Michael Jackson - Smile (1997)

In 1997 Michael Jackson recorded the Charlie Chaplin-penned classic 'Smile', for inclusion on the 'HIStory' compilation, with the intention of releasing it as a single to promote the album. The release was cancelled at the last minute, and all of the pressings of 'Smile' (both CD maxi-singles and 12" records) were withdrawn and destroyed just days before the release date, save a few that managed to escape, making this one of the rarest Jackson collectors items of all time. The Dutch 12" single (EPC 665130 6) is probably the most sought after record by Michael Jackson collectors, as a very limited number of these records briefly reached Dutch retail stores and were sold before the rest were withdrawn and destroyed by Sony. Original copies have been known to fetch up to £1,000.00 when they appear on eBay, although that is quite rarely these days. There was also a CD maxi-single, which included remixes of 'Is It Scary' which were not on the vinyl 12", and so in total there were nine tracks spread over the two releases, including a full length and short version of 'Smile', and a radio edit of 'Is It Scary', as well as five other mixes of that song. Seeking to capitalize on the rarity and incredible demand for this record, bootleggers began to reproduce counterfeit versions, flooding the marketplace with worthless (and cheap to manufacture) copies. In fact, the Smile 12" is easily the most bootlegged Michael Jackson record in the world, and the vast majority of the listings that have appeared on eBay are worthless fakes. To save you a bit of money, here are all the tracks from the two releases, with the exception of the short version of 'Smile', which just edits out the piano at the end, and with an added bonus of yet another mix of 'Is It Scary' by Deep Dish. Tracks 1 - 5 are from the 12" single and tracks 6 and 7 were exclusive to the CD maxi-single. Track 8 is the bonus remix.   

Track listing

01 Smile  
02 Is It Scary (Deep Dish Dark And Scary Remix)  
03 Is It Scary (Eddie Arroyo's Rub-A-Dub Mix) 
04 Is It Scary (Eddie Arroyo's Love Mix) 
05 Off The Wall (Junior Vasquez Remix)  
06 Is It Scary (Radio Edit)  
07 Is It Scary (Eddie Arroyo's Downtempo Groove Mix) 
08 Is It Scary (Deep Dish Double-O-Jazz Dub)