This article is about the album. You may have been looking for the song.
Dangerous is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson'. It was released by Epic Records on November 26, 1991, and is noted for being the first album Michael didn't co-produce with Quincy Jones.
The record is one of Michael's most experimental works, with more of a focus on humanitarian themes, and a wider range of musical styles. Dangerous eventually sold over 32 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time.[1]
Background[]
Following the success of his previous album, Bad, Michael desired not only even more creative control but also not wanting the general public to begin to think his popularity depended on Jones, eventually separating from the producer.
In June of 1989, Michael and his "B-Team" from Bad began working on a compilation project under the title of Decade. The record would feature Jackson's biggest hits as well as include some new tracks, e.g. "Heal the World".[2] Throughout the sessions, Michael would've worked with Bill Bottrell, Bruce Swedien as well as newly met musicians, Bryan Loren and Brad Buxer. The latter met Jackson through Bottrell. Their partnership eventually evolved into not only a 20-year-long collaboration but a close friendship as well.
| “ | Musically speaking, we were on the same wavelength; we spoke the same language. | ” |
–Brad Buxer | ||
As of December, the team would shift studios, from Westlake to Record One, due to Michael's issues with the place being too crowded.[3] By the following year, Jackson had created multiple songs with Loren, including hidden gems such as "Work That Body" or "She Got It". Ultimately, none of Bryan's creations ever made it past production and never landed on the project. However, his contributions to the other, eventually released songs include percussion (e.g. "Black or White") and more.
Throughout the following year, Jackson explored interest in the new jack swing genre, thanks to L.A. Reid and Babyface. In June, he hired Teddy Riley, who became one of Michael's lead producers. Michael admired the producer's will to bring him a completely fresh style. The musician would help craft recordings such as "Jam", "She Drives Me Wild", "Remember the Time" and more. Around the same time, it seemed as though there was so much fresh material crafted already, that it only made sense to focus on the next studio album, rather than the Decade compilation, thus Dangerous was finally born. For its creation, Michael spent $10 million.
Michael working on Dangerous.
During its production, Michael decided to invite multiple other artists for eventual features on the upcoming release. For the first time, Jackson's songs featured a "rap verse", to which contributed such as Heavy D or Wreckx-n-Effect. Some non-rap collaborations would be formed as well, including Slash of Guns N' Roses on "Give In to Me". Reportedly, it was really hard to get the musician to meet with Jackson, apparently having taken a year to co-ordinate. Initially, the singer's future partner, Madonna was going to make an appearance on "In the Closet", although the context for its cancellation is unknown. The recording instead featured a guest appearance from Princess Stephanie of Monaco during its spoken parts.
In 1991, Dangerous received the final touches and the track list was done by the first half of the year. Through its early stages, the album mostly consisted of songs, which eventually went on to be featured in the final release. However, tracks like "Blood on the Dance Floor" and "Someone Put Your Hand Out" made an appearance as well, but would be scrapped last minute and eventually released through other future projects.[4]
According to Bruce Swedien, Michael spent time in the studio for even eighteen hours, staying even until dawn.[5] Bernie Grundman finished mastering Dangerous on Halloween of 1991.[6]
Artwork[]
The Dangerous cover was painted by Mark Ryden and displays the singer's eyes and a single lock of his hair behind a gold masquerade mask, surrounded by various obscure animals and objects.
| “ | Ryden has depicted Michael - the most famous person in the world at the time - as a guarded circus artist who has seen glory and the machinery involved in making it happen. | ” |
–Fraser McAlpine, BBC UK, February 27, 2017[7] | ||
Track list[]
| Standard edition | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Jam" (featuring Heavy D) | 5:38 |
| 2. | "Why You Wanna Trip on Me" | 5:23 |
| 3. | "In the Closet" (featuring Princess Stephanie of Monaco) | 6:30 |
| 4. | "She Drives Me Wild" (featuring Wrecks-N-Effects) | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Remember the Time" | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Can't Let Her Get Away" | 4:58 |
| 7. | "Heal the World" | 6:24 |
| 8. | "Black or White" (featuring L.T.B.) | 4:14 |
| 9. | "Who Is It" | 6:33 |
| 10. | "Give In to Me" (featuring Slash) | 5:28 |
| 11. | "Will You Be There" (featuring Cleveland Orchestra) | 7:40 |
| 12. | "Keep the Faith" | 5:56 |
| 13. | "Gone Too Soon" | 3:21 |
| 14. | "Dangerous" | 6:57 |
| Total length: | 1:16:53 | |
| Australian 1993 Bonus Disc/Cassette | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | ""Who Is It (IHS Mix)"" | 7:59 |
| 2. | ""Black or White (The Clivillés & Cole House/Club Mix)"" | 7:35 |
| 3. | ""Jam (Teddy's Jam)"" | 5:43 |
| 4. | ""In the Closet (The Mission)"" | 9:26 |
| 5. | ""Give In to Me (Vocal Version)"" | 4:43 |
| 6. | ""Remember the Time (Silky Soul 12" Mix)"" | 7:06 |
| 7. | ""Rock With You (Masters At Work Remix)"" | 5:32 |
| 8. | ""Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Roger's Remix)"" | 6:21 |
| Total length: | 54:28 | |
Drafts[]
Main article: Dangerous track list drafts
Singles[]
November 11, 1991
January 14, 1992
April 7, 1992
July 13, 1992
August 31, 1992
November 23, 1992
February 15, 1993
June 28, 1993
December 1, 1993
Cut songs[]
Re-releases[]
Dangerous: Special Edition[]
On October 16, 2001, a special edition of the album was released. However, unlike the special editions of Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad, this one doesn't include any previously unreleased bonus tracks, although it was initially meant to.
Throughout the 2000s, DATs and track lists of early versions for this release had leaked online, with "Monkey Business", "For All Time" and the "Dangerous" demo being officially released later on.[8][9][10]
Promotion[]
Dangerous received a large amount of promotion, becoming what's considered the most exciting build-up to any of Jackson's albums.
Michael did a vast amount of televised performances; namely "Black or White" and "Will You Be There" at MTV's 10th anniversary special, and "Remember the Time" at the Soul Train Awards in 1993. He also performed for the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show, which became one of the most watched events in American history, and made NFL sign more A-list singers for halftime shows in order to attract more viewership. The performance itself included three songs off of Dangerous and helped the album top the charts yet again.
The promotion ended in 1993 as Jackson became a target of child sexual abuse allegations. To ease his mind, he began taking drugs, due to which his health hit a low point.
Tour[]
On February 3, 1992 Michael announced he'd launch his second solo world tour, the Dangerous World Tour. Although his previous shows were meant to be his last, he explained the sole reason was to raise funds for his Heal the World Foundation. The tour was once again sponsored by Pepsi, and began in Munich, June 27, 1992. It grossed $100 million, which was less than the Bad World Tour, but still managed to reach Jackson's goal for charity. Although the shows were meant to finish on December 7, 1993, the accusations caused the artist to cancel all shows after November 11.
Songs from Dangerous featured on the set list included "Jam", "Will You Be There", "Black or White", "Heal the World" and "Dangerous". Rest of the songs performed previously appeared during the Bad World Tour.
- Main article: Dangerous World Tour
Trivia[]
Decade DAT (May 3, 1991)
- One of Bryan Loren's tracks that didn't make the cut for Dangerous was "Superfly Sister", which eventually landed on Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix six years later. It was the producer's only track made alongside Jackson that ever landed on any of his albums.
- Teddy Riley reportedly reworked some of Loren's songs such as "She Got It" and "Serious Effect".
- In 1993 Sony Music Australia released an exclusive 2 disc/cassette edition of Dangerous containing a bonus disc/cassette with 8 remixes.
- Although the Dangerous album was born around the Summer of 1990, Decade seemed to have been continued as a separate project, as the available images of DAT's for the compilation state such date back to May of the following year, 1991.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.vulture.com/2017/12/michael-jacksons-best-songs-ranked.html
- ↑ Decade#Track list
- ↑ https://www.themjcast.com/151-matt-forger-special-part-2/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncknokgmP5c&t=308s&pp=ygUobWljaGFlbCBqYWNrc29uIGRhbmdlcm91cyB0cmFja2xpc3QgbGVhaw%3D%3D
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20180626001448/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7690901.html
- ↑ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-14-ca-1971-story.html
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/aa71ef02-e81e-45bb-81be-94cec091c944
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/3943092-Michael-Jackson-Dangerous-Bonus-Cuts
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/26358884-Michael-Jackson-Dangerous-Bonus-Cuts
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/27968736-Michael-Jackson-Dangerous-Bonus-Cuts