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A Place with No Name

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"A Place with No Name"
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Xscape
ReleasedAugust 12, 2014 (2014-08-12)
Recorded1998
Studio
  • Hit Factory Criteria (Miami)
  • Milkboy (Philadelphia)
  • Sterling Sound (New York City)
  • Jungle City (New York City)
GenreSynth-funk[1]
Length
  • 3:58 (single version)
  • 5:35 (album version)
  • 4:57 (original cut version)
  • 5:18 (original uncut version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Love Never Felt So Good"
(2014) 		"A Place with No Name"
(2014) 		"Blood on the Dance Floor x Dangerous"
(2017)
Music video
"A Place with No Name" on YouTube
Audio sample

"A Place with No Name" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson released on the second posthumous Jackson album, Xscape (2014). A 24-second snippet of the full song was released posthumously by website TMZ.com on July 16, 2009, three weeks after Jackson's death. The full version leaked online on December 3, 2013.[2] The track is based on "A Horse with No Name", the hit 1972 song by rock band America. At the time of the leak, America stated that they were "honored" that Michael Jackson chose to sample their work.

It has been claimed that there are "dozens and dozens" of unreleased Jackson songs that could be issued for several years to come.[3][4] The song was contemporized by Norwegian producers Stargate for Xscape, along with the original version. "A Place with No Name" was released to American urban adult contemporary radio on August 12, 2014.[5]

Background

[edit]

On June 25, 2009, Jackson died following what was initially reported as a cardiac arrest.[6][7] However, later on it was determined that Jackson died of a drug overdose of propofol and lorazepam and his death was ruled a homicide.[8] On July 16, 2009, celebrity news website TMZ.com—the first media outlet to report the death—released a 24-second snippet of an unreleased Jackson song, "A Place with No Name".[3][9][10] The track is based on America's 1972 number-one single "A Horse with No Name".[3][11][12] Jackson had legal permission to use the song.[13] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated that the two songs were "just about identical".[14] It was not known at the time of the leak when the track was recorded, although Jackson and America shared a manager—believed to be Jim Morey—in the late 1980s and late 1990s.[3][15][16]

According to producer Dr. Freeze, the version of "A Place with No Name" that leaked is the final version Jackson heard and approved in 2008, which is credited as the original version in the deluxe edition of Xscape.[2] Prior to the leak of the original version in December 2013, a cover of Jackson's work was posted at YouTube in January 2011, recorded by a mysterious person with a pseudonym "Spino".[17]

Music videos

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On August 13, 2014, "A Place with No Name" marks the first time a music video has ever debuted exclusively on Twitter.[18] Along with its tweet premiere, "A Place with No Name" was also shown on the Sony video screen in Times Square on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. It was uploaded to Michael Jackson's VEVO page the following day. In line with the desert theme featured in the lyrics of America's "A Horse with No Name", the video stars dancers Alvester Martin, who worked with Jackson for ten years, and Danielle Acoff in new dance sequences in a desert. Also featured are rare clips from Jackson's "In the Closet" video shoot. The music video was directed by Samuel Bayer.[18]

A second music video was released on Michael Jackson's VEVO page on August 28, 2014, with choreographed dances performed by the dancers from Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: One world tour. It was filmed at different places in Los Angeles, but most of the video was shot inside the "Michael Jackson: ONE" Boutique inside Mandalay Bay.

Critical reception

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"A Place with No Name" (intro)
Michael Jackson's "A Place with No Name" has been said to have the same beat and sound as "Leave Me Alone".
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Joe Levy from Billboard called the song the "centerpiece" of the album.[19] Meggie Morris from Renowned for Sound called the track "unknown and at the same time familiar, producing a sound that is retro and classic, rather than dated."[20] However, Nekesa Mumbi Moody from Yahoo! said "A Place with No Name" "has the same beat and sound as 'Leave Me Alone' from the 'Bad' era and is lyrically weak: we can tell why Jackson left it on the cutting room floor."[21]

Response from America

[edit]

Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley—two members of the three part band—conveyed their gratitude toward Jackson for choosing their song as a musical template for "A Place with No Name". In their statement to MTV, the musicians also expressed regret that Jackson's fans did not get to hear the finished version of the track while Jackson was alive:[3][10]

We're honored that Michael Jackson chose to record it and we're impressed with the quality of the track. We're also hoping it will be released soon so that music listeners around the world can hear the whole song and once again experience the incomparable brilliance of Michael Jackson [...] Michael Jackson really did it justice and we truly hope his fans—and our fans—get to hear it in its entirety. It's really poignant.[3][10]

Bunnell further commented that he was "very proud of the fact that [Jackson] recorded it. It's a good version and an interesting derivative of the original that I wrote." Bunnel said that he and Beckley were "in the dark" regarding the future of Jackson's unreleased material.[22]

Track listing

[edit]
Digital download / CD single[23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."A Place with No Name" (single version)
3:58
2."A Place with No Name" (album version)
  • Jackson
  • Straite
  • Bunnell
5:35
3."Slave to the Rhythm" (Audien remix radio edit)
3:15

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a vocal producer
  • ^[b] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[c] signifies an additional producer

Charts

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Revisiting Michael Jackson's 'Xscape' (2014) | Retrospective Tribute". May 11, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Shields, Damien (December 6, 2013). "Michael Jackson's "A Place With No Name" – The story behind the song". Damienshields.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Montgomery, James (July 20, 2009). "America 'Honored' By Michael Jackson's 'A Place With No Name' Sample". MTV. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  4. ^ "Many unreleased songs". The Straits Times. July 2, 2009. Archived from the original on July 5, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  5. ^ "Urban/UAC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  6. ^ "Michael Jackson dead at 50 after cardiac arrest". cnn.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  7. ^ Hessel, Evan (July 25, 2009). "Michael Jackson, King Of Pop, Dies At 50". Forbes. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  8. ^ Tourtelotte, Bob (August 28, 2009). "Jackson death ruled homicide, focus on doctor". Reuters. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  9. ^ "New Michael Jackson song leaked". news.com.au. July 17, 2009. Archived from the original on July 19, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c Kreps, Daniel (July 20, 2009). "America Respond To Michael Jackson's 'A Place With No Name'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  11. ^ "Michael Jackson homage to America". news.com.au. July 18, 2009. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  12. ^ "Place with No Name sounds like Horse with No Name". news.com.au. July 17, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  13. ^ "America Respond To New Michael Jackson Song". Rolling Stone. July 16, 2009.
  14. ^ "People". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 18, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  15. ^ "Jackson's new song hits the web". The Hindu. July 18, 2009. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  16. ^ "New Michael Jackson song: A Place With No Name". news.com.au. July 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  17. ^ "A place without no name (by Spino) - full version". Youtube.com. January 18, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Michael Jackson "A Place With No Name" (Samuel Bayer, director)". VideoStatic. August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  19. ^ Levy, Joe. "Michael Jackson's 'Xscape': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  20. ^ "Single Review: Michael Jackson – 'A Place with No Name' – Renowned for Sound". August 19, 2014.
  21. ^ Moody, Nekesa Mumbi (May 13, 2014). "Review: 'Xscape' is a mixed bag for Jackson fans". Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo!. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  22. ^ Berger, John (August 7, 2009). "America rides in on 'horse with no name'". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  23. ^ Bunnell, Dewey; Straite, Elliott; Jackson, Michael. "A Place with No Name" [CD Single]. MJJ Productions and Epic Records. Catalog no: 88875018402.
  24. ^ "Michael Jackson – A Place with No Name" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  25. ^ "Michael Jackson – A Place with No Name" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  26. ^ "Michael Jackson – A Place with No Name" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  28. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  29. ^ "Michael Jackson – A Place with No Name" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  30. ^ "Rádiós Top 100 - hallgatottsági adatok alapján - 2014". Mahasz. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
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