Michael Jackson - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I CD

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I songs The finest example of perfect disco pop, and a record that should be prescribed to musical snobs and manic depressives. The album is a true ambassador of what pop music can be. Jackson whoops and dances through a suite of unforgettable melodies that should be danced to with a smile on your face. Each track offers at least one musical hook, whether it is the beauty of 'Human Nature' (who can resist the 'dada dada da da da') or the 'whoo whoo' of 'Billie Jean'. It's all too good. Principally recorded at Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, California. Additional Tracks Personnel: Vincent Price (rap vocals, spoken vocals); Steve Lukather (guitar, electric bass); Dean Parks, Eddie Van Halen, Paul Jackson, Jr. , David E. Williams (guitar); Larry Andrew Williams (flute, saxophone); Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (trumpet, flugelhorn); William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); David Paich (piano, synthesizer); Greg Phillinganes (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, synthesizer, hand claps); Bill Wolfer (keyboards, synthesizer); Tom Bahler (keyboards, Synclavier); Michael Boddicker (synthesizer, vocoder); Greg "Frosty" Smith, Rod Temperton, Steve Porcaro, David Foster, Brian Banks (synthesizer); Jeff Porcaro, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler (drums); James Ingram (hand claps, background vocals); Louis Johnson, Steven Ray (hand claps); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Becky Lopez, Howard Hewett, Janet Jackson, Julia Waters, La Toya Jackson, Maxine Willard Waters, Oren Waters, Bunny Hull (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Bruce Swedien. Audio Remasterer: Bernie Grundman. Recording information: Westlake studios. Editor: Stuart Brawley. Photographers: Stephen Vaughan; Dick Zimmerman; Sam Emerson; Ralph Nelson; Lester Cohen. Arrangers: David Paich; James Ingram ; Quincy Jones; Rod Temperton; Steve Lukather; Steve Porcaro. Personnel includes: Michael Jackson (vocals, percussion); Paul McCartney (vocals); Vincent Price (spoken vocals); Steve Lukather (guitar, bass); Eddie Van Halen, Dean Parks, Paul Jackson (guitar); Larry Williams (flute, saxophone); Jerry Hey (trumpet, flugelhorn); Bill Reichenbach (trombone); David Paich (piano, synthesizer); Greg Phillinganes (Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer, programming); Steve Porcaro (synthesizer, programming); David Foster, Rod Temperton (synthesizer); Tom Bahler (Synclavier); Louis Johnson (bass); Ndugu Chancler, Jeff Porcaro (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Brian Banks (programming); LaToya Jackson, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters, Becky ...

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I album for sale Track Listing of songs: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough; Rock with You; Working Day and Night; Get on the Floor; Off the Wall; Girlfriend; She's Out of My Life; I Can't Help It; It's the Falling in Love; Burn This Disco Out; [Untitled Track]; [Untitled Track]; Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough; [Untitled Track]; [Untitled Track]; Working Day and Night; Interview with Quincy Jones; Interview with Rod Temperton; Interview with Quincy Jones;

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I CD music Digitally remastered by Bernie Grundman (Bernie Grundman Mastering, Los Angeles, California). The downside to a success like Thriller is that it's nearly impossible to follow, but Michael Jackson approached Bad much the same way he approached Thriller -- take the basic formula of the predecessor, expand it slightly, and move it outward. This meant that he moved deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into hard dance -- essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft. He wound up with a sleeker, slicker Thriller, which isn't a bad thing, but it's not a rousing success, either. For one thing, the material just isn't as good. Look at the singles: only three can stand alongside album tracks from its predecessor ("Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"), another is simply OK ("Smooth Criminal"), with the other two showcasing Jackson at his worst (the saccharine "Man in the Mirror," the misogynistic "Dirty Diana"). Then, there are the album tracks themselves, something that virtually didn't exist on Thriller but bog down Bad not just because they're bad, but because they reveal that Jackson's state of the art is not hip. And they constitute a near-fatal dead spot on the record -- songs three through six, from "Speed Demon" to "Another Part of Me," a sequence that's utterly faceless, lacking memorable hooks and melodies, even when Stevie Wonder steps in for "Just Good Friends," relying on nothing but studiocraft. Part of the joy of Off the Wall and Thriller was that craft was enhanced with tremendous songs, performances, and fresh, vivacious beats. For this dreadful stretch, everything is mechanical, and while the album rebounds with songs that prove mechanical can be tolerable if delivered with hooks and panache, it still makes Bad feel like an artifact of its time instead a piece of music that transcends it. And if that wasn't evident proof that Jackson was losing touch, consider this -- the best song on the album is "Leave Me Alone" (why are all of his best songs paranoid anthems?), a tune tacked on to the end of the CD and never released as a single, apart from a weirdly claustrophobic video that, not coincidentally, was the best video from the album. [The album was later reissued with a number of previously unreleased bonus tracks and interview clips.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Additional Tracks Recorded at Westlake Audio Studios, Los Angeles, California. Originally released on Epic (40600). Personnel includes: Michael Jackson (vocals); Stevie Wonder (vocals, keyboards); The Winans (vocals); David Williams, Eric Gale, Steve Stevens, Bill Bottrell, Dann Huff, Michael Landau, Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar); Larry Williams (saxophone, keyboards, programming); Kim Hutchcroft (saxophone); Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (trumpet); John Barnes (piano, keyboards); Kevin Maloney (piano); Jimmy Smith (Hammond organ); Christopher Currell, Michael Boddicker, David Paich, Greg Phillinganes, Rhett Lawrence, Glen Ballard, Randy Kerber, Denny Jaeger (keyboards); Nathan East (bass); Ollie E. Brown (drums, percussion); John Robinson, Ndugu Chancler, Miko Brando, Humberto Gatica, Bruce Swedien (drums); Paulinho da Costa (percussion); Douglas Getschal, Cornelius Mims, Eric Persing, Steve Porcaro, Casey Young (programming).

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I buy CD music If you're only going to get one Madonna record, or if you want to find out what the fuss is about, start here. THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION compiles the cream of Madonna's '80s singles, from the dancefloor innocence of "Holiday" to the soul-searching pop of "Live To Tell" and "Like A Prayer" to the forward-looking, beat-crazy stylings of "Vogue." Included are a few singles, "Vogue" among them, that didn't make it onto any of Madonna's proper studio albums, and a couple of cuts exclusive to the collection, most notably the weird, Lenny Kravitz-produced "Justify My Love." Though there are a few ballads, the vibe is dance-pop, and to that end most of THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION was remixed by Shep Pettibone, Madonna's producer of choice at the time. Most of the mixes are true to the original singles, just buffed up a bit, while "Like A Prayer" gets a kind of Latin disco overhaul. For a summation of '80s pop, you can hardly do better. Seven of these songs hit numbr one and 13 of them made the top ten. And still Madonna was able to leave off several major hits, a measure of how picky she could afford to be. IMMACULATE indeed. Out of print in the U.S.! Import pressing of this 1990 compilation, the first collection from the Pop/Dance superstar. Features 17 of her biggest hits up to 1990 including 'Holiday', 'Borderline', 'Material Girl', 'Into The Groove' and many others. Warner. Personnel: Madonna (vocals, background vocals); Peter "Ski" Schwartz (keyboards, programming); Joey Moskowitz (programming); Dian Sorel, Lenny Kravitz, Lillias White, Catherine Russell (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Michael Hutchinson; Goh Hotoda; Shep Pettibone. Liner Note Author: Gene Sculatti. Recording information: Axis Studios, New York, NY; Unique Recording Studio; Waterfront Studios. Photographer: Herb Ritts. Arranger: Rob Mounsey. Personnel includes: Madonna (vocals); Lenny Kravitz, Dian Sorel, Catherine Russell, Lillias White (background vocals). Producers include: Madonna, Stephen Bray, Lenny Kravitz, John "Jellybean" Benitez, Nile Rodgers.

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I songs Track Listing of songs: Jam; Why You Wanna Trip on Me; In the Closet; She Drives Me Wild; Remember the Time; Can't Let Her Get Away; Heal the World; Black or White; Who Is It; Give in to Me; Will You Be There; Keep the Faith; Gone Too Soon; Dangerous;

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I album for sale Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards); Mike Campbell (guitar, bass); Benmont Tench (keyboards, background vocals); Howie Epstein (bass, background vocals); Ron Blair (bass); Stan Lynch (drums, background vocals). Recorded between 1976 and August 2000. Includes liner notes by Cameron Crowe. Digitally remastered by Joe Gaswirt (OceanView Mastering, Los Angeles, California). Neatly fitting in between 1993's GREATEST HITS and the 5-CD PLAYBACK box set that came out two years later, this 34-track collection is a chronological tour of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' MCA Records material. The consistent quality found throughout this two-CD set that's bookended by the sinister-sounding "Breakdown" and chiming "Surrender"(a song Petty wrote in the '70s but didn't get around to recording until August 2000) boggles the mind. Tight playing and a palpable sense of passion from the four-piece Heartbreakers transform songs like "Even the Losers", "Rebels" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" into rock & roll manna. Elsewhere, this Floridian singer-songwriter's sharp eye for pop culture ("Jammin' Me") and storytelling mastery ("Into the Great Wide Open," "Two Gunslingers") become pleasantly recurring characteristics. The inclusion of a scorching live version of the Byrds' "So You Wanna Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star" show Petty and company to be as potent on stage as in the studio. By the end of this musical tour it's hard to argue with the lofty statement Cameron Crowe makes in his liner notes calling Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers "...the greatest and most consistent American band of the last twenty-five years..." 2 Cds. 1976-1993.Incl.1 Newly Recorded Song "Surrender" ANTHOLOGY: THROUGH THE YEARS includes the previously unreleased "Surrender" and "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (with Stevie Nicks). Producers include: Denny Cordell, Rick Rubin, Jeff Lynne, Jimmy Iovine, Noah Shark. Personnel: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards); Benmont Tench (vocals, keyboards); Stan Lynch (vocals, drums); Howie Epstein, George Harrison (vocals); Mike Campbell , Scott Thurston (guitar); Dave Stewart (coral sitar); Jim Keltner, Steve Ferrone (drums); Phil Seymour (background vocals). Audio Mixers: George Drakoulias; Jim Scott . Additional personnel: Stevie Nicks (vocals); Scott Thurston (guitar); David A. Stewart (Coral sitar); Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass); Steve Ferrone, Jim Keltner (drums); Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, The Bangles (background vocals).