Michael Jackson- The Ultimate Fan Extras Collection (Itunes Exclusive)

Epic Records/Legacy Recordings

The Ultimate Fan Extras Collection is a new compilation that features nearly three gigabytes of “extra” material from throughout the King of Pop’s storied career. From Off the Wall demos through new mixes used for the Immortal show, there are 164 songs featured throughout which truly makes it worthy of its title. Remixes and instrumental pieces are abundant here, however they have also included rare demos, Spanish language versions, and b-sides that did not make Jackson’s albums, a  healthy sampling of which are from the height of his career and were cut from the Bad album. The collection is arranged by era/album, with the final section being more of a scattered collection featuring numerous Remixes, Rarities, and Gems all in one place. This release is also presented in conjunction with the estate of Michael Jackson.

If you are a diehard fan and have been following along with the recent anniversary reissues of Jackson’s classic works then you probably already have nearly everything on this collection. If you are like me, however, and you have maybe one or two of the anniversary editions, then this is for you. You already know that the extras are pretty high quality and this set collects all of them in a single work.

How do you even pick highlights on an album like this? I’m not sure it’s possible as it depends so heartily on your favorite Jackson era, how into remixes you are, how interested you are in demo recordings, etc. One thing that will be universal though are the extra songs that are collected here.

For me, it’s the Bad  extras that blow me away. This section alone is worth the price of admission and is a very firm reminder that Bad would have been even bigger had it been a double album. I’m not sure I have ever wished that an album were longer, until this collection. “Al Capone,” “Streetwalker,” “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” with a touching spoken word intro added in, the biting “Price of Fame,” are all top notch tracks. Just really amazing stuff that was obviously complete and ready to roll. It’s “Song Groove (a/k/a Abortion Papers)” though that really turns your head. An obvious stand against abortion that references God’s word being against it from the King of Pop?! It’s no secret why a label would have wanted to keep that off a high profile album in the late eighties!

Another highlight includes the home demo of “Billie Jean.” While it may only be a demo, it’s Jackson’s rawness that really sucks you into it. He’s fumbling around looking for the right lyrics and almost beatboxing parts of the song, offering ample evidence of what we already knew, there was genius inside the man’s mind. The Clivelles and Cole (C& C Music Factory is mastery, right?) remix of the hit “Black or White” from Dangerous is another highlight. While I miss the guitar riff that drives it, this unique mix likely would have been just as successful. Of course, the demo for “We Are the World” is powerful in its simplicity and brings back so many memories of times many would consider much better for us as a people. It’s wonderful to hear Jackson solo here, this could easily been one of his biggest hits without the all-stars he eventually assembled to sing it.

For me, the only thing that drags this collection down is the inclusion of the Immortal material. Many fans will really enjoy this but, for my money, I just can’t get into it without the visual. I would say that fans of Cirque De Soleil’s other shows, or perhaps Broadway works, are more likely to take to this than Jackson’s core fanbase. Still though, it does promote the all-inclusive nature of this collection.

Overall, this is a lot of bang for your buck. It lists for $79.99 digitally but, for the most part, these are real, complete songs so it’s really not that expensive considering the 164 tunes included. And if this doesn’t satisfy your hankering then the label has also released Jackson’s entire catalog, completely remastered specifically for Itunes. 2013 has just given us a whole lot of the King of Pop, reminding us of him at his best rather than the fact that he left us too soon.