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本帖最后由 ilmj1314 于 2010-6-6 19:58 编辑
For Michael Jackson fans - This is an untold story of my almost encounter with the King and how M.J inspired me.
Fans of my music will be familiar with my song 'Insatiable'. It was co-written and produced with Walter Afanasieff. What many people don't know is that I wrote my song as a reaction to and after having been inspired by a song that Walter and Alan Thicke wrote for Michael back in '99 called 'Fall Again'.
Here is Michael's demo version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz7u8ZJsxiI
The story goes like this.
When I was recording the Savage Garden album 'Affirmation' with Walter in 1999 at his studio in San Francisco, he played me a demo of the song 'Fall Again' which at that time had Robin Thicke's vocals on it. Walter and Robin had intended to submit the song to M.J for his 'Invincible' album project.
I was completely in awe and all I could hear was Michael.
At the time, Walter told me he wasn't sure if Michael would be interested but as a fan I had a feeling that when M.J heard it he'd respond like I had. It reminded me of the lushness of classic Michael songs like 'Human Nature'.
I knew M.J would kill it.
Sure enough, the song got to Michael and he loved it and agreed to cut a demo of it.
Slight hitch? The only time M.J had available was when Walter was booked in with me to finish the vocals for the Savage Garden album 'Affirmation'.
Walter decided he could record both sessions and so we flew to New York and
I recorded in the mornings with Walter at Sony Studios and he then left in the afternoon to record Michael Jackson at The Hit Factory in the afternoon literally across
the street.
The version in this post is the one and only time Michael ever sang the song. One take. He hadn't even had a chance to learn the song properly (and what an amazing job he did!).
The day he recorded Michael Walter came back to my session at Sony Studios about 2 hours later beaming. He spoke in glowing terms about Michael, about his voice, about his politeness and talent. And what touched me the most was he told me that Michael's children (Prince and Paris) were at the session and M.J had set up a t.v monitor in his recording booth so he could see the children playing with the Nanny in another room while he was singing. The session was cut short because the children were poorly and Michael wanted to be a good Dad and tend to them. He apparently apologised and left the session after only one take.
I never heard Michael's version until it was released many years later (even though Walter knew I was a massive fan he respected M.J's privacy and never played it to me). But I had remembered the feeling and the magic of the song from the first time I heard Robin Thicke's vocal and so when it came time for me to record my first solo album, I asked Walter to try and write a song with the same energy with me. That's how we wrote 'Insatiable'.
It's amazing to hear Michael's demo version of 'Fall Again' so many years later and be in awe of his artistry. Michael is the reason I became a performer (having seen his 'Bad' tour in 1987 and knowing in an instant that performing was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life). Listening to his records taught me how to sing. I'm proud that years later in my own career there are pieces of him in my work. And although he is not with us anymore, I like to think that little spark he ignited in me as an artist is part of his legacy.
Sorry if this was long and sappy - but I know there are M.J fans out there who would appreciate this story. I'd always wanted to tell it. And today I did.
As a funny epilogue to this story - here's the bit where I almost met Michael.
At the time of the recording, Tommy Motolla was president of Sony Music. He came in to the studio the same day Walter was recording M.J and he said to me 'Darren, there's someone very special that I'd like to bring in to the studio to introduce you to. Is it o.k if I bring another artist in here to say hello?" he said.
Of course I thought he meant Michael.
Of course he meant Michael right? Michael was across the street working with the same producer I was with! Bring it on!
Tommy left the room and said he'd be right back.
So I sat there in the studio with the engineer, absolutely about to pee my pants.
Tommy knocks on the door.
My heart stops.
And then it sinks.
In walks Tommy with a very tall later 40's white male with blond hair.
Ie NOT MICHAEL JACKSON.
'Darren this is Darryl' Tommy says.
"Hi' I say with mock enthusiasm.
Tommy proceeds to play this man 'Two Beds and a Coffee' machine, the song that we'd been working on that day.
Darryl sits back in his chair and with the most sincere tone tells me that I'm an incredible song writer and that he loves my voice.
'Thanks!' I say, still devastated this man is not Michael Jackson.
When Tommy and Darryl leave, the engineer turns to me and says
'Do you know who that was?'.
'Nope' I say.
'That was Darryl Hall, of Hall and Oates'.
Now let the record show, I was and remain a MASSIVE fan of Hall and Oates.
And I felt incredibly rude for being oblivious to this fact. In my defence Darryl had a beard at the time and my memory of him was clean shaven and much younger of course.
So I died a little twice that day.
But there you have it.
献给迈克尔•杰克逊的歌迷 — 这是从未提及过的我与国王偶遇的故事，以及他是如何启发我的。
熟悉我音乐的歌迷知道我有首名叫Insatiable的歌曲，由Walter Afanasieff联合创作和制作。很多人不知道的是我写这首歌是受到Walter 和Alan Thicke在99年为MJ创作的一首名叫Fall Again歌曲的启发。
以下是MJ录制的小样：
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz7u8ZJsxiI
故事是这样的：
1999年我与Walter在旧金山他的录音室录制野人花园的专辑Affirmation时，他给我播放了一段Robin Thicke演唱的fall again小样。Walter 和 Robin打算将这首歌发给MJ，收录在他专辑Invincible中。
我非常敬畏MJ，我所听的全是MJ。
那时，Walter告诉我他不确定MJ是否对这首歌有兴趣，但作为他的歌迷，我感觉MJ听到这歌的反应会跟我一样。它让我想起了MJ那首名叫Human Nature的经典歌曲。
当然，歌送到了MJ手上，他非常喜欢并同意录制一个小样。
Walter决定他可以同时录制我和MJ的歌曲，于是我们飞到了纽约。我早上在索尼的录音室与Walter工作，他下午在街对面的The Hit Factory给MJ录音。
以上我发的链接是MJ唯一唱过这首歌的一次。一次完成。他甚至没有机会好好学学这首歌（事实上他完成的很棒）。
Walter给MJ录音的那天，他在2个小时后又回到了我在索尼的录音室，他称赞了MJ许久，关于他的声音、他的礼貌待人和他的天赋。最让我感动的是他告诉我MJ的孩子们（王子和巴黎）也在录音室，MJ在录音房安装了一个电视监控，这样他就能在录音时看到孩子们在另一间房子的情况。歌曲被缩短因为孩子们身体不适，MJ想做个好父亲照料他们。他抱歉的录了一遍就离开了。
多年以后等到这首歌的发行，我才听到MJ的版本（即使Walter知道我是MJ的超级歌迷，他尊重MJ的隐私从没给我播放过）。但我记得当我第一次听到Robin Thicke版本时的感觉和魔力，于是当我录制第一张单飞专辑时，我要求Walter试着写一首具有同样能量的歌曲给我。这就是我们如何创作了Insatiable。
多年以后，能听到MJ的版本非常不可思议并敬畏他的艺术性。MJ是我成为表演者的原因（1987年看过他的真棒巡演，那一瞬间我就知道表演是我余生要做的事业）。听他的歌曲教会我如何唱歌。让我骄傲的是，多年后在我自己的事业里，我的作品中有他的影子。虽然他现在已离我们而去，我认为他为我点燃的艺术火花也是他遗产的一部分。
抱歉故事这么长又多愁善感 —但我知道MJ的歌迷会喜欢的。我一直想诉说，今天我终于说出来了。
这个故事还有一个有趣的结尾 — 我差点见到MJ了。
我录制唱片时，Tommy Motolla是索尼的总裁，Walter给MJ录音那天，他来到我的录音室说“Darren，有一位特别人士我想介绍给你。我带另一位艺术家过来问声好，没问题吧？”
当然我以为他说的是MJ。
他说的是MJ，是吗？MJ就在街对面，同我的制作人在一起。快把他带来。
我与工程师坐在录音室，我都快尿裤子了。
Tommy敲了门。
我心跳停止了。
然后扑通掉了下来。
与Tommy走进来的是一个40岁很高且有着金发的白人。
不是MJ
“Darren这位是Darryl” Tommy说。
“你好”我假装热情的问候。
Tommy一直给这个男人放Two Beds and a Coffee，我们那天录制的歌。
Darryl坐在椅子上用最真诚的语气告诉我我是一位难以置信的歌曲作家，他很喜欢我的嗓音。
“谢谢”我说，仍然怨念这个男人不是MJ。
Tommy 和Darryl离开后，工程师问我“你知道他是谁吗？”
“不知道”
“那可是Hall and Oates乐队的Darryl Hall。”
我一直是Hall and Oates的超级歌迷，而那天我无视他确实非常粗鲁。Darryl那时留着胡子，在我的记忆中他应该刮的干干净净的，并且年轻一点吧。 |
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