 1. Scream (Jackson - Jackson - Harris III - Lewis) 2. They Don't Care About Us (Jackson) 3. Stranger In Moscow (Jackson 5. Earth Song (Jackson) 6. D.S. (Jackson) 7. Money (Jackson) 9. You Are Not Alone (Kelly)-too strong of a song to leave off. Should've been the first single 10. Childhood (Jackson) 14. Little Susie (Jackson)-I always keep this in because it's just so fucking weird lol 15. Smile (Turner - Parsons - Chaplin)-As a bonus -Add Morphine With those you have a pretty solid concept album No Tabloid Junkie? Seriously??
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Post by HIStoric on Aug 9, 2017 9:33:24 GMT
This was a great album. But like Dangerous and Invincible it's too long and some songs don't fit. I also think this album should've been closely followed up with all new material in 97/98ish but it's obvious from Invincible MJ didn't know where to go. 1. Scream (Jackson - Jackson - Harris III - Lewis) 2. They Don't Care About Us (Jackson) 3. Stranger In Moscow (Jackson 5. Earth Song (Jackson) 6. D.S. (Jackson) 7. Money (Jackson) 9. You Are Not Alone (Kelly)-too strong of a song to leave off. Should've been the first single 10. Childhood (Jackson) 14. Little Susie (Jackson)-I always keep this in because it's just so fucking weird lol 15. Smile (Turner - Parsons - Chaplin)-As a bonus -Add Morphine With those you have a pretty solid concept album No Tabloid Junkie? Seriously?? I'm with you, I don't comprehend that. I've had that song on repeat for the last few days. I am obsessed with the bridge. God I can't wait for those multitracks to leak... some day... maybe... one can dream.
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Post by jaywonder on Aug 9, 2017 10:19:15 GMT
I remember when this album came out and all the promotion. From the teaser to the premiere of Scream, the MTV Awards, his appearances at the Soul Train Awards, VH1 Honors, BET Hall of Fame, the Michael Changes HIStory special
When it came out (I was 8 turning 9), I had favorites but wasn't a big fan of it. It wasn't until my late teens and early 20s that had me love it and the five songs on Blood on The Dancefloor. I think from a songwriting standpoint, it and Dangerous are probably Michael's best. This Time Around, Stranger In Moscow, Childhood, Scream, They Don't Care About Us, Money and Tabloid Junkie are my favorites, but it's not perfect. I have always disliked You Are Not Alone as I feel it's incredibly generic and I hate the video. I've also never understood the placement of Come Together on disc 2. If anything, I would've put it on disc one instead of Heal The World. In that place, I would've put something like On The Line (if it had been recorded) or Morphine or even Is It Scary.
One thing that has always frustrated me from HIStory on was the lack of interest in promoting the album further in the US after late 95. The HIStory tour could've really included 2 or 3 special concerts in the US like in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago
1. Scream/They Don’t Care About Us/In The Closet 2. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ 3. Stranger In Moscow 4. Smooth Criminal 5. Rock With You/Off The Wall/Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough 6. You Are Not Alone 7. I Want You Back/The Love You Save/I’ll Be There 8. Billie Jean 9. Remember The Time 10. Thriller 11. Beat It 12. Bad 13. Dangerous 14. Black or White 15. Earth Song 16. HIStory
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