The Ultimate Collection (Michael Jackson album)

The Ultimate Collection is a box set by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 16, 2004 by Epic Records and consists of four audio CDs and one DVD. The album sold 57,000 copies in 2004 only[3], and on May 16, 2013, it was certified Platinum as a multi-disk package by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for physical shipments of 200,000 copies[4]. The DVD marked the first appearance of Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour, which was later released as an individual title on July 25, 2005.

The Ultimate Collection
Box set by Michael Jackson
Released	November 16, 2004
Length	70:48 (Disc 1) 48:18 (Disc 2) 71:06 (Disc 3) 62:28 (Disc 4) 122:05 (DVD)
Label	MJJ Productions Legacy Epic Sony BMG
Producer	Michael Jackson Various
Michael Jackson chronology
Number Ones (2003) The Ultimate Collection (2004) The Essential Michael Jackson (2005)
Alternative covers
UK iTunes & Amazon UK cover
Alternative cover
UK physical set

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone (1998)	[2]

Album information

Much of the music is drawn from the height of Jackson's career, particularly from the principal seven albums: Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix and Invincible. Notable tracks on the box set include the first release of the demos of songs such as "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "Cheater" and the original demo of "We Are the World" featuring Jackson as a soloist. The set also contains 8 unreleased songs, including "In the Back", "Beautiful Girl", "The Way You Love Me" and "We've Had Enough".

The song "The Way You Love Me" was remixed for the posthumous album Michael with the title "(I Like) The Way You Love Me", and was released as a single on July 8, 2011.

Rarities

The Ultimate Collection box set also contains songs previously out of print:

• "Enjoy Yourself" is 15 seconds longer than the album version.
• The full version of "You Can't Win" was only available on the 12-inch single.
• "Sunset Driver" which was originally set to be one of the track listings for the album "Off the Wall".
• "Someone in the Dark" was first released as a two-part song on the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial double LP and re-issued on the 2001 special edition of Thriller.
• Both the early version of "Dangerous" and "Monkey Business" were previously available only on the rare 2001 special edition acetate of the Dangerous album.
• "Someone Put Your Hand Out" is a Pepsi-supported cassette single released in Europe to promote the Dangerous World Tour (see below).
• "On the Line" was part of the "Ghosts" boxset released in 1997 but containing an earlier fade out.
• "You Are Not Alone" is 15 seconds longer than the album version, featuring more vocals.
• "We Are Here to Change the World" is a previously unreleased song from the Disney short film Captain EO.

To sum up, fourteen previously unreleased songs and demos are included in "The Ultimate Collection", such as "Beautiful Girl," "Cheater" and the demo to "We Are the World".

Track listing

Disc 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"I Want You Back"	The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, Alphonzo Mizell)	Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5	2:58
2.	"ABC"	The Corporation	ABC	2:57
3.	"I'll Be There"	Berry Gordy, Bob West, Willie Hutch, Hal Davis	Third Album	3:56
4.	"Got to Be There"	Elliot Willensky	Got to Be There	3:23
5.	"I Wanna Be Where You Are"	Arthur "T-Boy" Ross, Leon Ware	Got to Be There	2:59
6.	"Ben"	Walter Scharf, Don Black	Ben	2:44
7.	"Dancing Machine" (Single Version)	Hal Davis, Don Fletcher, Dean Parks	Dancing Machine	2:37
8.	"Enjoy Yourself" (Alternate Version) (recorded 1976, during The Jacksons sessions)	Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff	The Jacksons	3:40
9.	"Ease on Down the Road" (featuring Diana Ross) (from The Wiz) (recorded August 1977 & 1978, during The Wiz sessions)	Charlie Smalls	The Wiz	3:19
10.	"You Can't Win" (alternate version recorded for Epic Records, original version from The Wiz) (recorded August 1977 & 1978, during The Wiz sessions)	Charlie Smalls	The Wiz	7:18
11.	"Shake a Body" (Early Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded August 1978, during Destiny sessions)	Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson		2:09
12.	"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (Single Edit)	Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson	Destiny	3:44
13.	"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"	Michael Jackson	Off the Wall	6:04
14.	"Rock with You" (Album Version #2)	Rod Temperton	Off the Wall	3:39
15.	"Off the Wall"	Rod Temperton	Off the Wall	4:06
16.	"She's Out of My Life"	Tom Bahler	Off the Wall	3:38
17.	"Sunset Driver" (Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded August 1978 & 1979 – 1982, during Off The Wall & Thriller sessions)	Michael Jackson		4:03
18.	"Lovely One"	Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson	Triumph	4:50
19.	"This Place Hotel" (a.k.a. "Heartbreak Hotel")	Michael Jackson	Triumph	5:44

Disc 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"	Michael Jackson	Thriller	6:03
2.	"The Girl Is Mine" (featuring Paul McCartney)	Michael Jackson	Thriller	3:42
3.	"Thriller"	Rod Temperton	Thriller	5:58
4.	"Beat It"	Michael Jackson	Thriller	4:18
5.	"Billie Jean" (Album Version #2)	Michael Jackson	Thriller	4:53
6.	"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded April & October – November 8, 1982, during Thriller sessions)	Michael Jackson, Greg Phillinganes		3:46
7.	"Someone in the Dark" (Edited Single Version) (recorded June 1982, during E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial sessions)	Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Rod Temperton	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	4:54
8.	"State of Shock" (featuring Mick Jagger)	Michael Jackson, Randy Hansen	Victory	4:30
9.	"Scared of the Moon" (Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded early 1983, during Bad sessions)	Michael Jackson, Buz Kohan		4:41
10.	"We Are the World" (Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded January 28, 1985)	Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie		5:20
11.	"We Are Here to Change the World" (from Captain EO) (previously unreleased) (recorded 1985, during Captain EO sessions)	Michael Jackson, John Barnes		2:53

Disc 3

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Bad" (7' Single Mix)	Michael Jackson	Bad	4:07
2.	"The Way You Make Me Feel" (Album Version #2)	Michael Jackson	Bad	4:58
3.	"Man in the Mirror"	Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard	Bad	5:20
4.	"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (Radio Edit) (featuring Siedah Garrett)	Michael Jackson	Bad	4:13
5.	"Dirty Diana" (Album Version #2)	Michael Jackson	Bad	4:41
6.	"Smooth Criminal" (Album Version #3)	Michael Jackson	Bad	4:17
7.	"Cheater" (Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded March 13 & 17, 1987, during Bad sessions)	Michael Jackson, Greg Phillinganes		5:09
8.	"Dangerous" (Early Version) (previously unreleased) (recorded 1985 – 1989 & September 1990 – February, August 22 & October 29, 1991, during Dangerous sessions)	Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell, Teddy Riley		6:40
9.	"Monkey Business" (previously unreleased) (recorded 1989, during Dangerous sessions)	Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell		5:46
10.	"Jam" (featuring Heavy D)	Michael Jackson, René Moore, Bruce Swedien, Teddy Riley	Dangerous	5:39
11.	"Remember the Time"	Teddy Riley, Michael Jackson, Bernard Belle	Dangerous	4:00
12.	"Black or White"	Michael Jackson; rap lyrics by Bill Bottrell	Dangerous	4:16
13.	"Who Is It" (IHS Mix)	Michael Jackson		7:57
14.	"Someone Put Your Hand Out" (previously unreleased) (recorded 1987, 1990 & 1991 – April 1992, during Bad & Dangerous sessions)	Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley		5:25

Disc 4

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"You Are Not Alone" (Extended Version) (recorded September & November 6 & 8, 1994 – March 1995, during HIStory sessions)	R. Kelly	HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I	6:03
2.	"Stranger in Moscow"	Michael Jackson	HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I	5:44
3.	"Childhood" (theme from Free Willy 2)	Michael Jackson	HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I	4:28
4.	"On the Line" (recorded 1995 & January – July 1996, during HIStory & Get On The Bus sessions)	Michael Jackson, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds		4:53
5.	"Blood on the Dance Floor"	Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley	Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix	4:12
6.	"Fall Again" (Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded 1999, during Invincible sessions)	Walter Afanasieff, Robin Thicke		4:22
7.	"In the Back" (previously unreleased) (recorded 1994 - 2004, during HIStory & Invincible sessions)	Michael Jackson, Glen Ballard		4:31
8.	"Unbreakable" (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.)	Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Nora Payne, Robert Smith	Invincible	6:26
9.	"You Rock My World" (Album Edit)	Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Nora Payne	Invincible	5:09
10.	"Butterflies"	Andre Harris, Marsha Ambrosius	Invincible	4:40
11.	"Beautiful Girl" (Demo) (previously unreleased) (recorded 1998 & 2004, during Invincible sessions)	Michael Jackson		4:03
12.	"The Way You Love Me" (previously unreleased) (recorded Mid 1998 – 2004, during Invincible sessions)	Michael Jackson		4:30
13.	"We've Had Enough" (previously unreleased) (recorded 1999 – 2000, during Invincible sessions)	Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Carole Bayer Sager		5:45

• The Jackson 5/Jacksons perform tracks 1-3, 7, 8, 11-12, 18-19 (disc one) and track 8 (disc two).

DVD: Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour (previously unreleased)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jam"	Michael Jackson, René Moore, Bruce Swedien, Teddy Riley	8:16
2.	"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"	Michael Jackson	5:13
3.	"Human Nature"	Steve Porcaro, John Bettis	5:02
4.	"Smooth Criminal"	Michael Jackson	6:00
5.	"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (duet with Siedah Garrett)	Michael Jackson	4:45
6.	"She's Out of My Life"	Tom Bahler	4:53
7.	"I Want You Back/The Love You Save"	Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards	2:17
8.	"I'll Be There"	Berry Gordy, Bob West, Willie Hutch, Hal Davis	4:33
9.	"Thriller"	Rod Temperton	5:51
10.	"Billie Jean"	Michael Jackson	7:44
11.	"Workin' Day and Night"	Michael Jackson	10:04
12.	"Beat It"	Michael Jackson	7:24
13.	"Will You Be There"	Michael Jackson	6:51
14.	"Black or White"	Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell	6:38
15.	"Heal the World"	Michael Jackson	8:53
16.	"Man in the Mirror"	Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard	13:28

Limited Japanese Edition bonus tracks

Disc 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
11.	"Blame It on the Boogie"	Michael G. Jackson-Clark, David Jackson-Rich, Hans Kampschroer, Elmar Krohn, Thomas Meyer	Destiny	3:34

• The Jacksons perform track 11.

Disc 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
6.	"Human Nature"	Steve Porcaro, John Bettis	Thriller	4:05

Disc 3

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
3.	"Another Part of Me"	Michael Jackson	Bad	3:55
13.	"Heal the World"	Michael Jackson	Dangerous	6:25

The addition of "Another Part of Me" pushes the number of tracks down by one (i.e. "Someone Put Your Hand Out" starts off Disc 4).

Disc 4

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
12.	"One More Chance"	R. Kelly	Number Ones	3:49

Sampler CD

Sampler CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Want You Back"	The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, Alphonzo Mizell)	2:58
2.	"Rock with You"	Rod Temperton	3:39
3.	"She's Out of My Life"	Tom Bahler	3:38
4.	"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"	Michael Jackson	6:03
5.	"Billie Jean"	Michael Jackson	4:53
6.	"Scared of the Moon" (Demo) (previously unreleased)	Michael Jackson, Buz Kohan	4:41
7.	"Bad"	Michael Jackson	4:07
8.	"Man in the Mirror"	Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard	5:20
9.	"Cheater" (Demo) (previously unreleased)	Michael Jackson, Greg Phillinganes	5:09
10.	"You Are Not Alone" (extended version)	R. Kelly	6:03
11.	"Beautiful Girl" (Demo) (previously unreleased)	Michael Jackson	4:03
12.	"We've Had Enough" (previously unreleased)	Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Carole Bayer Sager	5:45

"Someone Put Your Hand Out"

"Someone Put Your Hand Out" (on disc three of The Ultimate Collection) is a song originally written by Michael Jackson in 1987 for the Bad album and re-written in April 1992 with Teddy Riley, having failed to make it on to Jackson's 1991 album Dangerous. It was released May 1992 in Europe as an exclusive Pepsi promotional single, to promote Jackson’s upcoming Dangerous World Tour. 500,000 copies were made available by collecting a winning token from certain Pepsi products. A cassette single of "Someone Put Your Hand Out" was also released as part of an exclusive Pepsi promotional pack in June 1992 throughout Europe. The promotional pack also included a Michael Jackson poster, a promotional sticker, and a press release about Jackson’s upcoming Dangerous World Tour. An instrumental version of the song was played by Michael Jackson's band during some of the concerts of the Dangerous World Tour.

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[5]	60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[6]	25
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[7]	33
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8]	46
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9]	37
Italian Albums (FIMI)[10]	45
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11]	40
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[12]	6
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[13]	29
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	31
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	33
US Billboard 200[16]	154

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[17]	Platinum	200,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Allmusic review
2. "Rolling Stone (2004) review".
3. "Jackson's finances continue to dwindle". Today. June 8, 2005. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
4. "RIAA Diamond Awards". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
5. "Ultratop.be – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
6. "Ultratop.be – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
7. "Danishcharts.dk – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
10. "Italiancharts.com – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
11. "Norwegiancharts.com – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
12. "Portuguesecharts.com – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
13. "Spanishcharts.com – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
16. "Michael Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
17. "American album certifications – Michael Jackson – The Ultimate Collection Jackson". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.