"Don't Be Messin' 'Round"
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Bad 25
A-side"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
ReleasedJune 5, 2012[1][2]
Recorded1982, 1986, 1990–1991, 1993–1995, 2009
Studio
Genre
Length4:20
LabelMJJ Productions
Songwriter(s)Michael Jackson
Producer(s)Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Immortal Megamix: Can You Feel It/Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough/Billie Jean/Black or White (Immortal Version)"
(2011)		 "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" / "Don't Be Messin' 'Round"
(2012)		 "Bad (Afrojack Remix) [DJ Buddha Edit]"
(2012)

"Don't Be Messin' 'Round" is a song by American recording artist and singer Michael Jackson. The song was originally recorded in 1986 during initial recording sessions for Jackson's seventh studio album, Bad, but was never finished and was left off the album.[3] Jackson reportedly revisited the track for his eighth and ninth studio albums, but it was again abandoned from both. In May 2012, it was announced that Jackson's original 1986 demo for "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" was to be included on a re-release of the original first single from Bad, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". This release marked the beginning of the promotional campaign for Bad 25, a twenty-fifth-anniversary re-release of the Bad album. As of 2020, the Thriller-era demo has been leaked under the name "Korgnex remix".

Background and release

Michael Jackson wrote and recorded "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" at some point during recording sessions for his sixth studio album, Thriller. However, due to an overflow of new material at the time, Jackson pushed the song aside for his next album. Years later, in 1986, Jackson revisited the track with longtime collaborators Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell at the Laboratory, the nickname for Jackson's renovated Hayvenhurst recording studio. According to Forger, the original demo for "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" was nearly eight minutes long, leading to Jackson "brutally" cutting it down to its current 4:20 length. Jackson continued to work on the track throughout 1986 both at Hayvenhurst and Westlake Recording Studios; however, once album producer Quincy Jones began working with Jackson, the track was abandoned. Jackson reportedly revisited the song during sessions for both his Dangerous and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I albums, as well as another revisit in early 2009, but passed on it numerous times.

In early April 2012, unauthorized pre-sales for the "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" CD single began online, prematurely leaking news of the upcoming release of "Don't Be Messin' 'Round". Later in May 2012, the Estate of Michael Jackson issued a statement officially announcing the song's release. The released version is a new mix done by Forger, which he made from combining elements recorded on across multiple different multitrack tapes in attempt to best represent the Bad-era version of the track.[4]

Composition

"Don't Be Messin' 'Round" is a funk and R&B-influenced track, along with flavors of jazz and pop, that lasts for four minutes and 20 seconds. The song incorporates cowbells and thick snares into its beat, along with plucking guitars. Because the song is a demo, Jackson often mumbles through sections rather than singing actual lyrics, making an accurate translation of the lyrics difficult. The song opens with Jackson playing chords on an acoustic piano, after which he sings, "Are you ready for a real good time, my love?/Are you ready for a real good treat?/There'll be so much dancing, singing/Ah, you came falling into me." As the chorus follows, Jackson repeats "So don't be messin' 'round, don't be messin' 'round" in a soft falsetto register. The instrumentation infuses digital drum snares over cowbells and shakers. Jackson fans often noted similarities between "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" and "Streetwalker", another Bad outtake. It has also been compared to various Stevie Wonder songs.

Critical reception

Ray Rahman was proud of the song, highlighting it and praising it: "Noticeably unfinished (refreshingly so, given Bad 25's hermetic polish) numbers like rhythmic earworm 'Don't Be Messin' Around'."[5] The Morton Report felt more mixed: "It [album] kicks off with the mid-tempo, piano-driven 'Don't Be Messin' 'Round'. Too bad he didn't finish this one off, it would've made a far better duet vehicle for him and Stevie Wonder."[6] Evan Sawdey called this song "feel-good".[7]

Track listing

  • CD single (88725414922)[8]
  1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (album version) – 4:23
  2. "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" (demo) – 4:19

Release history

Country Date Format
Germany June 1, 2012[9] CD single
France June 4, 2012[10]
United States June 5, 2012
Japan June 6, 2012[11]
Austria June 8, 2012[12]
United Kingdom June 12, 2012[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Michael Jackson's BAD 25th Anniversary Edition Already has its First #1 Single". Vocus. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Michael Jackson's estate hit with billion lawsuit". NME. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Joseph Vogel (5 June 2012). "The Story Behind Michael Jackson's Infectious, Newly Released Song". The Atlantic. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  4. ↑ “Chicago 1945 was done prior to Al Capone”, Matt Forger: the secrets of BAD 25 (EN)
  5. ↑ Ray Rahman. "Bad 25". Ew.com. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Music Review: Michael Jackson - Bad 25 - 25th Anniversary Edition (3-CD/1-DVD) | the Morton Report". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
  7. ↑ "Michael Jackson: Bad 25 [Deluxe Edition] | PopMatters". Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  8. ↑ "Michael Jackson - I Just Can't Stop Loving You - Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH". Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  9. ↑ "I Just Can't Stop Loving You: Michael Jackson: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  10. ↑ "I Just Can'T Stop Loving You: Michael Jackson: Amazon.fr: Musique". Amazon.fr. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  11. ↑ "I Just Can'T Stop Loving You: Michael Jackson: HMV Japan". hmv.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  12. ↑ "I Just Can'T Stop Loving You: Michael Jackson: Amazon.at: Musique". Amazon.at. Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  13. ↑ "I Just Can't Stop Loving You: Michael Jackson: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
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