Maps of Music

Dangerous (1991)

Where the lyrics of Dangerous take you, and where it was really made.

The album was finished on Halloween 1991, under a deadline Epic had set to be before Thanksgiving.

Key places

Ocean Way Recording, a studio used for Dangerous (1991)

Recording site Ocean Way Recording — Ocean Way Recording is listed among the studios where Dangerous was recorded in Los Angeles. The point sits at the studio's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Record Plant, a recording studio for Dangerous (1991)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — MusicBrainz links The Record Plant to the recording of Dangerous. The point sits at the studio's coordinates in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Record One in Sherman Oaks (1991)

Recording site Record One — Most of Dangerous was recorded from June 1989 at Record One in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. The point is placed at the city center because only that level is known. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Larrabee Sound Studios after Record One (1991)

Recording site Larrabee Sound Studios — Teddy Riley moved from Record One to Larrabee Sound Studios after a few weeks of recording for Dangerous. The point sits at the studio's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Dangerous: eighth studio album by Michael Jackson, released 21 November 1991 on Epic Records
• Released four years after Bad (1987)
• Jackson departed from longtime collaborator Quincy Jones and co-produced with Bill Bottrell, Teddy Riley and Bruce Swedien
• Guest appearances from Heavy D, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Slash and Wreckx-n-Effect
• New jack swing, pop, R&B and hip-hop, with industrial, funk, gospel, classical and rock elements
• Jackson wrote or co-wrote most songs, on topics such as lust, unity, social issues and self-improvement

Background

• First conceived as a greatest hits collection, Decade, with a handful of new songs, similar to Madonna's The Immaculate Collection
• Jackson began new tracks in 1989 with a handful of members from the B-team of Bad, including Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell
• Decade was delayed several times and then dropped entirely after Jackson collapsed in his home studio in June 1990
• Jackson determined that his new material constituted a full album

Recording

• Recording began in June 1989, primarily at Record One in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles
• Jackson spent $10 million to record Dangerous
• Teddy Riley was hired in early 1991 and co-produced half the songs on the album
• Dangerous was completed and mastered by Bernie Grundman on Halloween 1991

Cover

• Front cover painted by pop surrealist artist Mark Ryden
• Shows Jackson behind a gold masquerade mask with a chimpanzee face

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana; eighth of ten children in the Jackson family.
• Debuted at age six as lead singer of the Jackson 5; the group signed with Motown in 1968 and had early number-one hits such as "I Want You Back".
• Moved to Epic Records in 1975 as the Jacksons, and began a solo career with Off the Wall (1979).
• Thriller (1982) became the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 70 million copies sold.
• Bad (1987) was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
• Known as the "King of Pop"; credited with transforming music videos and popularizing the moonwalk.
• Died June 25, 2009 from a propofol overdose; a posthumous catalog continued to sell strongly.

Philanthropy

• Founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992.
• Estimated to have donated over $500 million to charities over his life.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Dangerous was generally a critical success, with praise for its artistic leap compared to Jackson's previous albums
• Robert Christgau of The Village Voice called it Jackson's most consistent album since Off the Wall
• Mat Snow of Q called it Jackson's most mature, most musically adventurous album yet
• Jon Pareles of The New York Times called it Jackson's least confident solo album yet
• David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called it the least assured of Jackson's post-Motown records

Reappraisal

• Jeff Weiss of Pitchfork called it Jackson's final classic album
• Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian deemed it Jackson's career-high album
• Joseph Vogel described it as Jackson's most socially conscious record

Records

• Debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks
• Reached number 1 in 14 other countries
• Named the best-selling album worldwide of 1992
• Sold 32 million copies worldwide
• Certified 8× platinum in the United States
• Four Grammy nominations at the 1993 ceremony; won Best Engineered Album, Non Classical
• Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 1993 American Music Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Jackson spent $10 million to record Dangerous.
• He had planned for "In the Closet" to be a duet with pop singer Madonna, but Princess Stéphanie of Monaco was featured on the track instead.
• Jackson recorded roughly 60–70 songs for Dangerous, and some of them were released later.
• The environmental anthem Earth Song was included on HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, in 1995.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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