"Xscape," which comes out May 13, is eight tracks of Jackson vocals set to new music from Timbaland and J-Roc, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate and John McClain, the former A&M Records executive who is co-executor of the Jackson estate with Branca. The originals they worked with were recorded from 1983 to 1999, the period just after Thriller to just before Invincible.
The finished songs are not remixes. Reid chose a riskier path, charging each of his producers to create what are essentially new songs based only on Jackson's vocal tracks. Timbaland — the project's executive producer, who oversaw five tracks with his collaborator J-Roc — talks about it almost like a ghost story, Jackson's disembodied voice urging him on, dissuading him from sounds that weren't innovative enough, and giving his blessing when they were.
This is the second full album in a deal between the Jackson estate and Sony Music to put out previously unreleased material, reportedly worth $250 million. The first, 2010's Michael, focused on the most recent material Jackson was recording in the years leading up to his death. It was completed by a half dozen producers, many from the original sessions, who tried to carry out his intentions as best they could. The results fell well short of Jackson's studio perfectionism. Branca calls the process "somewhat chaotic" and notes it lacked an overall guiding vision.
