UPDATE: SINCE THIS ARTICLE WAS POSTED, THE AUCTION HOUSE HAS REMOVED THE ITEM OFF THE LIST. THE SELLER (FRANK CASCIO) HAS DECIDED TO MAKE THE SALE PRIVATELY.
We all know the disaster of the Cassio tracks on the “Michael” album. It seems more are on offer in an Auction. Actually, apparently a full album!
The trickle of music from late pop icon Michael Jackson since his death in 2009 has frustrated some fans who anticipated a more robust posthumous stream of unheard tracks from the notorious studio rat musician. And while no new albums have been announced from the team running the King of Pop’s estate recently, a rare (or not so much) collection of mostly unheard songs is going under the gavel starting July 19th.
Michael Jackson’s unreleased songs (?) will be part of the Gotta Have Rock and Roll auction house’s upcoming public online auction of rock and pop memorabilia, which will also include items from Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones and U2. According to a listing for Lot #236 (“Michael Jackson Personally Owned Unreleased Last Album”), one lucky (or not) bidder will get the chance to own a disc with the handwritten title Bible scrawled on it that is described as “Michael Jackson’s personally owned copy of his final album consisting of 12 finished tracks, all with finished vocals.”
The lot promises that all the tracks are “master quality” and while the first three songs (“Monster,” “Breaking News” and “Stay”) have been released before with different mixes on the 2010 posthumous album Michael, while the other nine songs are reported to be previously unreleased.
The track listing for the album:
“Monster”
“Breaking News”
“Stay”
“Keep Your Head Up”
“Everything’s Just Fine”
“Black Widow”
“Burn Tonight”
“All I Need”
“Water”
“Let Me Fall in Love”
“Ready to Win”
“Soldier Boy”
As you can see the so infamous tracks “Monster”, “Breaking News” & “Keep Your Head Up” which are on the album “Michael” are present on this “Bible” album! Wander if it is the new or old testament! LOL
The album is described as being in “very good condition,” sourced from a personal friend (Cascio???) and personal assistant to Jackson “whose family was very close to Michael for many years, traveling all over the world with him.” The auction lasts from July 19-28 with a minimum bid of $50,000. Spokespeople for the Jackson estate and Gotta have Rock and Roll could not be reached for comment at press time.
According to Rolling Stone, organizers said they expect the final bid to potentially reach $1 million, though the owner will not have rights to the songs and cannot distribute or reproduce them. The album is just one of several intriguing Jackson-related items up for sale in the auction, including a stage worn and signed “Smooth Criminal” white fedora, an MJ-worn Trump Plaza baseball hat, one of the singer’s teddy bears, his Star Wars sleeping bag, a “Best Daddy in the World” Oscar statuette gifted to MJ from his children, and a pair of the singer’s worn colorful boxer shorts.
Is this genuine, I wonder? I’ve emailed the Estate’s on-line team to ask if they’re aware of it, and to ask the question of its likely authenticity, as I’m sure MJVibe has too. I don’t see how this item could be the real deal and be allowed to be just auctioned to the highest bidder. Will be interested to hear any feedback either of us gets!
OK – I’ve had a very quick response from Alicia from the MJ Online team, which is (and I quote):
‘Regarding the item that is up for auction, I can only relay the best advice that I’ve been told – “buyer beware.”’
That’s pretty much what we expected, I think!
Is Frank Cascio putting these preciousnesses on auction???? Creepy!!!😱 I hope the Estate has something to say… very suspicious… 🤔
This CD was a total scam, all 12 tracks have been online for years. They contain highly questionable vocals (many say, it’s not MJ) that have caused a pending lawsuit.The CD came from the most gullible seller ever, Frank Cascio. The auction house was even so dumb and accidentally revealed his name in the excuse statement when they needed to say something why it was removed. The truth is that they were uninformed about the mixes being done in 2010, posthumously, this rendering both “last album” and “personally owned by MJ” as evident lies which qualifies as fraud.
Ironically enough, two actual gems from the studio, this time actually containing a whole Michael Jackson album and unheard material, can be found on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/253027890021
http://www.ebay.com/itm/253027884209