The story of "Behind The Mask"

"Behind The Mask" is the ninth track on "Michael," Michael Jackson’s new album released last December. Michael created this beautiful song during the making of the Thriller album (1982). He heard the song, performed by the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and contacted its creators to write the lyrics and music, and to release it on his own album. Mazdell said in a recent interview that the song has had a unique journey of its own. He wrote a song for the Yellow Magic Orchestra, a Japanese electro-pop group, and it was to their liking. One of the group’s biggest stars, Ryuichi Sakamoto, created the melody, and the group released the song in the late 1970s. Quincy Jones, the producer of Thriller, heard the song during a trip to Japan and introduced it to Michael with the idea that it would fit the album. Michael agreed. By changing the lyrics and music, he turned this techno-classical track into a dance-funk song. The lyrics Mazdell wrote had a social theme, but in 1982 Michael created a love song for a woman. "I wrote about an industrial-controlled society. The mask in this song represents a static and unmoving state for the community. When Michael took the song, he turned it into a love song for a woman. The basis of the song was different for me—but well, yes, he was Michael Jackson, and I let him do what he wanted." The song was prepared for the Thriller album, but it was not released due to legal complications. Mazdell agreed to split the profits equally between Michael and Sakamoto. But the management of the Yellow Magic Orchestra did not accept the agreements. The song’s story remained a mystery for 25 to 30 years. Everyone knew its history—how it was recorded for Thriller and then shelved. Over the years, other artists such as Eric Clapton, Grieg FilinGangs, and many electronic groups including Orbitalz mixed and released the song. Mazzdell believes: "This song has had its own adventures; its life was out of our hands." After Michael’s death, the album’s producers moved to finish his work. "Behind The Mask" was one of the songs nominated to be included on the album "Michael." This time, there were no legal obstacles. Mazzdell says that last month, while walking down the street, he heard the sound of this song. He couldn’t breathe for a moment—he didn’t know anything about the song’s final home. Laughing, he says: "Songwriters are the last people to find out about company decisions." Source: eMJey / dailycamera.com