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Blood on the Dance Floor - Michael Jackson (1997)

It’s been just over a year since the death of Michael Jackson and there have already been a handful of new MJ albums released. The latest, simply titled Michael, hits shelves this month, but it is actually the first album with NEW MJ material since Invincible in 2001. Michael is the first of 10 albums as part of the deal between SONY and Jackson’s estate, which is said to be worth about 250 mill and already there is controversy (which shouldn’t surprise us). The issue is the sound of his voice, which someone in the Jackson family claims isn’t actually Michael’s, a statement Teddy Reilly (who produced three of the 10 tracks on the album) has fought hard to prove otherwise. He says MJ’s voice sounds different because they were working with vocal tracks that were not what would usually be considered final takes, which meant they had to use a studio tool know as Melodyne (basically auto-tune). Whaddya gonna do?

I can’t quite bring myself to consider letting new, somewhat altered, MJ performances into my life quite yet anyway, so the question I pose, “Is it possible to pick a favourite Michael Jackson track?” (that’s not one of the usual suspects). A tall order, but I’m gonna go with Blood on the Dance Floor, which was originally supposed to appear on the Dangerous album in 1991, but ended up on a remix album six years later. Produced and co-written by Teddy Reilly, who is a hip hop/R&B producing legend (and if we could have anyone working on posthumous MJ music, he’s the guy). I love how aggressive this song is and have always been a fan of the lower register of MJ’s vocals. I’m not sure who Susie is in this song, and there has been some debate as to what Susie represents, but whoever she is supposed to be I love how she made Mike sing.

Ain’t no Grave – Johnny Cash (2010)

So when first I started this paragraph it was something righteous about young musicians spending more time on cover songs rather than originals, hoping to score a viral hit on YouTube, and how there are times I love covers and times I don’t….then I deleted it. I also thought about trying to find the words that might somehow do justice to the legacy of Johnny Cash…impossible. So I will just say this: I love that I have new music to learn about, because of him. Rick Rubin was recording music with Johnny Cash right up until Cash’s death in 2003, producing six albums for Cash. The sixth instalment of those albums includes a song that was written in 1978 by a Pentecostal Preacher by the name of Brother Claude Ely (ee-lee), whose music inspired everyone from Elvis to Cash. The track Ain’t no Grave has been around for a long time and within gospel music it’s a classic, but now it’s become part of the Johnny Cash legend and has given me a new musical road to go explore.

Father’s Son – Fistful of Mercy (2010)

This past February, Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harriosn (yes, George Harrison’s son) found themselves sitting in a studio together, staring at each other, with no songs. Dhani Harrison bumped into Ben at a skate park and was invited into the studio, assuming he was gonna be asked to play guitar on some of Joseph Arthur’s tunes…..instead, the three wrote and recorded nine songs in three days and now call themselves Fistful of Mercy. The first album is called As I Call you Down and perhaps the best track of the year-is Father’s Son. This is one of those times where music was made for the sake of making music. No pressure, no expectations, just three guys connected by a love of making music who decided to see what would happen if they made it together.

Fill Them In – Local Rabbits (2001)

Sometimes the best songs are the ones you haven’t heard yet. I’m not sure who said that, or if I made it up, but I like it. Peter Elkas is a Montreal born singer songwriter who has been busy making really good solo albums(which you should hear). He has also been helping Joel Plaskett fill out his live sound for quite some time playing guitar, keys and singing, but I first heard about him in a band called Local Rabbits. In their early days they were signed to Sloan’s Murder Records and in my Going Coastal days to a cool label called Brobdingnagian Records. I remember interviewing them for their last album This is it Here We Go, which is the home of this track and Pete told me the story behind the album title. If I recall correctly, they had a gross accident on tour and rolled their van. Just before the van went ass up, somebody said “this is it here we go”….and the name kinda stuck. It’s a damn shame that more people didn’t hear them before they broke up but thanks to the magic of the internet I can tell you about them and you can buy their music, and you should.

P.S. A girl named Leslie (Feist) told me the Rabbits are back together in some new type of 50’s doo-wop vibed band…I think. Maybe it was a dream.