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| Format =
| Format =
| Recorded =
| Recorded =
| Published = 1978, 1979, 1985, 1987, 2010
| Published = 1978, 1979, 1985, 1987, 2011
| Genre =
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| Language = English
| Language = English
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| Format = [[CD]], vinyl, [[12"]]
| Format = [[CD]], vinyl, [[12"]]
| Recorded =
| Recorded =
| Genre = [[Funk]], [[Soul music|soul]]
| Genre = [[Funk]], [[Soul music|Soul]], [[Synthpop]]
| Length = 4:07
| Length = 4:07
| Label = Planet
| Label = Planet

Revision as of 21:12, 17 June 2011

This article is about the song by Yellow Magic Orchestra. For other uses, see Behind the Mask.
"Behind the Mask"
Song

"Behind the Mask" is a synthpop song by electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, written by member Ryuichi Sakamoto and first produced in 1978 for a Seiko commercial.[1] It was later released in 1979 as part of the band's Solid State Survivor album with English lyrics added by Chris Mosdell. The song has been performed by many artists since its original release. In the early 1980s, Michael Jackson wrote additional lyrics for the song with an accompanying melody, which has been recorded by himself, Greg Phillinganes, Eric Clapton, and Ryuichi Sakamoto (as a solo artist), among others.

Yellow Magic Orchestra version

"Behind the Mask"
Song

"Behind the Mask" was a track from Yellow Magic Orchestra's 1979 album Solid State Survivor, with English lyrics by Chris Mosdell sung by Ryuichi Sakamoto using a vocoder. It was the first studio recording of this song, although the band had originally produced it as an instrumental in 1978, when the song first appeared in a Seiko quartz wristwatch commercial[1] and was then played live in concert that same year. In 1980, the song was released as a single in the UK with the B-side as "Yellow Magic (Tong Poo)",[2] and it was included in the US and European versions of the band's next studio album x∞Multiplies that same year.[3]

Following the break-up of Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1983, the band's former keyboardist and the writer of the song, Ryuichi Sakamoto, re-recorded it in 1987 with Michael Jackson's additional lyrics and lead vocals by Bernard Fowler. A similar arrangement was performed (with Fowler) in Sakamoto's "Media Bahn Live" tour the previous year. A CD single with 3 tracks [4] and a CD maxi with 6 tracks entitled "Behind the Mask +3" were released.[5][6]

Track listing

Vinyl single by Yellow Magic Orchestra (1979)[7]
  1. Behind the Mask (mono) 3:35
  2. Behind the Mask (stereo) 3:35
Japan single by Ryuichi Sakamoto (1987)[4]
  1. Behind the Mask - 5:29
  2. Risky - 6:22
  3. Field Work - 5:07
Japan CD maxi single by Ryuichi Sakamoto ("Behind the Mask +3") (1987)[5]
  1. Behind the Mask - 5:29
  2. Risky - 6:22
  3. Field Work - 5:07
  4. Steppin' Into Asia (TV track) - 3:39
  5. Field Work (Edit) - 2:34
  6. 両眼微笑 (Instrumental) - 3:57

Greg Phillinganes version

"Behind the Mask"
Song
A-side"Behind the Mask"
B-side"Only You"

"Behind the Mask" was a single from Michael Jackson's keyboardist Greg Phillinganes's 1985 album Pulse. Phillinganes first met Michael and his brothers during the sessions for The Jacksons' Destiny album in 1978, and went on to serve as musical director for Michael's Bad World Tour.[8]

Greg had released the song as a single in 1985,[9] which reached No.4 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs, No.77 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in the United States,[10] but failed to make the Hot 100 and UK charts.

Track listing

UK single [9]
  1. Behind the Mask - 4:07
  2. Only You - 6:16
German single [11]
  1. Behind the Mask - 6:27
  2. Behind the Mask (instrumental) - 5:13
  3. Only You - 6:16

Charts

Chart (1985) Peak
position
U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 77[10]
U.S. Dance/Club Play Songs 4

Personnel

  • Greg Phillinganes - lead vocals, keyboards
  • David Williams - guitars
  • Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli - synthesizer programming
  • Michael Boddicker - vocoder
  • Howie Rice - clap effects
  • Richard Page - additional backing vocals
  • Arranger: Michael Jackson
  • Additional Engineering: John Arrias and John Vigran

Eric Clapton version

"Behind the Mask"
Song
B-side"Grand Illusion"

"Behind the Mask" is an album track from Eric Clapton's studio album August in 1986, and was released as a single in 1987.

Background and release

Greg Phillinganes, who has covered this song had brought the song to Eric Clapton, Clapton covered this song, on which Phillinganes played keyboards and sang backing vocals. This version failed to credit Michael Jackson as one of the song's cowriters - but Chris Mosdell has confirmed Michael does take 50% of the song-writing royalties.[8]

The song was released as a single, and peaked at No.15 in the UK on January 17, 1987.[12]

Track listing

UK 45 RPM (928461-7, W8461)[13]
  1. Behind The Mask (Edit)
  2. Grand Illusion
UK 12" Single (W8461) [14]
  1. Behind The Mask (LP Version)
  2. Grand Illusion
  3. Wanna Make Love To You
UK 2 x 7" Vinyl (928461-7, W8461F) [15]
  1. Behind The Mask (Edit)
  2. Grand Illusion
  3. Crossroads (Live)
  4. White Room (Live)

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[12] 15

Personnel

Michael Jackson version

"Behind the Mask"
Song
B-side"Hollywood Tonight" (Vinyl)

"Behind the Mask" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson included on his posthumous album Michael. The song was released by Epic Records on February 21, 2011 as the third single from Michael.

Background and release

Quincy Jones heard Yellow Magic Orchestra’s version during the Thriller sessions, and brought it to Michael Jackson, Michael had recorded the song, adding an extra melody line and a few extra lyrics. Legal battles prevented the song to be released on Jackson's sixth studio album, Thriller, and remained unreleased for over 25 years.[8] However, as a part of Sony Music's 10-album recording deal with the Estate of Michael Jackson, the song was announced to be released on the posthumous album of Jackson's, titled Michael. Singer Shanice provides background vocals on the song.[18] In February 2011, the song was released as a single in France.[19][20] In a later announcement from Jackson' official website, the song will be released as a radio single in not only France, but also the United States, Canada, and Japan.[21]

Critical reception

The song received mainly positive reviews from music critics. Jody Rosen from Rolling Stone called the song "a fiercely funky cousin to "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ."[22] Dan Martin from NME thought the song was "an absolute revelation, a swirl of psychedelic, orchestra-twinged R&B", and said "Jackson howls a solid-gold melody at his fearsome best, and blippy production and robotic backing vocals dancing behind it." [23] Jason Lipshutz with Gail Mitchell and Gary Graff from Billboard thought the song was "a must-listen songs on Michael", and it "holds the highest number of Jackson's signature 'hee-hee!' exclaims".[24] Joe Pareles from New York Times said, the song was originally a 1979 hit by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s group Yellow Magic Orchestra with Jackson's lyrics about a coldhearted woman, but the final version which was completed by Mr. McClain was mixed with applause and squeals from concert crowds from Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour DVD.[17] Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly thought the song seemed "oddly dated by sax flourishes — though perhaps that makes it a good companion to the lilting closer Much Too Soon, an actual relic of the early ’80s".[25] The author of the forthcoming book, Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson, Joe Vogel thought Mr John McClain' update to the song was skillful, making it sound brand new and retro at the same time. And he thought the song "definitely one of the highlights of the album".[26]

Negative review comes from Carl Cortez of Assignment X, he said the version on the 7" single version "is an 'edit' version here (not even a true remix) so it's at least shorter than the album version which is the only thing that makes it better."[27]

Music video

As the single release officially announced, a music video for this song was also announced to be released worldwide.[21] On February 28, 2011, a project for this song's music video titled "Behind the Mask Project" was announced: "the Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music will provide everyone who likes music an opportunity to help create online a unique groundbreaking music video for the single 'Behind the Mask'." All the world can use a simple online tool to take part in making the music video since March 7, 2011.[28] On March 30, 2011, a 17-second video of what Sony Music had been doing with some of the thousands of submissions for the "Behind the Mask Project" was released.[29] On April 29, 2011, another video teaser for the project was released on michaeljackson.com, and it is announced that the final day to submit for the Behind the Mask Project is Tuesday May 3, 2011.[30] On June 6, 2011 was published the official trailer announcing when the final video would be published. On June 14, 2011 the official and final video was posted on the official Michael Jackson`s channel on YouTube, but only accessible on the King of Pop's page on social networking site Facebook[31]. A day after, the video was classified and now it`s accessible by YouTube as any other video of the singer.

Track listing

Digital Download[32]
  1. "Behind the Mask" (Album Version) - 5:01
7" Vinyl Single (Record Store Day)[33]
  1. "Behind the Mask" (Radio Edit) - 3:35
  2. "Hollywood Tonight" (Throwback Mix) - 3:46

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip 50 Wallonia)[34] 24

Release history

Country Date Format
France February 21, 2011[19] CD single (promo), Radio airplay
April 11, 2011[35] Vinyl Single
Italy[36] April 12, 2011

Personnel

  • Written and composed by Michael Jackson, Chris Mosdell and Ryuichi Sakamoto
  • Produced by Michael Jackson and John McClain
  • Mixed by Jon Nettlesbey and Khaliq Glover
  • Solo vocal by Michael Jackson
  • Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Shanice and Alphonso Jones
  • Beat Box by Michael Jackson
  • Engineered by Leon F. Sylvers III, Jon Nettlesbey,Allen Sides and Khaliq Glover
  • Saxophone by Hidden Beach Recordings
  • Drums by Big Jim Wright and Greg Phillinganes
  • Bass by Alex Al
  • Digital Editing by Jon Nettlesbey

Other versions

It was covered by The Human League in 2003 with Yellow Magic Orchestra.[37]

A sample of the Greg Phillinganes version formed the basis for Goldie Lookin Chain's 2004 single Your Mother's Got a Penis.[38]

Señor Coconut had a cover version released in 2006.[39]

References

  1. ^ a b "Yellow Magic Orchestra: UC YMO". Discogs. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  2. ^ "Yellow Magic Orchestra: Behind the Mask". Discogs.
  3. ^ Xoo Multiplies at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  4. ^ a b "Ryuichi Sakamoto - Behind the Mask". Discogs.com.
  5. ^ a b "Ryuichi Sakamoto - Behind the Mask 3+". Discogs.com.
  6. ^ "Behind the Mask+3: 坂本龍一 - 音楽". Amazon.co.jp.
  7. ^ "Yellow Magic Orchestra - Behind the Mask (Vinyl)". Discogs.com.
  8. ^ a b c Halstead, Craig; Cadman, Chris (2007). Michael Jackson: For The Record. Bedfordshire: Authors OnLine Ltd. pp. 31–32. ISBN 0-7552-0267-8.
  9. ^ a b "Greg Phillinganes - Behind the Mask". Discogs.com.
  10. ^ a b "Behind the Mask - Greg Phillinganes". Billboard.
  11. ^ "Greg Phillinganes - Behind The Mask, German". Discogs.com.
  12. ^ a b "Eric Clapton: UK Official Single Chart History". Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  13. ^ "Eric Clapton - Behind The Mask (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  14. ^ "Eric Clapton - Behind The Mask (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  15. ^ "Eric Clapton - Behind The Mask (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  16. ^ "Behind the Mask". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  17. ^ a b Joe Pareles (December 9, 2010). "After Death, the Remix". nytimes.com. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  18. ^ Brenda Jeanne Wyche (2010-12-04). "Shanice "Behind the Mask" With Michael Jackson". Black Star News. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  19. ^ a b "Nouveau single "Behind The Mask"". Michaeljackson.com. 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  20. ^ "Michael Jackson: écoutez "Behind The Mask" !". Musique Radio. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  21. ^ a b "New Michael Jackson Singles Coming From The Global #1 Album "Michael"". Michaeljackson.com. 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  22. ^ Rosen, Jody. "Michael by Michael Jackson - Rolling Stone Music - Music Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  23. ^ Martin, Dan (December 4, 2010). "Album review: Michael Jackson - 'Michael' (Epic)". NME. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  24. ^ Lipshutz, Jason; Mitchell, Gail; Graff, Gary (December 8, 2010). "Michael Jackson's 'Michael' Track-By-Track". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
  25. ^ Leah Greenblatt (December 8, 2010). "Music Review: Michael". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  26. ^ Vogel, Joe (2010-12-06). "Is Michael Really Michael? A Review of the King of Pop's New Album". Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  27. ^ Cortez, Carl (2011-04-20). "Single Review: MICHAEL JACKSON – "Behind the Mask" 7 inch (Record Day 2011 Exclusive)". Assignment X. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  28. ^ "Michael Jackson's Ultimate Music Fan Global Mash-up To Launch Online March 7 - The Official Michael Jackson Site". michaeljackson.com. 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  29. ^ "Exclusive First Look At The Behind The Mask Project - The Official Michael Jackson Site". Sony Music. michaeljackson.com. 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  30. ^ "New Behind the Mask Project Teaser! Submissions End May 3rd - The Official Michael Jackson Site". Sony Music. michaeljackson.com. 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  31. ^ "THE WORLD UNITES ON NEW MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO "BEHIND THE MASK"". Sony Music. The Official Michael Jackson Site. 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2011-06-11.
  32. ^ "Amazon.com: Behind The Mask: Michael Jackson: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  33. ^ "Michael Jackson - Hollywood Tonight / Behind The Mask (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
  34. ^ "ultratop.be - Michael Jackson - Behind The Mask". Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  35. ^ "Hollywood Tonight / Behind The Mask: Michael Jackson: Amazon.fr: Musique". amazon.fr. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  36. ^ "Hollywood Tonight / Behind The Mask: Michael Jackson: Amazon.it: Musica". amazon.it. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  37. ^ "Yellow Magic Orchestra Versus Human League, The - YMO Versus The Human League". Discogos.com. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  38. ^ [1]
  39. ^ "Señor Coconut And His Orchestra - Behind the Mask". Discogos.com. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
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