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, released through Epic Records on November 26, 1991. It is noted for being the first album Jackson didn't co-produce with Quincy Jones.
The album is one of Jackson'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[]
His previous record, Bad, released in 1987, generated massive success and sent Jackson in an edgier, more mature direction compared to Thriller and Off the Wall.
Very shortly after the record's release, Jackson's and Jones' differences began showing, thus it led to him separating from the producer. The former not only wanted even more creative control, but he thought the latter was "out of touch" with the current music industry, and didn't want the general public to think his popularity depended on the producer.
| “ | He told his manager that I was losing it, that I didn't understand the business because I didn't understand in 1987 that rap was dead. | ” |
–Quincy Jones, "When Quincy Jones Worked With Michael Jackson, ‘We Had No Limitations’ - The New York Times"[2] | ||
Production[]
Decade[]
Jackson and his "B-team" from the previous album began working on what was initially a compilation under the title of Decade in June 1989 at Westlake Recording Studios. This would feature Jackson's biggest hits as well as include some new tracks like "Heal the World".[3] Throughout the sessions, Jackson worked with Bill Bottrell, Bruce Swedien, as well as newly-hired musicians, Bryan Loren and keyboardist Brad Buxer. The latter met Jackson through Bottrell, and their partnership eventually evolved into not only a 20-year-long collaboration but a close friendship as well. In December, the team would shift studios from Westlake to Record One, as it was too crowded, which Jackson had issues with.[4]
Jackson stuck with Loren especially, having made around 25-30 new tracks by 1990. However, the former felt none of them were up to his standards, thus, the songs never made it past the production stage and ended up not landing on the project. His contributions to the other, released songs include percussion (e.g., on "Black or White") etc.
In mid-1990, Jackson was introduced to new jack swing producer Teddy Riley. The former applauded his approach towards the record, wanting it to be completely fresh, and not exactly sticking to the sound of the previous albums.
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, Jackson spent $10 million.
Decade seems to have continued production as a separate project; however, the most recent DATs for the compilation state such dates back to May 3, 1991.[5] Unfortunately, nothing came of it.
Dangerous[]
After Riley's arrival, recording was split between Larrabee Sound Studios and Record One - this arrangement remained through to final mixing.[6]
Jackson working on Dangerous.
During production, Jackson decided to invite multiple other artists for eventual features on the upcoming release.
Despite his past statement that rap was "dying", Jackson ended up being keen on having hip-hop influence some of the record's songs. While still focusing on Decade, Jackson worked on some unreleased collaborations with rappers LL Cool J, and later with Heavy D or Wreckx-n-Effect for Dangerous. As for non-rap artists, Slash of Guns N' Roses was featured on "Give In to Me". It was difficult to get the musician to even meet with Jackson, though, apparently having taken a year to coordinate. In the end, Slash ended up working with him for years to come. Initially, "In the Closet" was intended to feature Madonna, although this idea was abandoned for unspecified reasons. The recording instead featured a guest appearance from Princess Stephanie of Monaco for the spoken parts.
In late 1991, Dangerous received the final touches, and the track list was completed by the first half of the year. Tracks "Blood on the Dance Floor" and "Someone Put Your Hand Out" were initially considered, but were left off last-minute and eventually released on future projects.[7] According to Swedien, Jackson continued recording in the studio for up to eighteen hours.[8] Bernie Grundman finished Dangerous at 4:00 AM on Halloween 1991.[9]
Although unconfirmed, the record was reportedly first scheduled for a January 1991 release, and later June, before Epic set the final deadline as before Thanksgiving Day.
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[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[]
- Main article: Dangerous World Tour
On February 3, 1992 Michael announced the launch of his second 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.
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 doesn't include any previously unreleased bonus tracks, although it was initially intended to.
DATs of early versions for this release had leaked online in the 2000s. The track list included "Monkey Business", "For All Time" and the "Dangerous" demo, which were officially released later on.[11][12][13]
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
Spotify[]
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
Cut songs[]
Trivia[]
- One of Loren's tracks that wasn't in the final 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 only track the producer made with Jackson that ever landed on any of his albums.
- 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.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.vulture.com/2017/12/michael-jacksons-best-songs-ranked.html
- ↑ When Quincy Jones Worked With Michael Jackson, ‘We Had No Limitations’ - The New York Times
- ↑ Decade#Track list
- ↑ https://www.themjcast.com/151-matt-forger-special-part-2/
- ↑ File:Decadedat3.png
- ↑ https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/14287811-full-interview-with-longtime-michael-jackson-collaborator-and-friend-mat
- ↑ 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
