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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Oct 1, 2021 16:50:48 GMT
A "typical" Michael Jackson album would take between 10 and 16 months in the studio. Its budget allowed up to 100 songs to be recorded! Some would be discarded at first, while others were adjusted. Musicians were brought in to add ideas, but at the center of it all was Michael.
The team was extremely small, considering the scope of the projects. Each project was a little different, but there were usually fewer than eight of us working daily, from day one to completion.
No entourage. No elephant man bone. No groupies. No drugs. Just music. And food. Lots of food!
He was kind, generous and extremely talented. He had an unusual moral code in the music industry.
— by Brad Sundberg, sound engineer, has worked with Michael on numerous personal and professional projects for over 18 years
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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Oct 3, 2021 21:09:28 GMT
Pull out your magnifying glass and you'll see a very long list of names of various musicians, engineers and recording studios on the "Special Thanks" list on the Bad album. Having his name listed on a Michael Jackson album was very gratifying and of course some notes use humor and nicknames so when Michael was singing the background vocals for the title track, "Bad" at one point he looked directly at me, started laughing and singing: "Brad, Brad, really, really Brad!" It was quite common for him to come into the studio to see me and immediately get the chorus: "You know I'm Brad, Brad, Brad, really, really Brad!" So for a while, it was a pretty fun and musical nickname in the studio and I became really, really Brad. As I recall, Jolie Levine was the project manager who compiled all the notes in the liner notes for Michael's final approval. It was a really nice surprise to see that he included some of the nicknames, including mine I think it shows that we had a good sense of humor and a level of family camaraderie. I was proud to be part of a team of amazing people. Even in the last few years, when Michael saw me, he started laughing and singing, "Brad, Brad, really, really Brad!" — by Brad Sundberg
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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Oct 8, 2021 15:55:00 GMT
''Entering Westlake Studio D in early 1987 is a bit surreal in my memory. I was only 24 and Michael was 29. Studio D was at the end of a long hallway, with a small janitor's closet on the right. I knew that closet very well, because in the first few days at Westlake I vacuumed, cleaned the toilets and stoused the Coke machine.
As you walked through the closet toward the "D," you could hear and almost feel the frequencies coming from the huge SM-1 speakers.
That day, the team was working on a song called "Hot Fever", which eventually changed the name to "The Way You Make Me Feel". You could hear the: boom-boom-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum ... and to know that when i opened the huge studio door the sound would explode. It was energizing. I opened the door and it took a few seconds for my ears to get used to the volume.
Michael was sitting in the center of the console holding the volume control. Bruce talked to Bea on the phone and Rod and Quincy were in the kitchen eating chicken sandwiches that the chef had prepared. They were amazing! This was my place.
Bruce and Michael made it clear that I could spend as much time as I wanted to watch and learn from them whenever I wasn't assigned to other sessions, so Studio D became the best school I ever attended, with the best teachers you could imagine.
That night Michael was going to record the vocals —my favorite moment of the session. Guests weren't allowed on vocal days, but Studio D had a huge control room, so any time you'd probably find Quincy, Bruce, and Rod Temperton, along with some other assistants —and me. Bill Bray or Miko Brando used to be in the back room, laughing and joking. (Studio D was built specifically for MJ's album. Studio A (in another building) was where "Thriller" was recorded and mixed, but Bruce wanted a bigger space for the new album, so Westlake built the huge Studio D.)
Everything seemed right. Michael was getting ready to start singing, i made some last minute adjustments:
Test and clean the headphones; heat the water in the microwave and fill a jar. No tea, nothing special, just hot water; turn on the heater, because he liked the atmosphere to be warm when he sang, (he was always cold); turn off all studio lights (except the control room), and the sheet music holder light.
And test the microphone.
Now everything is ready to start.
Michael walks into the studio and we play like we always do. He had a few letters in a notepad in his hand, along with a Life magazine. The week before, he brought the chimp Bubbles and asked me to hold him while he sang. As this was my first time holding a chimpanzee, it was a mixture of emotion and fear, knowing and feeling how strong he was in my arms. But today Bubbles lives in captivity among several chimpanzees. I took a cup of coffee for myself and another for Bruce and sat in the back of the control room.
Bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum ...
This incredible introduction began to play...
Hey, pretty baby with
the high heels on You give me fever like I've
never, ever known You're just a product of loveliness I like the groove of your walk, your talk, your dress...
I took a sip of my coffee, fully aware that I was watching and listening to a master at work.
Michael started laughing and Bruce stopped recording.
"Let's get this in compass 32!" Bruce instructed on the microphone.
Michael was like a machine, he sang taken after take, each more perfect than the other. Seriously, perfect.
You could hear his dancing through the microphone—he never kept moving.
Every now and then, he filled his mug with more hot water and continued to sing.
He never kept laughing.
He never kept singing.
The magic never stopped.
Bruce managed the session as a Navy commander, looking easy, but it wasn't.
The music was long. Very long, almost nine minutes long.
Bruce had decided from the beginning of the project that the songs would be long enough for us to have enough material to create video mixes, international mixes, whatever the label wanted —from the beginning. So Michael sang the entire length of the song.
We don't cheat and copy/paste vocals (sometimes called "flying" vocals), instead Michael sang every line and phrase over and over again.
That particular night, Michael sang for more than two hours, stopping just to go to the bathroom.
As soon as Bruce was satisfied that we had enough takes to work, he called Michael to listen.
Michael increased the volume to the max and we played the tape.
The gigantic SM-1 speakers came to life, playing the song as if they wanted to hurt you. Incredibly loud.
Ain't
nobody's business
(the way you make me feel)
Michael was happy, jumped and started dancing.
Bruce, Rod and Quincy laughed.
The room was shaking to the point of you hearing the lamps shaking on the ceiling.
Irrespective of.
It was a magical moment
Michael dancing.
Speakers at maximum.
A room full of friends.
A room full of legends.
A cup of fresh coffee.
The smell of chicken sandwiches.
Bruce's ribbon box holding the track sheet on the island.
Giant analog tapes "sliding on the 24-track Studer A-800''...
We stayed late to tag tapes that we'd work on the next day.
I got a tight hug from Michael as I left knowing I was going to be home after 2:00 a.m. and i'd have a 9:00 a.m. session the next morning.
The calendar says the Bad album was released 34 years ago, but sometimes it feels like 34 weeks.
Working on a project like Bad was a bit like keeping an amazing secret. Here was a small group of extraordinarily talented people in an ordinary Hollywood building working on a song that is... timeless.
Knowing that the chorus "The way you make me feel..." would soon be playing on radios, turntables, tape players and shows all over the world was amazing.
Eventually I would learn that in communist nations pop music was banned, but the Bad album would be smuggled and copy after copy was shared among fans.
But for a few precious months, it was ours.
Really, really our.''
- Brad Sundberg has worked with Michael on numerous personal and professional projects for over 18 years
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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Nov 2, 2021 17:07:25 GMT
''It is thousands of days that, unfortunately, were not clearly preserved in my memory but on July 20, 1987, I remember as if it were today. No, it wasn't the birthday of one of my four beautiful daughters (these days stand out even more) or my wedding day.
On July 20, 1987, I woke up early in the morning with the sound of KIIS FM (102.7) playing on my clock radio. The legendary Rick Dees was the host chosen to release the first single from the album "Bad".
Bruce and I were probably working in the studio on a second or third single, but the world finally had a chance to hear what we've been working on for so long.
As I was a real studio rat, early morning was not part of my daily routine... certainly not. But I remember kiis announced a day or two in advance of what time Michael's new single would ring, so I remember I turned on the alarm, I wanted to hear along with the rest of the world.
I woke up Debbie [my wife] and increased the volume of the little clock radio. Of course, I've heard "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" hundreds of times in the studio, perhaps from one of the best speakers in the world — Westlake SM-1 (each costing about $200,000). I was there when Michael and Siedah sang this song, but now it was different— it was on KIIS FM radio!
This song isn't my favorite album, but none of it mattered. I heard it with all of Los Angeles in my little clock radio in my room. It was like I was listening for the first time.
I remember Rick Dees announcing the song. It was Michael Jackson's first single since the title track (and also the last single) "Thriller", which was released nearly four years ago in November 1983. I don't remember his words exactly but he was thrilled by the idea of playing a new single.
Michael for the first time... on my clock radio! I heard Dunn Huff's guitar, John Barnes' keyboards. I could discern the richness of steve porcaro's synth sounds and N'Dugo's subtle and perfect percussion.
I remember a sense of pride, although my contribution at the time was minimal. I was proud of the team. I was proud of Bruce's mix, Quincy's impeccable production. I was proud that something as simple as a four-and-a-half minute song could make me feel proud... Listening to everything through the tiny speaker of a clock radio. All this was felt that morning.
Is this my favorite Michael song? No, not at all, but every time I hear it I immediately go back to that time, to a small apartment in Los Angeles, a little clock radio and a moment that will forever remain in my memory.
July 20, 1987. A day I'll never forget.''
— by Brad Sundberg, sound systems professional who worked with Michael Jackson for over 10 years
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Post by respect77 on Nov 5, 2021 16:22:20 GMT
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Post by Snow White on Nov 12, 2021 0:21:55 GMT
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Post by respect77 on Dec 8, 2021 12:10:08 GMT
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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Dec 24, 2021 21:21:41 GMT
'Late Summer 1994, 421 West 54th Street, New York, Hit Factory Recording Studio, 6th floor. Michael Jackson's HIStory project was in full swing. We had studios running in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Minneapolis, sometimes up to 13 rooms running at the same time. The tapes were being sent to the other side of the country, there was a lot of pressure as we advanced towards the finish line. So Michael had an idea. He wanted to record a Christmas song. A song composed by John Williams for the soundtrack of Forgotten Me. A song that ... had already been recorded. That didn't stop Michael—he wanted to record it. We quickly recorded the song (it probably took less than a day), but the highlight of the song is a children's choir. We had already assembled a children's choir in New York and I had the director's number in hand. Michael asked me to set a date when the choir could come in and sort out the details. Pretty easy. We marked the choir (about 20 children, as I recall) for a three-hour session, to sing the Christmas song. That almost certainly wouldn't get on the album. But Michael wanted to do it. By this time, I had already organized numerous sessions like these, ensuring that the room was perfect, Bruce Swedien's microphones would be well positioned etc. But Michael wanted this session to be a little more special... MJ — "Brad, we need to decorate the studio." I - "Decorate? I really don't think that's necessary because they're only going to be here for three hours." MJ — "We need to decorate. For Christmas!" I -- "I don't know if we can find Christmas ornaments this time of year in stores..." MJ —"Brad, we need to decorate." (I went to a New York prop company, decorated the studio with artificial snow, a sleigh, a giant nativity scene, Christmas trees, lights, etc.) A few days later... I -- "... the décor is a bit exaggerated. But is it good?" MJ — "Yes, now we need the children's choir and their families." I —" But they're only going to stay here for three..." MJ —" Yes, but remember, to call their families. I want them here.'' I -- "I'm going to provide everything...'' MJ —" And is everything ready for the Christmas choir?" I -- "Ummm, yes. It's already snowing in the studio and we have a big company to organize meals." MJ — "What about the gifts?" I 'you know it's not real Christmas, right?'' MJ — "I've already decided which gifts to give them. Gameboys! With all the games and batteries!" I -- "How many...?" MJ — "For every singer and his brothers and sisters!" A day later ... MJ — "Are we ready for the Christmas choir?" I -- 'Yes, we're ready! We have decorations, food and gifts — and we can record it now!'' MJ — "We need a Santa!" I -- "OK, slow down. I don't know if I can find a Santa Claus in New York in the summer. I'm sorry." MJ — "Brad, YOU're going to be Santa Claus!" I -- "That's not going to happen! But I can call ..." MJ — "Brad — YOU're going to be Santa Claus!" I in a Santa costume complete with my trusty elves Brian and Rachel distributed the gifts and had one of the most memorable days in a recording studio imaginable. I -- "Merry Christmas Michael." MJ — "Merry Christmas Brad!" — by Brad Sundberg worked with Michael Jackson on numerous personal and professional projects
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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Feb 17, 2022 19:33:57 GMT
''When emotion dominated him Michael threw his head back and screamed or howled. It was totally spontaneous, you should be ready for a shout from Michael Jackson by your side and It took me a while to figure that out.
Over time, I began to love to see it shine with a mix, a sound or a new song. I clearly remember building for him a gigantic sound system on his ranch —which occupied an area the size of a football field—and bringing him to listen. I chose DeBussy as my demo song because I knew how much he loved this composer.
As the music increased, he closed his eyes — and let out the loudest "HOOOOOO!!"
— by Brad Sundberg worked with Michael Jackson on numerous personal and professional projects.
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Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Feb 17, 2022 19:45:35 GMT
''When emotion dominated him Michael threw his head back and screamed or howled. It was totally spontaneous, you should be ready for a shout from Michael Jackson by your side and It took me a while to figure that out. Over time, I began to love to see it shine with a mix, a sound or a new song. I clearly remember building for him a gigantic sound system on his ranch —which occupied an area the size of a football field—and bringing him to listen. I chose DeBussy as my demo song because I knew how much he loved this composer. As the music increased, he closed his eyes — and let out the loudest "HOOOOOO!!" — by Brad Sundberg worked with Michael Jackson on numerous personal and professional projects. LOL! that's Michael. 😂😂😂
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Post by respect77 on Mar 28, 2022 18:27:13 GMT
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Post by respect77 on Apr 9, 2022 3:40:44 GMT
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Post by Snow White on Jun 9, 2022 22:58:26 GMT
Brad talking about the Jam vocals.
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Post by Snow White on Jun 11, 2022 3:41:17 GMT
I wasn't even aware of the vocal comping concept, very interesting. Many of MJ songs sound they were done in one take but probably a lot f them were comped.
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Post by respect77 on Jun 11, 2022 9:49:55 GMT
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