HUMAN NATURE Original Video

“Human Nature” is an R&B song debuted by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written by Steve Porcaro and John Bettis, and produced by Quincy Jones for the singer’s sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). Initially, Porcaro had recorded a rough demo of the song on a cassette, which was then given to Jones. Enjoying the demo, Jones had the ballad included on the Thriller album. The song was the last selected for the album, ousting “Carousel” from the final track listing.

“Human Nature” was released on July 3, 1983, as the album’s fifth single. Although not released in the UK, the song achieved chart success in the US. Reaching number two on Billboard’s Hot Adult Contemporary chart and number seven on the Hot 100, the song became Jackson’s fifth Top 10 hit from Thriller. In New Zealand the single reached number 11. The ballad garnered many positive reviews from music critics. “Human Nature” has been covered and sampled by numerous artists, including Miles Davis, SWV, Nas, Jason Nevins and Boyz II Men.

Background

“Human Nature” was written by Steve Porcaro of Toto and John Bettis for Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. Initially, Porcaro recorded a rough demo of the song on a cassette.^[1] Fellow Toto band member David Paich then gave the demo, along with two songs written by Paich, to producer Quincy Jones, hoping they would be included on Thriller.^[1] Jones didn’t like Paich’s songs, but enjoyed the rough demo of “Human Nature” at the end of the cassette.^[1] Jones explained, “All of a sudden, at the end, there was all this silence, there was: ‘why, why, dah dah da-dum dah dah, why, why’. Just a dummy lyric and a very skeletal thing—I get goosebumps talking about it. I said, ‘This is where we wanna go, because it’s got such a wonderful flavour’”.^[2] The producer asked if the song could be included on Jackson’s album, to which Porcaro and Bettis agreed.^[1] “Human Nature” was the last song selected for Thriller, ousting “Carousel” from the final track listing.^[1]

“Human Nature” was released on July 3, 1983, as the fifth single from Thriller.^[1] Although not released in the UK, the song achieved moderate chart success in the US.^[1] Reaching number two on Billboard’s Hot Adult Contemporary chart and number seven on the Hot 100, the song became Jackson’s fifth Top 10 hit from Thriller.^[4][5] “Human Nature” charted at number 27 on the R&B singles chart.^[4] In the Netherlands the single reached number 11.^[6]

John Rockwell, of The New York Times, stated that “Human Nature” was a “haunting, brooding ballad” with an “irresistible” chorus.^[7] Allmusic noted that the “gentle and lovely” “Human Nature” coexisted comfortably with the “tough, scared” “Beat It”.^[8] They later added that the song was a “soft rocker”.^[9] Reflecting on Thriller, Slant expressed their fondness of the song, stating that it was “probably the best musical composition on the album and surely one of the only A/C ballads of its era worth remembering”.^[10] The magazine added that the track’s “buttery harmonies” were powerful.^[10] Stylus also praised the song, describing it as “the smoothest of ballads”.^[11] They further added that the music “does little to embody the song’s message” and that it couches Jackson’s “glazed voice” in “cloudy synths and drum pillows”.^[11]

About.com’s Bill Lamb looked back on the track 25 years after its release. He felt that the song “set down a blueprint for what would become known as adult R&B”.^[12] Kelefa Sanneh of Blender described the “soft-serve balladry” of the song as a “silk-sheets masterstroke”.^[13] In a 2008 IGN review, Todd Gilchrist explained that the elements of “Human Nature” worked better today than they did before. He added that it may be because modern R&B “sucks”.^[14] Tom Ewing, reviewer for Pitchfork Media, described the song as “meltingly tender”, with MTV adding that it was an “airy ballad”.^[15][16] Rolling Stone claimed that the “most beautifully fragile” “Human Nature” was so open and brave it made “She’s Out of My Life” seem phony.^[17] The Los Angeles Times concluded that it was Jackson’s delivery that made the “middling ballad” take off.^[18]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Halstead, p. 144
2. ^ Thriller 25: The Book, p. 13
3. ^ Powers, Ann (February 15, 2008). “Nine reasons why Jackson masterpiece remains a ‘Thriller’“. South Coast Today. http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/LIFE/802150316. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} George, p. 39
5. ^ Borza, Michael J. (September 7, 1984). “Jacksons captivated JFK Stadium“. The Daily Collegian. http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1984/09/07&EntityId=Ar02400. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
6. ^ ^{a b} “Dutch Singles Chart Archives“. dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Michael+Jackson&titel=Human+Nature&cat=s. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
7. ^ Rockwell, John (December 19, 1982). “Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’: Superb Job“. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/19/arts/michael-jackson-s-thriller-superb-job.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. “Allmusic’s ‘Thriller’ Review“. Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fixq95ld6e. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
9. ^ “Allmusic’s Thriller 25 review“. Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fwxzejldke~T1. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
10. ^ ^{a b} Henderson, Eric (2003). “Slant’s ‘Thriller’ review“. Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=358. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
11. ^ ^{a b} “Thriller – The Diamond“. Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/diamond/michael-jackson-thriller.htm. Retrieved on February 21, 2009.
12. ^ Lamb, Bill. “About.com’s Thriller 25 review“. About.com. http://top40.about.com/od/albums/fr/mjacksonthril25.htm. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
13. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (April 11, 2008). “Thriller – 25th Anniversary Edition Blender review“. Blender. http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=4996. Retrieved on March 10, 2009.
14. ^ Gilchrist, Todd. “IGN’s Thriller 25 review“. IGN. http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/850/850483p2.html. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
15. ^ Ewing, Tom (April 11, 2008). “Pitchfork Media’s Thriller 25 review“. Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/48645-thriller-25th-anniversary-edition. Retrieved on February 21, 2009.
16. ^ “Michael Jackson biography“. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/jackson_michael/artist.jhtml. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
17. ^ Sheffield, Rob. “Rolling Stone’s Thriller 25 review“. Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/18290476/review/18305830/thriller_25_deluxe_edition. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
18. ^ Gamboa, Glenn (February 12, 2008). “Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ turns 25“. Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-etlede5572856feb12,1,7023998.story?page=2.
19. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
20. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 269.
21. ^ “UK Singles Chart“. The Official UK Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/top40_singles.php. Retrieved on 6 July 2009.
22. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Halstead, p. 145
23. ^ Davis, Francis (July 4, 1985). “You’re Under Arrest review“. Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/177991/review/6067406?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
24. ^ Hackett, Regina (September 5, 1987). “Miles Davis treats a forgiving crowd to his lean, hard-driving dance music“. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/archives/1987/8701240051.asp. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
25. ^ “SWV biography“. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/swv/artist.jhtml. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
26. ^ Farley, Christopher John (June 20, 1994). “Street stories“. Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980934,00.html. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
27. ^ Rivaldo, Joey. “Jason Nevins featuring Holly – I’m in Heaven“. About.com. http://dancemusic.about.com/cs/reviews/fr/JasNeviHollHeav.htm. Retrieved on June 7, 2009.
28. ^ Litman, Joseph (March 31, 2003). “Blackstreet – Blackstreet Level II“. Michigan Daily. http://www.michigandaily.com/node/41639. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
29. ^ Harris, Mike (February 11, 2005). “‘Throwback’ review“. PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/boyziimen-throwback/. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
30. ^ Spencer, Todd (August 23, 2004). “New CDs: R. Kelly, Earle“. Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/boyziimen/articles/story/6438437/new_cds_r_kelly_earle. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
31. ^ Miller, Sara (August 11, 2009). “Migrant musician Mead hits the 40 Watt“. The Red and Black. http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2001/11/08/Variety/Migrant.Musician.Mead.Hits.The.40.Watt-2597485.shtml. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
32. ^ Powers, Ann; Martens, Todd (July 7, 2009) “Michael Jackson memorial: John Mayer performs ‘Human Nature’”. LA Times (accessed 2009-07-08)
33. ^ “Death of A Legend”. Larry King Live. July 7, 2009. No. unknown, season unknown.
34. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Jackson, Michael. Thriller booklet. Sony BMG.

References

• George, Nelson (2004). Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection booklet. Sony BMG.
• Halstead, Craig (2007). Michael Jackson: For the Record. Authors OnLine. ISBN 978-0-7552026-7-6.
• Thriller 25: The Book (2008). Thriller 25: The Book. ML Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-9768891-9-9.

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4 Responses to “HUMAN NATURE Original Video”

1. Chaquoria Roberson says:

   October 22, 2009 at 11:06 am

   Hey this is Chaquoria Roberson. I want to let whoever is reading this Is that I love Michael Jackson, all his songs and everything he has done.
2. Loic Etèki says:

   July 6, 2010 at 9:22 am

   man, that’s my favorite song,one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard.
3. Briana Ricks says:

   April 28, 2011 at 8:02 am

   This Song is so AWESOME!!!!!!!
4. Briana Ricks says:

   April 28, 2011 at 8:05 am

   I am a fan of Michael Jackson!!!!!!!
   Hee-Hee