Decade (unreleased album)

Decade is an unreleased greatest hits album by Michael Jackson. It was originally due for release in November 1989, but less than a year later, the plans were scrapped, and work began on Dangerous, an album of all-new material.

Conception

Though a huge seller, Jackson's Bad album had not sold as many copies as hisThriller album. Jackson had then become concerned AbOUT competing with himself . So rather than competing with two previous albums by releasing a new one, him and John Branca agreed to release a greatest hits collection entitled Decade, which would also include new songs .

Jackson had intended to deliver the album to the Sony Corporation (which was then the parent company of CBS Records) in August 1989 .It was scheduled to be released in November in time for Christmas. Branca had arranged an $18 million advance and negotiated a $5 million advance from Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corporation, a Warner Bros. publishing arm that administers copyrights on Jackson's songs . However, around this time, Jackson had become friends with David Geffen who him Michael that the concept was mediocre .

Track listing

Exact configuration is unknown, but the album was to include:

• Four cuts from Off The Wall
• Seven cuts from Thriller
• Six cuts from Bad
• State of Shock
• This Place Hotel
• Someone in the Dark (from the E.T. narration album)
• Come Together (from Moonwalker)
• Two vintage Motown songs remastered by Jackson: Never Can Say Goodbye & I'll Be There

It would also include three to five new songs, which may have included:

• Heal The World - Early Version
• Who Is It - Alternative Version
  • Supposed original titles: Lying To Myself / It Doesn't Seem To Matter
• Gone Too Soon - Alternative Version (1990)
  • This song is possiby the same as a 1981 song named Much Too Soon, which Michael wrote and/or recorded during the Thriller recording sessions.
• Men In Black (1990)

References

• Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness. pp.510-517