Flashback Friday: Michael Jackson - Al Capone

"A madman's out tonight"

This is a bit of an odd Flashback Friday because, even if the song was recorded back in the 80's, it wasn't officially available to the public before this week. Al Capone is one of the awesome demos included in the 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Bad. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how absolutely epic and classic that album was (as well as all four of his first albums), so it's beyond awesome to hear other tracks recorded in that era. There are only a few artists in history that bring me so much excitement from something as simple as b-sides and unreleased material. Michael is right at the top. I would listen to anything he recorded. Al Capone is especially cool because it's the template for what would become the legendary Smooth Criminal. You can hear the similarities--the staccato instrumentation and verses, the urgency of the melody and vocals--but it is really a totally different song. Sort of a shadow version of Smooth Criminal. Its younger, rougher sibling. To me, at least, the existence of this is a very special gift. To the Powers That Be: Please release more.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy Bad 25 here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.