Michael Jackson - the 45 versions on CD

waldo wrote: ...it was an OTW outtake, but i think Michael might have gone back to it during the Thriller sessions and rejected it again.

Hmmm, maybe. I just know that when I listen to it, the instrumentation/production SOUNDS much more like the version on the box set was recorded in '82. Thanks for the input!

that book in the box set is littered with many, many mistakes...

Agreed. I, too, spotted at least a couple more errors, but after all, it IS a pretty lengthy essay...

...probably put together by some Sony person that knows very little about Jackson.

As I stated in my original post, they were actually written by renowned author & former "Billboard" r&b columnist Nelson George (see pg. 19)...

Brian W. wrote: I do know that Michael says "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was written for "Off the Wall," but he didn't think it was any good, so he didn't show it to Quincy Jones at the time.

Ah, interesting tidbit - never knew that. Thanks for the response...

F**K!!! All the ringles have been pushed back two weeks to November 6th!...Here's what happened: they're all pressed, and most of the stores have them in stock... but the phone companies have not finished setting up to accept the ringtones. So they can't sell them because the ringtones can't be activated yet. That's why they've been pushed to 11/6.

Hmmm, my local Borders bookstore here in NH must not have gotten the memo, lol. Was there about 7-8 hours ago (Tuesday evening), when a fairly large cardboard display bin caught my attention. Walked up and realized it was filled w/ a couple hundred new CDs in slim 5" x 5" cardsleeves - yep, it was a special display made just for the new ringles! Spent about five minutes checking 'em out, but didn't buy any (yet) - all were Sony/BMG artists/titles...

Some other interesting catalog singles have been scheduled for release as Ringles: Wham's "Everything She Wants" (which so far just lists "Remix" on the tracklisting on Amazon), Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (with the original 1949 picture sleeve!), "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, and "All I Want for Xmas" by Mariah Carey (its first domestic CD single release), among others.

Didn't see any of those particular titles. There's a prominent color band w/ the "ringle" logo at the top of every sleeve, and the color of that band varies from title to title. The catalog titles (which I paid much more attention to) were indeed interesting: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, Europe's "The Final Countdown", and (ugh!) "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper; even Cheap Trick, among others. Based on my somewhat-limited knowledge of picture sleeves (don't really collect vinyl 45s), it appears that Sony/BMG used the same cover art for the new ringles as appeared on the original 45 picture sleeves - even retaining the original B-sides from the 45s, too (as you indicated would be the case w/ "Billie Jean"). There were some current titles mixed in as well (Jennifer Lopez, etc.); even some currents by country acts! Didn't see MJ's "Billie Jean" or "Thriller", although I admit I didn't pick through every ringle in the display bin...

And I know some of these ringles have already escaped in other areas, too - a couple hours ago while doing time on eBay, I found a seller already offering a handful of them, complete w/ pictures...

Edited to add: Borders' price for the ringles was a decent $4.99 each, BTW...

Edited by 80smusicfreak

I certainly like the idea of having the catalog "ringles" titles issued with their original picture sleeves and B-sides. I just hope Sony is equally faithful in reproducing the correct 45 versions and lengths for these songs as well. Who knows, maybe this is how we'll eventually obtain the elusive 45 remix of Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise" from a master tape source!

aaronk wrote: Todd Ireland wrote: Who knows, maybe this is how we'll eventually obtain the elusive 45 remix of Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise" from a master tape source! That would kick butt!

Yes, sir! And perhaps this might be our last hope to eventually obtain that long lost 45 version of "Wanna Be Startin' Something" for Brian!

Will Christmas come early for everyone?