I often cite that the first record I distinctly recall asking my parents to buy me was Michael Jackson’s THRILLER. I still have my well-worn vinyl album from 1982, and while I’ve played Jackson’s works for The Rock Daughters since birth, it’s really been over the course of just the past few months that they’ve really started to enjoy them. Now, with the Halloween season soon to be here, Epic/Legacy Recordings in collaboration with The Estate of Michael Jackson, will release Michael Jackson SCREAM, a collection of hits inspired by Michael’s love for season, available beginning September 29, 2017.
SCREAM contains 13 of Jackson’s “all-time most electrifying and danceable tracks” including Ghosts, Torture, Thriller, and Dirty Diana. Additionally, SCREAM includes a newly created bonus track, “Blood on the Dance Floor X Dangerous”, a high-energy five-song mashup from the acclaimed remixer The White Panda who created a seamless new musical experience.
More from the Official Announcement: The choice of tracks for SCREAM reflects The King of Pop’s affection for this time of the year and its themes of costumes and disguise, darkness and light, character transformations and surprise. The album will be available in two physical formats, CD and glow-in-dark vinyl (available October 27) each containing a poster unique to the format. Fittingly, the poster and cover art conceal the first ever AR (augmented reality) experience created for a Michael Jackson project.
Each track on SCREAM is remarkable in its own way. For example, “Dirty Diana,” was the fifth consecutive No. 1 song from the album Bad which shattered records for consecutive chart topping singles off a single album; “Thriller”, penned by Rod Temperton, was the seventh of an unprecedented seven Top 10 singles from Thriller, the biggest-selling album of all time; and the Top 5 hit “Scream” is the only duet between Michael Jackson and his sister Janet. Also included are fan favorites from The Jacksons’ albums – “Torture” and “This Place Hotel” (the first single to be written, composed, and arranged solely by Michael); and, making its first appearance on a Michael Jackson album, “Somebody’s Watching Me,” the international 1985 hit by Rockwell featuring an iconic hook sung by Michael.
Fans are invited to Official Michael Jackson SCREAM Album Celebrations this fall. These celebrations will take place in six major cities around the world: Paris, London, Sydney, Berlin, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. The events will include screenings of Michael’s seven short films from the SCREAM album including the full-length 40 minute Michael Jackson’s Ghosts, rarely seen following its initial screening at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. An after party will follow. More information on the Official Michael Jackson SCREAM Album Celebrations will be announced in the coming days.
OFFICIAL SCREAM TRACKLISTING:
- This Place Hotel
- Thriller
- Blood On The Dance Floor
- Somebody’s Watching Me
- Dirty Diana
- Torture
- Leave Me Alone
- Scream
- Dangerous
- Unbreakable
- Xscape
- Threatened
- Ghosts
Bonus Track: Blood On The Dance Floor X Dangerous (The White Panda Mash-Up)