Top 10 Quincy Jones- The Musical Genius' Top Ten, My Favorite Cuts

The legendary musician and producer Quincy Jones is gone. I'd been compiling a Top Ten list of my favorite pop /rock /jazz records he'd produced, knowing this day was coming. It did yesterday. The musical world will not be the same. Everyone is in mourning. There's not much written about any faith or spiritual involvement, but I pray Quincy knew Jesus.

I'll eventually detail each one more and more, but for now, here are my favorite cuts from various artists during different stages of his career:

One Hundred Ways- James Ingram. This ultra romantic tune is one of our favorites! I remember hearing it on our honeymoon at the beautiful restaurant The Sun And in the Bahamas. We were celebrating our one week anniversary. The was 42 years ago. The restaurant is now long gone, but the record (and the marriage) live on. God is good!

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough- Michael Jackson. My favorite MJ song from my favorite Michael album, Off the Wall. Years later, I'd come to know that the title song and Rock With You were offered to Karen Carpenter. The Rod Temperton penned tunes became mega hits for the former Jackson5 lead singer. The first of many, many more to come... including hits he did for Disneyland's iconic Captain Eo attraction. We are Here to Change the World- and he did.

Mystery of Love- Donna Summer.  An incredibly compelling cut, perhaps one of the most unexpected on the whole album. The Donna Summer album is a great one and its story is fascinating. (I've detailed it in a deep dive article here.) This almost duet with James Ingram is pure pop perfection from start to finish, and I find it on perpetual repeat every time I play it. Oh, the mystery of love indeed!

Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me- Phil Collins. Who knew Phil has this in him? The jazzy standard takes on a whole new feel for Mr. Collins, who rocks it like he was born to sing in this era. I so wish Phil had done an entire collection of songs like this with Quincy. Do not miss this one! It's a joy from start to finish.

Thriller- Michael Jackson. Epic release. Seemingly millions upon millions of writers have composed scores of print on this one. We all know how great the album is and why. Let's leave it at that.

The Woman in Me- Donna Summer. A song so good that the Wilson sisters of Heart had to do their own rock cover years later. Richard Carpenter's songwriting partner John Bettis crafted lyrics so strong that you'd swear they were written by a woman. But of course he could do that- he'd been penning lyrics for Karen Carpenter for years, making it sound as if she'd written them herself- songs seeming quite autobiographical. Donna's hit is vulnerable, intimate, and disarming. This one is also from the Quincy produced Donna Summer album.

Give Me the Night- George Benson. Next two cuts on the list are from Q's work with my "favorite vocalist who also can rock the guitar". The one and only George Benson. The who album is Nate night radio at its best. More Rod Temperton penned hits produced elegantly and combined with George's unique take created a career propelling smash. 

Turn Out the Lamplight- George Benson. One of the sultriest records George has ever made. This is Teddy Pendergrass territory- and George shows he pulls it off quite well. Another Rod Tempterton tune.

Just Once- James Ingram. Perhaps the solo record that made James a household name. This record has it all: great vocals, a memorable lyric line and music that transcends genres. A brilliant recording.

Is It Love That We're Missing- Gloria Estefan. You can place Gloria in about any setting and she would shine. This one song is no exception, only making me wish that Mr. Jones would have produced an entire album by the beloved Cuban superstar.

Will Michael Jackson Thrill Us Again?

Michael Jackson's Thriller is one of the best selling and most played albums of all time. That was 40 years ago, and this Fall, his label is celebrating its release with a deluxe package that will be filled with unreleased music, extensive liner notes, photos and more. 

Back when it was unheard of, Michael was even the subject of his own Disneyland attraction, Captain Eo, a 3D film of special effects and some pretty great music all its own.  Yes, he had conquered all forms of entertainment. 

Michael had his shortcomings. And he wasn't always the wisest of men. Buying out the Beatles catalog under Paul McCartney after recording a couple of duets with him was just poor judgment and a pretty nasty thing to do. Thriller's first single, the duet with Paul, The Girl is Mine is light, breezy, and fun and only hinted at the mega impact the collection would have.

The last time Michael's label dug into unreleased recordings during the Off The Wall era (my favorite Jackson disc), they unearthed and polished up Love Never Felt So Good, matching him with Justin Timberlake to give it that extra something. Will this 40th anniversary edition of Thriller give us the feels again? We'll see.

Observatron Me

Disneyland's Tomorrowland 1998. Supposedly, the new and improved version. Rocket Rods racing high above the ground on an elevated "highway in the sky" (of sorts- it ran on the former Peoplemover track, not the Monorail re: reference I just made) while the "interesting" Observatron presents an evening show against the backdrop of iconic Space Mountain. This was a slice of Imagineer Tony Baxter's vision for a brand new land of the future. 

Naturally, the project was truncated by the suits who doomed it to disaster. By robbing it of funds needed to bank those curves in the track, the Rocket Rods were difficult to maintain, and more importantly, financially impossible to keep running. The Observatron never functioned as planned- nor was it fixed. Problem upon problem. And by placing a retread of Honey, I Shrunk the Audience in the former Captain Eo space along with other budget cutting decisions, the brand new bronze hued Tomorrowland of 1998 became a major disappointment. It was almost as big of a disappointment as the California Adventure park that made its debut a few years later. Almost.

(Thanks to "phruby" on the WDWMagic boards.  Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Michael Jackson's Xscape

Captain Eo himself couldn't have seen this coming- but his record label sure did once the famously talented and odd superstar passed away.

On May 13th, Michael Jackson's posthumous disc Xscape will be released. The disc will hold eight previously unreleased performances with new production by superstar producers- the likes who pulled together Whitney Houston's excellent comeback disc, My Love is Your Love. A deluxe version of Xscape will contain the eight songs as they originally sounded when first recorded.

Most Disney fans know of Michael's attraction Captain Eo and his love for Disney parks. But did you know he also planned his own Neverland themed park? Go here to find out more!

Toon Invasion at Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland

The Oriental Land Company has just announced that Stitch Encounter will replace Michael Jackson's Captain Eo in 2015. This move continues a trend of toons invading the streets of Tomorrowland. In the not so distant past, Monsters Hide and Go Seek arrived and before that Buzz Lightyear. It seems that even the stunningly maintained Tokyo Disney Resort is not immune to a lack of imagination.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Michael Jackson's Eo Returns to Disneyland

I have such mixed emotions about the return of Captain Eo to Disneyland. It was groundbreaking for its time, but in this new century and since Michael Jackson's death, is this really a good move? On one hand, it seems the Walt Disney Company will do just about anything to make a buck in these tough economic times. On the other hand, he was associated with Disney and his love for Disneyland was made well known- this could be an appropriate tribute. (I wonder, he said sarcastically, while they didn't try to shoehorn Eo into California Adventure...)

The risk will be in folks viewing Michael Jackson as a caricature of himself. Which is somewhat true as he began his multiple facial transformations, bizarre behavior, and even stranger associations. For me? I would rather remember him as the brilliant artist behind Off the Wall in particular, and Thriller secondarily.(Captain Eo poster copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Michael Jackson: Sad Ending to a Troubled Superstar

Everyone will have their opinions. Bottom line- Michael Jackson was one gifted musical artist. My favorite album and one whose songs are still on my ipod is "Off the Wall". His biggest album was less fun for me but Thriller was still full of surprises. Disneyland's Captain Eo showed him in all his splendor. May he finally find rest and the peace that always seemed to be beyond his reach.