That is class!

What a thread, thanks for that!

Yesterday I saw some footage on the Dutch TV, Michael rehearsing two days before he passed away and to be honest he doesn't look unhealthy at all in my humble opinion.

I am also interested in this. Thanks again

Thanks for the posts. I was linked to this site from here: Hacker News | The work ethic of MJ - amazing tales from the studio by his engineers

For those asking about Michael beatboxing, here is him on Oprah. YouTube - Michael jackson sings to Oprah

For those intrigued by the Nine Inch Nails connection, I strongly recommend the relatively obscure MJ song Morphine from Blood on the Dance Floor, which is decidedly influenced by Reznor. Morphine is one of those eerie songs where Michael practically predicts his own downfall. It's incredibly sad.

This is amazing to read. Being a big fan of MJ, it's hard to describe how interesting these stories are to read of your experiences.

If you have any more details, I'm all ears!

Once again, thankyou..

Hiya guys. Thanx for the stories of MJ in the studio. You never hear much about him in the studio.

Do you guys have an personal pics or video of you guys working with Michael or some outtakes of tracks that you were able to keep for sentimental reasons?

Also did Bruce work with Michael on the latest album he was working on before he passed away?

Thanx again guys.

Thanks for sharing!

YouTube - Michael Jackson rerecords Billie Jean while drunk

dude he was not drunk that was one of the original demo....

Could you please tell us about They Don't Care About Us and how the drum track came about. Also on the single mix there is added drum programming that isnt on the album version.

Also where new lyrics dropped in to replace the words 'Jew' & 'kike' that people thought were controversial or were just sound fx added to mask the words? What made those sfx too please?

Also the intro to the title track HIStory had a new mix done to it later. Can you tell us more about that please?

THanx for all the info.

Great thread guys..... and very sad. Thank you for sharing you memories with us.

Thread of the year.

There were no cameras on the session, and all tapes were closely guarded, and delivered to MJ's vault when the record was done. Not sure if Bruce was around for the last sessions. If we're lucky he'll see this thread and post . . . . Bruce ??

no shit

Great to hear about the talent, not the spectacle and hype!

Very killer post ... Check this, few Bruce's words and clean MJ vocal :

YouTube - Bruce Swedien talks about recording Michael Jackson, Seattle 1993

Greetz to everyone !

I just fired up my HIStory DAT from 1995, and it still plays !!!!!!

"They Don't Care About Us" was a song that MJ had written a long time ago, and it got resurrected on every album from what I heard. We finally got it right on HIStory. It was basically a click track for the longest time with Michael and Brad adding new percussion elements everyday, and Andrew and I building sample libraries for it every night. Sticks, claps, snares, hits. Basic groove was started on the MPC, the rest of the perc was EIII and EIIIxp. Brad's 909 is the main kick. Some of the crazy fx sweeps and sounds were added at the very end by Chuck Wilde. The bridge of that song is crazy. We had tons of programmers and guitar players come in and everyone filled up their own 24 track tape with overdubs - Jason Miles, Jeff Bova, Trevor Rabin, Slash, and many more. Poor Eddie had to sit with MJ towards the end of the record and go through it all just so it would fit on the master 3348 tapes. Here's where my guitar credit comes in. Apparently after Trevor and Slash played their parts, someone realized they had played the wrong notes on the main bridge riff. They pulled me in to replay it. I prayed every time they recomp'ed the bridge tapes, and it survived until the end. Thus, my first guitar credit on a record is with MJ !!!

The extra groove stuff was added for the video concept I believe.

The "offending" lyrics were cut and effects placed in their place after the press got hold of it. Funny, I'm jewish and listened to the song for over a year, and was never offended.

Not sure about the new mix to HIStory that was done later. . . .

Always did You use programming drums or sometimes You did record real acoustic drums on this record, I mean HISTORY ?! Thanks in advanced & Take care !

it's all programmed. . . . . except "Earth Song". That track was started before HIStory by Bill Botrill.

Thank You very much. You are Great Man !

I agree with Infopimpster. Thread of the year. Great to hear true insight without all the sensationalism and hype... Many thanks Robmix...

How long took You whole process from beginning to get one finished track, mainly ?! Thank You !

.

wow, thanks for the details, Rob - freekin' awesome

yeah, i've been wondering how those mid 90's DAT tapes would hold up!
...not to mention the fact that all 3 of my DAT machines from that era are dead

i hope the the tapes have outlasted the machines...

.

They had started some things on the road. Nothing was really finished early and left alone. Jam and Lewis, and Dallas came in after about 1 year, so those were the quickest tracks, maybe 4 or 5 months. But the majority of the tracks were worked on over the entire 18 months.

Thank You very much ...

Did MJ left any songs unreleased (unheard) from that sessions ?! If they are, are many ?! Thank You !

many, we worked on about 40 tracks. Some of which showed up on Blood on the Dancefloor.

I'm sure he's got a lot of unreleased material . . . .

I hope this is allowed but speaking of Earth Song, here is the demo for it titled 'What About Us' which was done during the Dangerous sessions. Its a bit like the This Is It rehearsals were Michael isnt giving it his all during the adlibs but it is only a demo.

What About Us (Early Version)[Earth Song Demo]
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Thanx again for all the detail on the making of the album. This is fantastic info on behinds the scenes of a Michael Jackson album which is rare because nobody every asks these sorts of question (to Michael) and Ive never had the opportunity to ask the engineers before so thanx guys and gearslutz. I know I sound like a kiss ass but Im really loving this thread.

May I ask what is on your DAT of HIStory? Is it a final mix of the album?

On This Time Around, Michael says 'Shit' which as was noted ealier Michael doesnt swear and is one reaons why Michaels studio name of Smelly came about. How is it then he came to swear on this track?

Can you tell me please some info on the song Little Susie which is mostly orchestra. Its a very dark song. Unlike anything we've heard from Michael. Any info on the intro of the song?

Also do you know what other Beatles tracks Michael may have done demos for? I know Come Together was recorded during the Bad era but I thought maybe he might have tried other Beatles tracks being he owned them.

BTW do you what some of the other tracks the were being considered for HIStory but ultimately werent chosen?

*cough* Bruce?? *cough* lol

Bruce may need some time:

Best,

Geoff

^^ Completly understandable. I hope Bruce is coping well with the news. Its been the longest week!