2009年7月16日，邁克爾•傑克遜（Michael Jackson）去世才三周，他的一首未發行歌曲的片段洩露到了網上。TMZ公佈了一個24秒片段，來自歌曲《無名之地》（A Place Without No Name），接下來的四年半裡，這24秒片段就是歌迷所能聽到的一切。
2013年12月3日，全曲洩露到了網上。這首歌基本在歌詞上改編了“美國”（America）樂隊1972年的經典歌曲《無名之騎》（A Horse Without No Name），驚豔了所有歌迷。隨之而來的，就是歌曲的根源 —— 其中的一些問題已在之前對歌曲工作人員的採訪中得到回答，其他問題則至今是謎。今天，就讓我們一探這首歌曲背後的究竟。
2013年12月3日，全曲洩露到了網上。這首歌基本在歌詞上改編了“美國”（America）樂隊1972年的經典歌曲《無名之騎》（A Horse Without No Name），驚豔了所有歌迷。隨之而來的，就是歌曲的根源 —— 其中的一些問題已在之前對歌曲工作人員的採訪中得到回答，其他問題則至今是謎。今天，就讓我們一探這首歌曲背後的究竟。
《無名之地》最早在1998年由歌手、創作者、製作人“冰凍博士”（Dr. Freeze）伊里亞德•斯特雷特（Elliot Straite）構思。當時擔任傑克遜經紀人的唱片公司高管約翰•麥克萊恩（John McClain）給了“冰凍博士”一生難得的機會：與“流行音樂之王”合作。
“我認識他的經紀人約翰•麥克萊恩，當時我正和搭檔斯派德曼（Spydermann）製作一張專輯。”“冰凍博士”回憶道，“可是專輯完成後，卻不能如期發行，我們不得不取消了這個項目。我很難過。當時約翰•麥克萊恩就說，‘別擔心，‘冰凍’。我有另一個專案給你。我會和邁克爾有生意上的往來。’我說，‘邁克爾……誰？’他說，‘邁克爾•傑克遜！’”
“起初我不敢相信，我想這簡直瘋了。然後有一天我正和爸爸在打電話，這時有人從另一條線打電話過來……正是邁克爾！就是那麼開始的。我有一些歌，就放給邁克爾聽。他很喜歡！因為邁克爾和我，我們的聲線很相似。所以每次我提出點什麼，他都很容易就學會了，好像他本來就知道一樣。我問他那些歌怎麼樣，他很喜歡。他很珍惜這些歌。我們就是那樣相遇的。”
“我嚇壞了！我覺得 好像回到了小學，根本不懂製作！從邁克爾身上，我重新學到了一切。”“冰凍博士”說，“其他製作人和我就像學生面對著老師。和邁克爾在一起，我們仿佛一無所知：我們得重新開始，重新一切。他教會我們盡最大的可能做好一切：邁克爾是一個完美主義者，我們得用最好的方式從頭開始製作音樂。我非常非常緊張，但是很光榮！儘管如此，邁克爾和你在一起比你和他在一起還要緊張。這是你想像不到能一起共事的最棒的人。太棒了！他瞭解音樂界的一切，一切的一切，他對什麼都不陌生，教會了我許多。而且，他非常的謙虛和有創造力。和他一起工作真是太棒了。”
“我向他介紹了許多歌，主要有《破曉時分》（Break Of Dawn）、《無名之地》和《傷心漢》（Blue Gangsta）。”“冰凍博士”說，“這三首是我們優先考慮的。《破曉時分》是其中完成了的歌曲，其他的後來發行了。它們是留作預備的。”
“我做了所有的音樂，他只要學歌詞。”“冰凍博士”說，“《無名之地》本身有點像是逃離，是一首你閉上雙眼就能遁入仙境的歌。實際上，這首歌的靈感來自於‘美國’樂隊的《無名之騎》。這首歌的歌詞非常深刻。我想更新一下，做一個21世紀版的……‘美國’樂隊喜歡這個創意。他們覺得這個“更新”非常了不起，對這個項目異常興奮。”
把歌曲提交給傑克遜後，他倆1998年8月開始在洛杉磯的“唱片工廠”（ Record Plant）錄音室合作這些音樂創意。當時錄音師、貝斯手CJ•德維拉（CJ deVillar）協助他們錄音。有一次，“冰凍博士”告訴CJ想在《無名之地》上錄貝斯。
“我告訴‘冰凍’我會彈，很願意給他彈點東西。”CJ說，“我把自己的貝斯帶到了錄音室。幾天後，‘冰凍’準備好錄音了。問題是，MJ在周圍時，我有點擔心，不敢彈。我不想因為自己在邁克爾的音樂上彈了幾下而影響到自己 ‘錄音師’的位置。但最後，這只是我沒有根據的多疑。”
“前一天晚上，我們等到很晚，一直等到邁克爾溜回家。”
1998年8月25日，CJ準備在“唱片工廠”彈他的部分。但世事難預料，傑克遜把他逮了個正著！
“等我確認邁克爾離開錄音室後，我插上貝斯，開始和‘冰凍’弄這首歌。但我剛插好，就看見邁克爾從錄音室的休息室走了出來，穿過主錄音區進入控制室。我‘額’了一下，感覺被當場抓住。”
“邁克爾突然說，‘你倆幹嘛呢？’我不好意思地說，‘彈了點貝斯，邁克。’他說，‘讓我聽聽。’於是我彈了一點，他一下子很興奮，說，‘你是在錄音嗎？’‘嗯，不，邁克。我只是在找感覺。’邁克說，‘都錄下來！’於是我按下錄音鍵，大膽彈起來。邁克爾把主揚聲器開到最響，喜歡我彈的音樂。”
接下來發生的事情堪稱絕妙。
“過了幾秒鐘，邁克爾在我面前手舞足蹈，無論我彈什麼貝斯創意。”CJ回憶說，“每次到最後，他都說再來一個，我們就再來一遍。邁克爾一邊跳舞，一邊假裝在彈吉他，我們在控制台前擺出各種搖滾造型。他說，‘ Oh yeah CJ，真臭！太臭了！（邁克爾說“臭”，指的就是“好”）咱們再來一個！’”
“我彈了5、6遍，最後變成了有料的節奏，這樣我們就不用把一堆貝斯的創意剪輯到一起使它具有可聽性了。”CJ說，“跟邁克爾彈了半個多小時後，又大聲地重放了幾遍錄音，我快速整理出了一個粗混音，發了一個DAT錄音帶給他聽。他親切地再次感謝了我，然後就回家了……無論如何，給邁克爾和‘冰凍’錄歌很有意思……向我生動地展現了邁克爾堅韌的音樂能量。”
第二天（1998年8月26日），傑克遜又回到“唱片工廠”錄音室，準備好和“冰凍博士”、主錄音師邁克•金（Mike Ging）以及第二錄音師傑夫•伯恩斯（Jeff Burns）一起錄背景和聲與歌曲後面的那些“na na na”。
歌曲上大多數的背景和聲都是“冰凍博士”唱的，傑克遜覺得“冰凍博士”的唱腔能讓他想起自己年輕時的唱腔。兩人偶爾會一起錄和聲，並由金無縫剪輯到一起。
花了一周時間調整和剪輯《無名之地》的8分鐘粗混音後，傑克遜準備好錄主音了。這一次也是邁克•金在“唱片工廠”錄音室錄的，當時是1998年9月8日。
“唱片工廠”錄音室有6個房間 —— 其中2個由傑克遜的團隊租用了。這意味著傑克遜可能會遇到其他4個房間來來去去的其他明星。鑒於此，傑克遜在到達錄音室前就和賽思•裡格斯（Seth Riggs）完成暖嗓。
“我們從沒見過他在我們面前練嗓。”“冰凍博士”回憶，“但是當他進入錄音室錄歌，站到麥克風前就能對歌曲開火。等他離開後，錄音室成了灰燼，我們驚訝得連下巴都掉到地板上。真的很令人印象深刻。”
傑克遜的主音是邁克•金通過Neumann M149麥克風錄下的。其他的主音是1998年10月16日由金在“海洋方式”（Ocean Way）錄音室錄下的，即廣為人知的“第一唱片”錄音室（ Record One）。第二天，即10月17日，金做了一支新混音。在那裡，《無名之地》被花了功夫。
“當時真是一個迴圈。”負責在布拉德•巴克瑟（Brad Buxer）的房間和“冰凍博士”的房間之間協調的錄音師邁克爾•普林斯（Michael Prince）說，“我們一度在‘馬文之地’（ Marvin’s Place）錄音室，然後搬回‘唱片工廠’，再回到‘第一唱片’。”
“通常情況下，我主要參與制作布拉德和邁克爾正在創作的歌曲。我們忙著製作5、6首歌，其中的兩首，《無以言表》（Speechless）和《迷路的孩子》（The Lost Children）最終收錄進了專輯。”
1999年2月21日的“第一唱片”錄音室，開工半年後，傑克遜、“冰凍博士”、普林斯、巴克瑟和金又回顧了《無名之地》，加了點小改動。
“我們很高興能在‘第一唱片’，我們大多數的工作都是在那裡完成的。羅德尼（Rodney）也是那時加入團隊的。那個月，羅德尼、弗雷德（Fred）和拉肖恩•丹尼爾斯（LaShawn Daniels）都在那裡。”
1999年3月底，傑克遜飛往紐約的“金曲工廠”（ The Hit Factory）錄音室和克裡•魯尼（Cory Rooney）製作《她愛我》（She Was Lovin’ Me）。傑克遜那個月的大多數時間都和魯尼在錄音室，他倆除了製作音樂就是到處閒逛。
“我們花了很長時間 —— 我們工作了整整兩個禮拜 —— 僅僅用來調整。”魯尼說，“不只是聲音，還有其他部分、剪輯。花了兩個禮拜是因為我們花了更長時間說笑，在錄音室過得很愉快。我們待這麼久只是想玩得開心。最後，我們把4月份的大多數時間花在錄音室裡搞規劃。我們把那裡當作自己的司令部讓歌曲真正成型。”
“我本可利用這個時機製作6首歌，讓邁克爾錄下來，但我不關心這個。”魯尼說，“我只想給他當時需要的一切。我覺得他需要玩樂，有一個朋友而不是某個逼他錄歌的人。那是我內心真實的感受。我們玩得很愉快。”
結束《她愛我》的錄製，傑克遜決定把所有的錄音從洛杉磯的“第一唱片”錄音室搬到紐約的“金曲工廠”錄音室。
“我們花了好幾天把所有的磁帶和硬碟做了拷貝，並給它們做上標記，然後所有東西被運到紐約的‘金曲工廠’錄音室，我們在那裡待了幾個月。”邁克爾•普林斯說。
“金曲工廠”錄音室的保羅•J•法爾科內（Paul J. Falcone）1999年5月初製作了《無名之地》的一支混音。可是，當法爾科內完成混音後，這首歌和魯尼的《她愛我》以及“冰凍博士”的《傷心漢》被放到了一邊。
到1999年中，傑克遜似乎放棄了他之前的許多作品，轉而和羅德尼•傑金斯（Rodney Jerkins）認真合作，傑金斯亦然。
“我要完成音樂，讓音樂部分更好更強。”魯尼解釋說，“我完全沒有了機會，因為要忙著幫羅德尼•傑金斯為邁克爾準備歌曲。”
一直到2004年1月，《無名之地》才再次被回顧。傑克遜要再聽一遍，並在夢幻莊園（Neverland）做了一些小改動。
“這是逐漸改進的。”“冰凍博士”說，“這是一個不斷增加的工作。有時候他錄主聲部，有時候是錄副歌或即興部分……他還會聽不同的混音，在這裡那裡修改細節。他全力以赴地創作。我們想要歌曲既完美又合我的要求，他就像電影製片人，試著讓劇本更生動或改變演員。這種處理方式也被用來製作這首歌和整張《無敵》（Invincible）專輯……他只對第一名感興趣。”
“冰凍博士”這番對邁克爾想擁有金曲的言論後來得到製作人“紅人”（RedOne）和傑克遜自己的回應。
“邁克爾總是專注于擁有金曲。”在2008年和2009年與傑克遜合作的“紅人”說，“所以他總是錄許多歌，並選出其中最好的。那是他的方式，我很喜歡。”
“柴可夫斯基影響我最深。”傑克遜在2007年的採訪中說，“如果你拿出《胡桃夾子組曲》（Nutcracker Suite）這樣的專輯，每首歌都是經典，每一首……人們過去常常做一張專輯，你會在裡面得到一首好歌，其餘歌曲都是B級。他們把那些叫做‘專輯歌曲’，而我會對自己說，‘為什麼不能讓每首歌都成為金曲呢？為什麼不能讓每首歌都好到當你發單曲時，人們都想買呢？’所以我總是努力爭取……那就是核心思想……我為此努力工作。”
除了2004年的那些調整，《無名之地》又被打入冷宮，直到2008年中才再被拿出來。
“邁克爾•傑克遜有最喜歡的歌曲，或者還在製作中的歌曲。”邁克爾•普林斯說，“當布拉德2008年又開始飛行員生涯，Neff-U從他那裡接手工作後，邁克爾拿出一些歌，其中包括《無名之地》，並說，‘來製作這首歌。看看你能做成什麼樣。’所以人聲都是一樣的，但Neff-U會加入新的音樂。”
“Neff-U原本在2008年前就和邁克爾、布拉德•巴克瑟還有我合作了。”普林斯說，“他原本在好幾年前到布拉德家製作了一些未發行的東西，像是《夏日樂趣》（Hot Fun In The Summertime） —— 斯萊•斯通（Sly Stone）1969年的歌曲。我想MJ只錄了一點點，但他們嘗試了許多東西。Neff-U很有才華。”
洩露的《無名之地》正是邁克爾2008年通過的最終版本。
“比起2004年的版本，你能聽到2008年的版本裡鼓聲不同。Kick部分不一樣，snare更強勁，‘na na’部分被複製了不斷重複到結束。”普林斯說，是他迴圈了“na na”。
2008年中的剪輯都是在傑克遜自己的家庭錄音室完成的。巧的是，“冰凍博士”在傑克遜搬去洛杉磯前正好去了他在拉斯維加斯的家庭錄音室看望他。兩人還在一起討論了傑克遜音樂之旅的下一篇章。
“他去世前不久，我和他在錄音室。”“冰凍博士”回憶道，“確切來講，我記得去他在拉斯維加斯的住所看他，那裡有個錄音室……什麼都沒錄，我們只是頭腦風暴。我們本來要開始錄音……我提供了一些專門為他寫的新歌。”
“他非常喜歡。”“冰凍博士”說，“這是我們最後的交談。他說‘我愛你’，就結束了。他想留下（那些歌），但他去世了。”
傑克遜去世後不久，《無名之地》的片段洩露在了TMZ網站上。
人們很快意識到那改編自“美國”樂隊的《無名之騎》，引發了熱烈評論。
“我們很榮幸邁克爾•傑克遜選擇錄這首歌，並對歌曲品質影響深刻。”“美國”樂隊成員杜威•邦內爾（Dewey Bunnell）和格裡•貝克利（Gerry Beckley）在發給MTV的聲明中說，“我們還希望它能儘快發行，讓全球歌迷能聽到整首歌曲，再次領略邁克爾•傑克遜無與倫比的才華。”他們還補充說：“邁克爾•傑克遜發揮到位，我們真誠希望他的歌迷 —— 和我們的歌迷 —— 能完整聽到它。這很深刻。”
“他就是你從沒想到能與之共事的最棒的人。”“冰凍博士”回憶說，“他非常謙虛並有創意。從早到晚，他創作聲音、旋律、和聲……他自己能搞定一切。邁克爾完全是‘活樂器’……這是我難忘的經歷，從他身上學到許多。”
《無名之地》至今沒有正式發行，預計將與《傷心漢》一起收錄在計畫於2014年春季發行的新專輯裡。
Michael Jackson’s “A Place With No Name” The Story Behind The Song
“我認識他的經紀人約翰•麥克萊恩，當時我正和搭檔斯派德曼（Spydermann）製作一張專輯。”“冰凍博士”回憶道，“可是專輯完成後，卻不能如期發行，我們不得不取消了這個項目。我很難過。當時約翰•麥克萊恩就說，‘別擔心，‘冰凍’。我有另一個專案給你。我會和邁克爾有生意上的往來。’我說，‘邁克爾……誰？’他說，‘邁克爾•傑克遜！’”
“起初我不敢相信，我想這簡直瘋了。然後有一天我正和爸爸在打電話，這時有人從另一條線打電話過來……正是邁克爾！就是那麼開始的。我有一些歌，就放給邁克爾聽。他很喜歡！因為邁克爾和我，我們的聲線很相似。所以每次我提出點什麼，他都很容易就學會了，好像他本來就知道一樣。我問他那些歌怎麼樣，他很喜歡。他很珍惜這些歌。我們就是那樣相遇的。”
“我嚇壞了！我覺得 好像回到了小學，根本不懂製作！從邁克爾身上，我重新學到了一切。”“冰凍博士”說，“其他製作人和我就像學生面對著老師。和邁克爾在一起，我們仿佛一無所知：我們得重新開始，重新一切。他教會我們盡最大的可能做好一切：邁克爾是一個完美主義者，我們得用最好的方式從頭開始製作音樂。我非常非常緊張，但是很光榮！儘管如此，邁克爾和你在一起比你和他在一起還要緊張。這是你想像不到能一起共事的最棒的人。太棒了！他瞭解音樂界的一切，一切的一切，他對什麼都不陌生，教會了我許多。而且，他非常的謙虛和有創造力。和他一起工作真是太棒了。”
“我向他介紹了許多歌，主要有《破曉時分》（Break Of Dawn）、《無名之地》和《傷心漢》（Blue Gangsta）。”“冰凍博士”說，“這三首是我們優先考慮的。《破曉時分》是其中完成了的歌曲，其他的後來發行了。它們是留作預備的。”
“我做了所有的音樂，他只要學歌詞。”“冰凍博士”說，“《無名之地》本身有點像是逃離，是一首你閉上雙眼就能遁入仙境的歌。實際上，這首歌的靈感來自於‘美國’樂隊的《無名之騎》。這首歌的歌詞非常深刻。我想更新一下，做一個21世紀版的……‘美國’樂隊喜歡這個創意。他們覺得這個“更新”非常了不起，對這個項目異常興奮。”
把歌曲提交給傑克遜後，他倆1998年8月開始在洛杉磯的“唱片工廠”（ Record Plant）錄音室合作這些音樂創意。當時錄音師、貝斯手CJ•德維拉（CJ deVillar）協助他們錄音。有一次，“冰凍博士”告訴CJ想在《無名之地》上錄貝斯。
“我告訴‘冰凍’我會彈，很願意給他彈點東西。”CJ說，“我把自己的貝斯帶到了錄音室。幾天後，‘冰凍’準備好錄音了。問題是，MJ在周圍時，我有點擔心，不敢彈。我不想因為自己在邁克爾的音樂上彈了幾下而影響到自己 ‘錄音師’的位置。但最後，這只是我沒有根據的多疑。”
“前一天晚上，我們等到很晚，一直等到邁克爾溜回家。”
1998年8月25日，CJ準備在“唱片工廠”彈他的部分。但世事難預料，傑克遜把他逮了個正著！
“等我確認邁克爾離開錄音室後，我插上貝斯，開始和‘冰凍’弄這首歌。但我剛插好，就看見邁克爾從錄音室的休息室走了出來，穿過主錄音區進入控制室。我‘額’了一下，感覺被當場抓住。”
“邁克爾突然說，‘你倆幹嘛呢？’我不好意思地說，‘彈了點貝斯，邁克。’他說，‘讓我聽聽。’於是我彈了一點，他一下子很興奮，說，‘你是在錄音嗎？’‘嗯，不，邁克。我只是在找感覺。’邁克說，‘都錄下來！’於是我按下錄音鍵，大膽彈起來。邁克爾把主揚聲器開到最響，喜歡我彈的音樂。”
接下來發生的事情堪稱絕妙。
“過了幾秒鐘，邁克爾在我面前手舞足蹈，無論我彈什麼貝斯創意。”CJ回憶說，“每次到最後，他都說再來一個，我們就再來一遍。邁克爾一邊跳舞，一邊假裝在彈吉他，我們在控制台前擺出各種搖滾造型。他說，‘ Oh yeah CJ，真臭！太臭了！（邁克爾說“臭”，指的就是“好”）咱們再來一個！’”
“我彈了5、6遍，最後變成了有料的節奏，這樣我們就不用把一堆貝斯的創意剪輯到一起使它具有可聽性了。”CJ說，“跟邁克爾彈了半個多小時後，又大聲地重放了幾遍錄音，我快速整理出了一個粗混音，發了一個DAT錄音帶給他聽。他親切地再次感謝了我，然後就回家了……無論如何，給邁克爾和‘冰凍’錄歌很有意思……向我生動地展現了邁克爾堅韌的音樂能量。”
第二天（1998年8月26日），傑克遜又回到“唱片工廠”錄音室，準備好和“冰凍博士”、主錄音師邁克•金（Mike Ging）以及第二錄音師傑夫•伯恩斯（Jeff Burns）一起錄背景和聲與歌曲後面的那些“na na na”。
歌曲上大多數的背景和聲都是“冰凍博士”唱的，傑克遜覺得“冰凍博士”的唱腔能讓他想起自己年輕時的唱腔。兩人偶爾會一起錄和聲，並由金無縫剪輯到一起。
花了一周時間調整和剪輯《無名之地》的8分鐘粗混音後，傑克遜準備好錄主音了。這一次也是邁克•金在“唱片工廠”錄音室錄的，當時是1998年9月8日。
“唱片工廠”錄音室有6個房間 —— 其中2個由傑克遜的團隊租用了。這意味著傑克遜可能會遇到其他4個房間來來去去的其他明星。鑒於此，傑克遜在到達錄音室前就和賽思•裡格斯（Seth Riggs）完成暖嗓。
“我們從沒見過他在我們面前練嗓。”“冰凍博士”回憶，“但是當他進入錄音室錄歌，站到麥克風前就能對歌曲開火。等他離開後，錄音室成了灰燼，我們驚訝得連下巴都掉到地板上。真的很令人印象深刻。”
傑克遜的主音是邁克•金通過Neumann M149麥克風錄下的。其他的主音是1998年10月16日由金在“海洋方式”（Ocean Way）錄音室錄下的，即廣為人知的“第一唱片”錄音室（ Record One）。第二天，即10月17日，金做了一支新混音。在那裡，《無名之地》被花了功夫。
“當時真是一個迴圈。”負責在布拉德•巴克瑟（Brad Buxer）的房間和“冰凍博士”的房間之間協調的錄音師邁克爾•普林斯（Michael Prince）說，“我們一度在‘馬文之地’（ Marvin’s Place）錄音室，然後搬回‘唱片工廠’，再回到‘第一唱片’。”
“通常情況下，我主要參與制作布拉德和邁克爾正在創作的歌曲。我們忙著製作5、6首歌，其中的兩首，《無以言表》（Speechless）和《迷路的孩子》（The Lost Children）最終收錄進了專輯。”
1999年2月21日的“第一唱片”錄音室，開工半年後，傑克遜、“冰凍博士”、普林斯、巴克瑟和金又回顧了《無名之地》，加了點小改動。
“我們很高興能在‘第一唱片’，我們大多數的工作都是在那裡完成的。羅德尼（Rodney）也是那時加入團隊的。那個月，羅德尼、弗雷德（Fred）和拉肖恩•丹尼爾斯（LaShawn Daniels）都在那裡。”
1999年3月底，傑克遜飛往紐約的“金曲工廠”（ The Hit Factory）錄音室和克裡•魯尼（Cory Rooney）製作《她愛我》（She Was Lovin’ Me）。傑克遜那個月的大多數時間都和魯尼在錄音室，他倆除了製作音樂就是到處閒逛。
“我們花了很長時間 —— 我們工作了整整兩個禮拜 —— 僅僅用來調整。”魯尼說，“不只是聲音，還有其他部分、剪輯。花了兩個禮拜是因為我們花了更長時間說笑，在錄音室過得很愉快。我們待這麼久只是想玩得開心。最後，我們把4月份的大多數時間花在錄音室裡搞規劃。我們把那裡當作自己的司令部讓歌曲真正成型。”
“我本可利用這個時機製作6首歌，讓邁克爾錄下來，但我不關心這個。”魯尼說，“我只想給他當時需要的一切。我覺得他需要玩樂，有一個朋友而不是某個逼他錄歌的人。那是我內心真實的感受。我們玩得很愉快。”
結束《她愛我》的錄製，傑克遜決定把所有的錄音從洛杉磯的“第一唱片”錄音室搬到紐約的“金曲工廠”錄音室。
“我們花了好幾天把所有的磁帶和硬碟做了拷貝，並給它們做上標記，然後所有東西被運到紐約的‘金曲工廠’錄音室，我們在那裡待了幾個月。”邁克爾•普林斯說。
“金曲工廠”錄音室的保羅•J•法爾科內（Paul J. Falcone）1999年5月初製作了《無名之地》的一支混音。可是，當法爾科內完成混音後，這首歌和魯尼的《她愛我》以及“冰凍博士”的《傷心漢》被放到了一邊。
到1999年中，傑克遜似乎放棄了他之前的許多作品，轉而和羅德尼•傑金斯（Rodney Jerkins）認真合作，傑金斯亦然。
“我要完成音樂，讓音樂部分更好更強。”魯尼解釋說，“我完全沒有了機會，因為要忙著幫羅德尼•傑金斯為邁克爾準備歌曲。”
一直到2004年1月，《無名之地》才再次被回顧。傑克遜要再聽一遍，並在夢幻莊園（Neverland）做了一些小改動。
“這是逐漸改進的。”“冰凍博士”說，“這是一個不斷增加的工作。有時候他錄主聲部，有時候是錄副歌或即興部分……他還會聽不同的混音，在這裡那裡修改細節。他全力以赴地創作。我們想要歌曲既完美又合我的要求，他就像電影製片人，試著讓劇本更生動或改變演員。這種處理方式也被用來製作這首歌和整張《無敵》（Invincible）專輯……他只對第一名感興趣。”
“冰凍博士”這番對邁克爾想擁有金曲的言論後來得到製作人“紅人”（RedOne）和傑克遜自己的回應。
“邁克爾總是專注于擁有金曲。”在2008年和2009年與傑克遜合作的“紅人”說，“所以他總是錄許多歌，並選出其中最好的。那是他的方式，我很喜歡。”
“柴可夫斯基影響我最深。”傑克遜在2007年的採訪中說，“如果你拿出《胡桃夾子組曲》（Nutcracker Suite）這樣的專輯，每首歌都是經典，每一首……人們過去常常做一張專輯，你會在裡面得到一首好歌，其餘歌曲都是B級。他們把那些叫做‘專輯歌曲’，而我會對自己說，‘為什麼不能讓每首歌都成為金曲呢？為什麼不能讓每首歌都好到當你發單曲時，人們都想買呢？’所以我總是努力爭取……那就是核心思想……我為此努力工作。”
除了2004年的那些調整，《無名之地》又被打入冷宮，直到2008年中才再被拿出來。
“邁克爾•傑克遜有最喜歡的歌曲，或者還在製作中的歌曲。”邁克爾•普林斯說，“當布拉德2008年又開始飛行員生涯，Neff-U從他那裡接手工作後，邁克爾拿出一些歌，其中包括《無名之地》，並說，‘來製作這首歌。看看你能做成什麼樣。’所以人聲都是一樣的，但Neff-U會加入新的音樂。”
“Neff-U原本在2008年前就和邁克爾、布拉德•巴克瑟還有我合作了。”普林斯說，“他原本在好幾年前到布拉德家製作了一些未發行的東西，像是《夏日樂趣》（Hot Fun In The Summertime） —— 斯萊•斯通（Sly Stone）1969年的歌曲。我想MJ只錄了一點點，但他們嘗試了許多東西。Neff-U很有才華。”
洩露的《無名之地》正是邁克爾2008年通過的最終版本。
“比起2004年的版本，你能聽到2008年的版本裡鼓聲不同。Kick部分不一樣，snare更強勁，‘na na’部分被複製了不斷重複到結束。”普林斯說，是他迴圈了“na na”。
2008年中的剪輯都是在傑克遜自己的家庭錄音室完成的。巧的是，“冰凍博士”在傑克遜搬去洛杉磯前正好去了他在拉斯維加斯的家庭錄音室看望他。兩人還在一起討論了傑克遜音樂之旅的下一篇章。
“他去世前不久，我和他在錄音室。”“冰凍博士”回憶道，“確切來講，我記得去他在拉斯維加斯的住所看他，那裡有個錄音室……什麼都沒錄，我們只是頭腦風暴。我們本來要開始錄音……我提供了一些專門為他寫的新歌。”
“他非常喜歡。”“冰凍博士”說，“這是我們最後的交談。他說‘我愛你’，就結束了。他想留下（那些歌），但他去世了。”
傑克遜去世後不久，《無名之地》的片段洩露在了TMZ網站上。
人們很快意識到那改編自“美國”樂隊的《無名之騎》，引發了熱烈評論。
“我們很榮幸邁克爾•傑克遜選擇錄這首歌，並對歌曲品質影響深刻。”“美國”樂隊成員杜威•邦內爾（Dewey Bunnell）和格裡•貝克利（Gerry Beckley）在發給MTV的聲明中說，“我們還希望它能儘快發行，讓全球歌迷能聽到整首歌曲，再次領略邁克爾•傑克遜無與倫比的才華。”他們還補充說：“邁克爾•傑克遜發揮到位，我們真誠希望他的歌迷 —— 和我們的歌迷 —— 能完整聽到它。這很深刻。”
“他就是你從沒想到能與之共事的最棒的人。”“冰凍博士”回憶說，“他非常謙虛並有創意。從早到晚，他創作聲音、旋律、和聲……他自己能搞定一切。邁克爾完全是‘活樂器’……這是我難忘的經歷，從他身上學到許多。”
《無名之地》至今沒有正式發行，預計將與《傷心漢》一起收錄在計畫於2014年春季發行的新專輯裡。
On July 16, 2009, just three weeks after his tragic passing, a portion of
an unreleased Michael Jackson song leaked online. Celebrity gossip website TMZ
posted a twenty-four second snippet of the track, called “A Place With No
Name”. For the past four-and-a-half years the twenty-four second snippet is all
that Michael Jackson fans have had access to. That is, until now.
A few days ago, on December 3, 2013, the full-length version of the song,
which is essentially a lyrically re-written cover of the 1972 hit “A Horse With
No Name” by the band America, appeared online to the delight of Jackson
enthusiasts around the world. With the leak of the track came questions about
its origins – some of which could be answered by reading previously published
interviews with those who worked on the track, and others which remained
unanswered. This article aims to put all the pieces of the puzzle in one place
to tell the complete story behind the song.
“A Place With No Name” was first conceived in 1998 by Elliot Straite, a
talented singer, songwriter, and music producer who goes by the name “Dr.
Freeze”. Record executive John McClain, who was managing Michael Jackson at the
time (and is now coincidentally a co-executor of The Michael Jackson Estate)
gave Freeze the opportunity of a lifetime – to collaborate with the King of
Pop.
“I knew his manager, John McClain, and I was working on an album with my
partners, Spydermann,” recalls Freeze. “After completing the album, it did not
go as planned and we had to cancel the project. I was very upset. And then John
McClain said, ‘Do not worry Freeze. I have another project for you. You’ll be
in business with Michael.’ I said, ‘Michael who?’ And he said, ‘Michael
Jackson!’”
“I did not believe it at first and I thought it was crazy. And then one
day I was on the phone with my father and someone called me on the other line…
It was Michael! That’s how it all began… That’s how we met.”
“It was pretty scary for me! I felt like I was back in primary school and
not knowing anything about the production! With Michael I relearned
everything,” told Freeze. “The other producers and I were as students facing a
teacher. With Michael, it was as if we knew nothing more to the business; we
had to start over and relearn everything. He taught us to do everything the
best way possible. Michael was a perfectionist… I was very nervous. Very
nervous but very honored! He knew all about the music industry; everything
about everything. Nothing was foreign to him, and he taught me a lot.”
“I introduced him to many songs. The main songs on which we worked are
‘Break Of Dawn’, ‘A Place With No Name’ and ‘Blue Gangsta’,” explained Freeze.
“These three songs were our priorities… He adored them! Michael and I, we have
a knack for melody,” he continued. “So every time I proposed something, it was
easy for him to study the song because it was as if he already knew. I gave him
some songs that he adored. He cherished them.”
“I did all the music, and he only had to learn the lyrics,” continued
Freeze. “‘A Place With No Name’ is itself a kind of escape, a song where you
just close your eyes to find yourself instantly transported into a wonderful
world. In fact, this song was inspired by ‘A Horse With No Name’ from the group
America. The lyrics of this song are very deep. I wanted to refresh it, make a
version for the 2000s as well… The group America loved the idea. They found
this ‘update’ absolutely terrific. They were really excited about this
project.”
After presenting the tracks to Jackson, the pair began collaborating on
musical ideas at Record Plant Recording Studios in Los Angeles, in August of
1998. At the time, engineer and bass guitarist CJ deVillar was assisting them
with the engineering side of things. During a session Freeze told CJ that he
wanted to have a bass guitar sound on “A Place With No Name”.
“I told Freeze I can play [bass] and would be happy to lay something down
for him,” says CJ. “I brought my bass down to the studio, and a few days later
Freeze was ready to record it. The problem was I was a bit concerned to play on
MJ’s tracks while MJ was around. I just didn’t want to jeopardize my position
as an ‘Engineer’ goofing around on Michael’s music, but in the end it was
unfounded paranoia on my part.”
“Regardless, we waited till late in the eve when Michael usually slipped
out for home long before that,” he recalls. “At least based on his M.O. from
the previous few weeks.”
It was August 25, 1998 when CJ laid down his pass parts at the Record
Plant. But it didn’t go to plan for the engineer, with Jackson catching him in
the act!
“When I was certain Michael had left the studio I plugged in my bass and
started to play around with the track with Freeze. But the very second I
plugged in, I saw Michael emerge from his studio lounge through the vocal booth
glass and into the control room, so I was like, ‘Uh oh!’”
“Michael immediately said, ‘What are you guys doing?’ I replied sheepishly,
‘Laying down some bass, Mike.’”
He said, ‘Let’s hear it,’ so I played a few bass licks and he immediately
got excited and said, ‘Are you recording?’
“Umm, no Mike, I’m just trying to find a vibe.”
“Umm, no Mike, I’m just trying to find a vibe.”
“Mike said, ‘Play and record it all!’ So I dropped in (hit record) and
jammed on the song. Well, Michael turned up the big main speakers LOUD and was
loving what I was playing.”
What happened next between Michael and CJ was truly a magic moment.
“After several seconds Michael was in my face rockin’ out while I pulled
off all kinds of bass ideas,” he recalls. “At the end of that pass he said to
do another and off we went again. Michael was poppin’ and lockin’, playing air
guitar while we pulled out rock poses in front of the console.”
“He would say, ‘Oh yeah CJ, that was stinky! Sooo stinky!’ (a good thing
for Mike) ‘Lets do another!’”
“I dropped in a total of five or six times with the last one being a
solid groove track so we didn’t have to comp a bunch of bass ideas to make the
song listenable right away,” explained CJ. “After more than a half-hour of
rockin’ with Michael and a few more loud playbacks, I put together a quick
rough mix and made him a dat tape to listen to. He graciously thanked me again
and then went home for the day… I had a lot of fun recording Michael and
Freeze… It showed me Michael’s relentless musical energy so vividly.”
The next day, August 26, 1998, Jackson arrived back at Record Plant
Recording Studios ready to record the background vocals and “na nas” with Dr.
Freeze, lead engineer Mike Ging and second engineer Jeff Burns.
While the majority of the background vocals on the track belong solely to
Freeze, there are a few instances where the two have recorded in harmony and
were then compiled seamlessly together by Ging.
After about a week of tweaking and editing the rough “A Place With No
Name” mix, which was exactly 8 minutes in length at that point, Jackson was
ready record the lead vocals. This session, again recorded by Mike Ging, took
place at Record Plant on September 8, 1998.
Record Plant Recording Studios has about six studio rooms on site – two
of which were hired by Jackson’s team. This meant that Jackson had little
privacy with numerous other artists coming and going at any one time from the
four others studios. Because of this, Jackson conducted his trademark vocal
warm-ups with Seth Riggs before arriving at the studio to record.
“We never saw him do his vocal exercises before us,” recalls Dr. Freeze.
“But when he came into the studio to record, he stood before the microphone and
set fire to the song. As he left, the studio was in ashes and our jaws on the
floor. It was really impressive to see.”
Jackson’s lead vocals were recorded by Mike Ging on a Neumann M149
microphone. Additional leads were recorded on October 16, 1998, by Ging at
Ocean Way Recording, which is commonly referred to as Record One. The following
day, October 17, Ging worked on a new mix. From there, “A Place With No Name”
did some serious studio-hopping.
“It was such a round robin back in those days,” said recording engineer
Michael Prince, who was bouncing between Brad Buxer’s room and Dr. Freeze’s
room. “At one point we ended up at Marvin’s Place. We then moved back to the
Record Plant, then back to Record One again.”
“Typically I was working mostly on the songs Brad [Buxer] and Michael
[Jackson] were writing. We had our hands busy with about five or six songs, two
of which, ‘Speechless’ and ‘The Lost Children’ made it on the [Invincible]
album.”
At Record One on February 21, 1999, six months after starting the process
Jackson, Freeze, Prince, Buxer and Ging revisited “A Place With No Name”,
making additional minor edits.
“We were very happy at Record One and that’s where we got the majority of
our work done. That’s when Rodney [Jerkins] joined the team. For at least the
last month that we were at Record One Rodney, Fred [Jerkins] and LaShawn
Daniels were there.”
At the end of March 1999 Jackson flew out to New York to work at The Hit
Factory with Cory Rooney on a track called “She Was Lovin’ Me”. Jackson spent
the best part of a month in the studio with Rooney, who remembers the pair did
just as much goofing around as they did working on music.
“We spent so much time – I would say we worked for a good two weeks – on
tweaking alone,” said Rooney. “Not just the vocals but different things, comps.
And it took two weeks because we spent more time laughing and joking and
talking and having such a good time in the studio. We stretched it out just to
have fun. In the end we spent most of April in the studio kind of plotting and
planning. We used that as our kind of headquarters to really get the record in
line.”
“I could have taken advantage of the situation and tried to produce six
songs and get Michael to record them, but I didn’t care for that,” added
Rooney. “I just wanted to give him anything at that time that he needed. And I
felt like he needed to have fun and to have a friend more so than some guy
trying to push songs on him. That was genuinely what I truly felt in my heart.
We had a great time.”
After wrapping the “She Was Lovin’ Me” sessions with Rooney, Jackson
decided to move all collaborative sessions from Record One in Los Angeles to
The Hit Factory in New York.
“It took us days to make copies of all the tapes and hard drives, and
label them, then everything got shipped to The Hit Factory in New York and we
spent months there,” said LA-based Michael Prince.
The Hit Factory engineer Paul J. Falcone worked on a mix of “A Place With
No Name” in early May 1999 in New York. However, after Falcone completed his
mix, the song got put on the backburner, along with Cory Rooney’s “She Was
Lovin’ Me” and Dr. Freeze’s “Blue Gangsta”, which was being worked on at the
same time as “A Place With No Name”.
By mid-1999 Jackson had seemingly dropped many of his former
collaborations to focus on working with Rodney Jerkins, and Jerkins had done
the same in return.
“It was up to me to finish the music (for ‘She Was Lovin’ Me’), to make
the music track better and stronger,” explained Rooney. “And I completely lost
the opportunity to do that because I got so caught up in trying to help Rodney
Jerkins deliver for Michael.”
In the end it wasn’t until January 2004 that “A Place With No Name” was
revisited. Jackson had asked to hear it again and some minor edits were made at
Neverland.
“It has improved gradually,” said Freeze. “It was incremental work. He
listened to the different mixes and changed some details around here or there.
He was in full creative control. We wanted the song to be perfect… It was a bit
like a director looking to improve his film by changing the script or changing
players. This is the type of process that was used to create this song, and
overall, the album ‘Invincible’… All that interested him was to have #1 hits.”
Freeze’s statement about Michael wanting to have hits was later echoed by
producer RedOne, and also by Jackson himself.
“Michael always has been focused on having hits,” said RedOne, who spent
time working with Jackson between 2008 and 2009. “So he always records a lot of
songs and takes the best of them. That’s his formula, which I love.”
“It was Tchaikovsky that influenced me the most,” revealed Jackson in a
2007 interview. “If you take an album like ‘Nutcracker Suite’, every song is a
killer, every one… People used to do an album where you’d get one good song,
and the rest were like B-sides. They’d call them ‘album songs’ and I would say
to myself, ‘Why can’t every one be like a hit song? Why can’t every song be so
great that people would want to buy it if you could release it as a single?’ So
I always tried to strive for that… That was the whole idea… I worked hard for
it.”
Other than those minor 2004 tweaks and edits, “A Place With No Name” was
again put on the backburner until being resurrected merely a year before
Jackson’s death, in mid-2008.
“Michael Jackson had favorite songs, or songs that were
works-in-progress,” said Michael Prince. “Once Neff-U took over from Brad
[Buxer] when Brad started flying again in 2008, Michael brought out some songs,
including “A Place With No Name”, and said, ‘Here work with this song. See what
you can come up with for this song.’ So the vocals were always pretty much the
same, but Neff-U would put new music on them.”
“Neff-U had originally worked with Michael, Brad Buxer and I long before
2008,” continued Prince. “He originally came to Brad’s house years earlier and
worked on some stuff that never came out, like ‘Hot Fun In The Summertime’ –
the 1969 Sly Stone song. I think MJ only sang a tiny bit on that one, but they
were trying a bunch of stuff. Neff-U is very talented.”
The version of “A Place With No Name” that leaked is the final version
Michael heard and approved in 2008.
“Compared with the 2004 version you can hear the drums are different in
the leaked 2008 version. It has a different kick drum pattern, a little
stronger snare, and the ‘na nas’ are copied to repeat through the fade,” said
Prince, who personally looped the “na nas” for Jackson.
The mid-2008 edits were all made in Jackson’s home studio, at his 2710
Palomino Lane property in Las Vegas. Coincidentally, Freeze made a visit to
Jackson at his Vegas home studio shortly before Jackson moved to Los Angeles.
The pair had reunited to discuss the next chapter of Jackson’s musical journey.
“I was in the studio with him shortly before his death,” recalls Freeze.
“To be precise, I remember going to see him at his residence in Vegas, and
there was a studio there… Nothing was recorded, we just brainstormed. We were
about to start recording sessions… I offered a few new songs I had written
especially for him.”
“He loved [the songs] very much,” says Freeze. “This was our last
discussion. He said ‘I love you’ and voila, it was over. He wanted to save [the
songs], but he died.”
In the aftermath of Jackson’s death, as detailed at the beginning of this
article, a snippet of “A Place With No Name” leaked online, via TMZ.
It was quickly identified as being a remake of America’s “A Horse With No
Name”, prompting the group to comment on Jackson’s rendition.
“We’re honored that Michael Jackson chose to record it and we’re
impressed with the quality of the track,” said America band members Dewey
Bunnell and Gerry Beckley in a statement made to MTV. “We’re also hoping it
will be released soon so that music listeners around the world can hear the
whole song and once again experience the incomparable brilliance of Michael
Jackson,” they added. “Michael Jackson really did it justice and we truly hope
his fans – and our fans – get to hear it in its entirety. It’s really
poignant.”
Dr. Freeze reminisced on his time with Jackson during an interview with
Michael Jackson fansite MJFrance.com, quoted on numerous occasions throughout
this story.
“He was simply the most wonderful person with whom you could never dream
of working with,” remembers Dr. Freeze. “He was very humble and creative. From
dusk till dawn, he created sounds, melodies, harmonies… He could do everything
himself. You know, Michael was truly a ‘living instrument’… It was quite an
experience for me. I learned a lot from him.”
“A Place With No Name” remains officially unreleased to this day. Dr.
Freeze has stated on a number of occasions that “A Place With No Name”, as well
as “Blue Gangsta”, will be included on the next Michael Jackson album. “That I
know. This is confirmed.” he said, adding that the album is scheduled to come
out in Spring 2014.
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