Maps of Music

Xscape (2014)

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

Most of Xscape's songs were never meant for a 2014 release: they were recorded between 1980 and 2001 and then reworked by a team led by Timbaland.

Key places

A San Fernando studio in the recording history (2014)

Recording site Red Wing Studio (San Fernando) — Listed as a recording location for songs on this album. The point marks the city center, not the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles studio used for recording (2014)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — Listed as a recording location for songs on this album in the source text. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Encino home used as a recording location (2014)

Recording site Hayvenhurst — Listed as a recording location for songs on this album in the source text. The point marks the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

New York studio in the recording history (2014)

Recording site Sony Music Studios — Listed as a recording location for songs on this album in the source text. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Xscape: posthumous compilation album by Michael Jackson
• Released May 9, 2014 by Epic Records, MJJ Music, and Sony Music Entertainment
• Released four years after Michael (2010)
• L.A. Reid, chairman of Epic Records, curated the album and served as executive producer
• Timbaland led a team of record producers to remix and 'contemporize' eight selected tracks
• Standard version: eight reworked tracks
• Deluxe version adds the original versions of the songs, a bonus remix, and two videos

Background

• Second album of all-new music released by Epic Records after Jackson's death in 2009
• Announced on March 31, 2014
• Production team included Jerome 'J-Roc' Harmon, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, and John McClain
• Timbaland said Reid had personally approached him at his home to discuss the project
• Reid said the title honors Jackson's naming habit: he chose a song from each album as its title and used one-word titles from Thriller onward
• Eight tracks were originally recorded between 1980 and 2001

Recording

• 'Love Never Felt So Good' was co-written by Paul Anka and first recorded in 1980 as a demo with Anka on piano
• The Justin Timberlake duet version samples percussion and breaths from Jackson's 1979 song 'Working Day and Night'
• 'Loving You' and 'Do You Know Where Your Children Are' were recorded during the Bad sessions
• 'Slave to the Rhythm' was recorded during the Dangerous sessions in 1991
• 'Xscape' was reworked by its original producer, Rodney Jerkins, and samples 'You Rock My World'
• 'A Place with No Name' is based on America's 1972 single 'A Horse with No Name'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

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

• Metacritic: 66 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine (AllMusic): wrote that the album was savvier than Michael, emphasizing the splashy soul and diluted disco of Off the Wall
• Joe Sweeney (Slant): called it a carefully curated attempt to redeem the sins of Michael that comes close to succeeding
• Michael Cragg (The Guardian): said it feels like an album created to showcase a handful of Jackson songs that deserve to be heard
• Elysa Gardner (USA Today): said the producers kept Jackson's strengths as a singer while adding modern electronic textures
• Nekesa Mumbi Moody (Yahoo!): described it as a mixed bag that fell below Jackson's standards
• Tim Jonz (The Guardian): felt it lacked coherence as a set but reminded listeners why Jackson was once pop's premier genius
• Bernadette McNulty (The Daily Telegraph): praised the album as pristine, with Jackson's voice front and center in the mix
• Many critics described the album as an improvement over its predecessor

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number two with first-week sales of 157,000 copies
• US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: number one
• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number one with 47,764 first-week sales, Jackson's tenth UK number-one album
• Number one in Belgium, Denmark, France, and Spain
• Canadian Albums Chart: debuted at number three, selling 12,000 copies
• US total after three weeks: 259,000 copies
• US: certified Gold on September 18, 2014, with 500,000 copies sold up to that date
• UK: certified gold by the BPI, with sales of 135,500 copies in the source's count

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Love Never Felt So Good' became Jackson's 49th Hot 100 entry, peaking at number nine, and he became the first solo artist to have a single reach the top 10 in six different decades.
• 'Slave to the Rhythm' debuted at number 45 on the Billboard charts and became Jackson's 50th Hot 100 hit despite not being released as a single.
• Before release, the album was played for UK press in the basement of a Knightsbridge hotel; journalists heard it once without electronic devices and song titles were kept secret.
• Sony Mobile used a snippet of 'Slave to the Rhythm' in its advertising campaign for the Xperia Z2 phone.
• 'Blue Gangsta' was remixed by rapper Tempamental without Jackson's permission; the remix, 'Gangsta (No Friend of Mine)', featured Pras of the Fugees.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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