The mystery track on ‘XSCAPE’ – What is it?
by DAMIEN SHIELDS posted on APRIL 12, 2014
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It’s been almost two weeks since The Estate of Michael Jackson and Epic Records announced the May 13 release of the new Michael Jackson album ‘XSCAPE’. Although no track list has been announced as of yet, fans have been able to piece most of it together based on the reports published by those who attended private listening sessions arranged by Epic’s CEO L.A. Reid.
What we know for certain is that there will be eight songs on the album. Seven of those eight tracks seem to have been identified. They are, in order of appearance (according to those who’ve heard the album from start to finish):
1. Love Never Felt So Good
2. She Was Lovin’ Me (aka Chicago)
3. ?
4. A Place With No Name
5. Do You Know Where Your Children Are
6. Slave To The Rhythm
7. Blue Gangsta
8. Xscape
The third track on the album, however, remains a mystery. So far none of the journalists, radio broadcasters, media identities or Michael Jackson fans who have attended the various listening sessions around the world have been able to identify the track. So, just for a bit of fun, I am going to take a wild stab in the dark!
My prediction for track #3: “Lovely Way”
There are number of reasons I think “Lovely Way” could be the mysterious third track on the album. I’ll go through those reasons below.
Firstly, let’s look at the seven tracks we know are on ‘XSCAPE’. These tracks have all been in the hands of the Estate and Sony since at least mid-2010, and were considered for, but not included on the ‘Michael’ album.
“Lovely Way” was also considered for, but not included on the ‘Michael’ album.
In November 2010, right as the final track list for the ‘Michael’ album was being decided upon, producer Mark Ronson spoke to UK publication Daily Star about the unreleased Jackson track he worked on to be considered for the album.
“It’s a really beautiful song called ‘Lovely Way’,” said Ronson. “I don’t know if it’s made the album but I hope he would dig it if he was here… It’s in the vein of Elton John’s ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road‘ and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine‘.”
Below is a collection of statements regarding the mystery track derived from articles published over the last two weeks:
“The third song played is another Off the Wallesque, mid-paced love song with a youthful, almost naive-sounding vocal. It feels very much like a song that didn’t make it on to an old album, and while the production is good – there’s an amazing rolling beat throughout – it still feels slight,” reported journalist Michael Cragg after attending a listening session in the UK, while Lewis Corner, also at that session, described it as a flowing ’80s-tinged serenade with orchestral bursts and choral harmonies.
A critic who heard the track during the Paris listening session likened the song to “Liberian Girl” and described it as being a nostalgic track with a minimalist-type production and whirling synths.
Another attendee of that same Paris listening session told me that the mystery track was a smooth mid-tempo love song about a girl. They said it has an RnB feel, “Reminiscent of the ‘Off The Wall’ approach Jackson and producer Rodney Jerkins had developed on ‘Invincible’ for songs like ‘You Rock My World’,” adding that: ”It has a slight ‘The Jacksons’ feel; like in their ‘Triumph’ days.”
The exact origins of the song “Lovely Way” are not publicly known, and is a track that Jackson fans around the world have never heard. The fact that fans have never heard “Lovely Way” leads me to my second reason for believing it could be the mystery track on ‘XSCAPE’.
Joseph Vogel, author of ’Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson’, discussed the track briefly from his Twitter account, telling fans that this track was a mid-tempo from the 1980s and: “Not a song that people have heard.”
Vogel was privileged enough to have heard the album in L.A. Reid’s office recently, and also attended the listening session in NYC on April 8. Unfortunately, though, Vogel won’t be reviewing the album, so things may remain a mystery a while longer.
Epic Records and The Estate also held a listening session two days ago at Jim Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles – the same studio in which Jackson famously recorded “We Are The World”. This listening session was held especially for a select group of fans from all around the world, whom the Estate flew in from as far and wide as Spain, Germany, Japan, UK, the Netherlands as well as cities within the United States.
Reports regarding the session have already begun emerging online, but as of yet there seems to be no clarification of the mysterious third track. The Legendary Michael Jackson Fan Club posted a track list here, while Michael Jackson World Network posted one here. They’re similar, but not the same.
Either way, it’s only a matter of time before The Estate and Epic Records officially announce the track list. They have to sooner or later as the album comes out in a month!
Updates to follow should there be any of relevance.
The mystery track on ‘XSCAPE’ – What is it? » DamienShields.com
algo de love será fijo xD