Customer Reviews

Michael Jackson: For The Record

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book tells the story and chart history for virtually every song Michael Jackson has released or been known to record going back to the earliest days with Steeltown Records, to Motown, to Epic Records, through to 2006.

The amount of information is incredible. It's very well organized, so it's never overwhelming.

I don't care as much for the stuff from the Jackson 5 days, but it's all there (and there's a lot of it).

The best stuff for me is the material related to the hundreds of songs Michael has recorded as an adult- many of which remain unreleased.

The authors reveal every last known detail regarding unreleased songs, as well as how they know they exist (Internet leaks, court documents, copyright filings, interview mentions, etc.)

A must have for any Michael Jackson enthusiast.

The hardback book "Michael Jackson: For The Record" is brilliant and vital for everyone!!! It reviews facts for every song currently known to have been recorded by the first one and only King Of Pop. This is THE type of book that should be done for every recording artist. I might have changed some of the format and or facts but it is also considered a "work in progress" as Michael Jackson is still recording more often than not and has hundreds of recordings from the past four decades that have YET to see the light of day (be released). Good things are yet to come in terms of unreleased songs (some of which are discussed throughout this book) but there are good things (recordings) out now and this book gives GREAT explainations as to the rhyme and reasoning as to the history of these tracks...and there are HUNDREDS of them covered with information in this book. I am VERY knowledgable of the recording industry from the past one hundred years and there is not one source that I know of or have EVER seen that has this information on Michael Jackson's craft that contains this much great information!!! GET THIS BOOK NOW!!!

I see that some reviews were disappointed because they didn't know that it wasn't a "reading novel biography type" book. So I'd like to clear up any confusion for anybody who is confused. This book is wonderful and I highly recommend adding it to any book collection. The book lists all of MJ's songs (in J5, solo, featured, etc) and most of the entries have trivial info, video info, original title, etc. For example, MJ's song P.Y.T. entry in the book mentions that the "na na na" part in the song was in fact his sisters LaToya & Janet! I had no idea! So the book is wonderful, fun, easy reference book type. Unless you wish to read it like a standard novel which would be easy to do as well. There aren't numerous pictures throughout the book BUT there are many black & white photos of album covers, etc. So if you are interested in reading more about MJ's life, then this isn't the book for you at all. This is strictly a trivial, informative type book about his music. If you would like to read more about his life, I recommend Aphrodite Jones "Michael Jackson Conspiracy" and Randy Taraborrelli's "Michael Jackson Magic & Madness
The Whole Story". I have all of them in my collection and they are all great additions in any collection.

i want to give a soulful Salute&warm Applause to the Greatness that is Chris Cadman&Craig HalStead. this Book is the truth. very in depth on MJ's work in the studio all the way back to 1967. this Book highlights pre Motown, Motown,CBS and then which became Sony Music. highlights MJ's work with the Jackson five, solo as a child&then at CBS as the Jacksons then Solo at Epic.very incredible and detailed. this is the Best Musical Book Written on the King of Pop to date period. I also would like to personally thank the writers for acknowledging myself&given me a thank you. i feel this is the Ultimate Book for the MJ fan around the world. fantastic&so insightful.

THIS BOOK GIVES YOU ALL THE INFORMATION ONE WOULD WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON. IT WAS PUT TOGETHER WELL. IT SHOWS EVERY SONG PUBLISHED OR UNPUBLISHED. EVERY FILM HES DONE, ALBUMS, CONCERTS, I MEAN EVERYTHING. GREAT BOOK.

I like the book very much. I'm glad that the details are in the order they are in. Michael Jackson did so much with his craft that to have put it in chronological order could have been very confusing for people to follow.
I wanted to know the works that Michael Jackson did and this book gave me all of that and then some!
I found a few errors which I intend to send to the authors soon, but nothing catastrophic!
Thank you to the authors for this very informative record of Michael Jackson's works.
I hope others enjoy it as much as I am.

When I first got this book, I thought it was about the trials of Michael Jackson, but it's not. This book I found to be EXCELLENT. If you ever wanted to know when a song was written, recorded and why, then you need this book. Songs featured were either from the Jackson 5 or Michael himself. They start from 2 BAD and go through to ZIP-A-DEE DOO-DAH- THERE WAS A TIME.I mean there are lots of songs. There is a Rumor Has It chapter about songs that may exist and may not. Each song tells you who wrote it, when, what album it's on, the reason and if there was a short film involved or even a cast list. Did you know that Speechless sounds romantic, but it was written by Michael after he had a water balloon fight with his children, outside a hotel in Germany? Did you know that "LA ISLA BONITA" was written for Michael, but he passed and Madonna wrote some lyrics and recorded it on her True Blue Album. So if you are wanting to know which songs Michael did backup's for or songs he wrote for other people, then go out and get this book today. You will not be disappointed.

Bought this book hoping to "sit down and read" about Michael Jackson. When I received it in the mail, I was unhappy to realize that it's more of a reference book, than anything. It lists LOTS of things about him and his musical accomplishments. It doesn't explain why songs were written, selected or what they were about. Not what I was expecting at all. If you're looking for a "good read", this is not the book for you.

This is a reference book which has recorded all of Michael Jackson's creative work. It is a compilation of material he has written himself and includes material from various collaborations as well. It lists songs that are still unreleased - there are many of these so no doubt a future CD will be released. As well as the titles of all the songs being included, poems, essays, short films, videos, concerts etc where the songs were performed are also included. There are a few black and white photos but you wouldn't get the book for the photos. If you're after a biography, then this is definitley not for you but if you're after a record of MJ's work, then get this book. It is an excellent resource and a must for fans who are interested in having a record of MJ's work without the 'tinsell'.

This book is so detailed! Chris Cadman and Craig Halstead did a wonderful job. But this book has been updated since Michael's death so do a search specifically for this title and be sure to get the most recent edition!!