Multitrack Listening & Analysis Session: The Jacksons - This Place Hotel (a.k.a. Heartbreak Hotel) 

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Written, composed, arranged & produced by Michael Jackson, sung by Michael Jackson. The evolution to Thriller is evident!

This is literally probably in his top 5 underrated songs. SO GOOD!! Thanks Chris

This is a real Michael Jackson masterpiece!!!

Michael actually sing in a very low register. He could make his voice go anywhere.

I actually do believe all background vocals were Michael. He was able to go down to baritone low G. He just didn't make that known or do it very often since he tried to keep the appearance of his childlike voice going indefinitely. Listen to his vocals on "2,000 Watts".

Michael was a gift to this world. The gift that gave us these incredible songs. This is just one example of how incredible he was. Listening to this, stripped back, you see and hear that every expression comes from somewhere very few people can ever experience. The subtle inflections and nuances he was able to generate, incredible. You hear things you never even thought was there. He expanded the music to different dimensions. Every single second of the song there's something else going on. The vocals are just extraordinary. There will never be anyone ever again like Michael Jackson. That was greatness personified.

The live performance of this is F***KIN AMAZING!!!! It should be on RU-vid.

It is one of the best songs that MJ wrote and composed for The Jacksons. It is one of my favorites!

He truly is one of the absolute greatest vocalists of all time. Great breakdown, Chris.

Good work Chris. Get into that Jacksons set. That era of Destiny & Triumph is criminally underlooked. And you started with one of the all-time classics, Heartbreak Hotel. Now this place is Hardcore Hotel. HARDCORE! Can't wait to see your breakdown.

Tito Jackson is an underrated guitarist. He gets overlooked sadly but his lead and rhythm guitar playing was truly exceptional.

Yeeeah! Michael is back on your chanel! 🥰 Love these analysis of MJ's music. So-so thankful for this 🙏🏻

I know tou are listening and saying "that vocal isn't Micheal"... but that part with compressed "da do dun da da Dunday" shows just how low he could go and sound utterly different to to his main vox. Even sometimes using recording to slow the vox down by recording at higher rates and this changed the sound again separating that vocal out from the natural phase and tone. Adding to these darker natured tracks a sense of (something isn't right) after all, this is Heartbreak hotel right. Hooooooooo Love your work on these All for L.O.V.E

This is a true MASTERPIECE and without doubt one of the best Michael Jackson Song!

The scream at the end of your video was btw La toya Jackson his sister. He mentioned it in his book. That’s why he laughs in the recording. 😊 She was giving her debut I guess 😅

Hell. Yes. Chris Liepe & Michael Jackson. Today is a good day! 🔥

The sequel was "Thriller." Later we got "Somebody's Watching Me" with Rockwell, "Torture" with The Jacksons, "Is It Scary" and "Ghosts." A trilogy about the horror concept. But "This Place Hotel' (Aka. Heartbreak Hotel) was actually based on a nice horror story what was created by Michael himself. The scream was from his sister "Latoya" and the "WOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO" were done by Michael himself like the spirits that were making these creepy sounds like it is "Halloween." Michael was inspired by the horror films to do this joint. And with the sound effects. Even his acting part on the end "NOOOOOOOO" where he got attacked by one of the spirits and then he woke up after his nightmare ❤😊

All those horns and trumpets and strings were so Earth Wind and Fire and in such a one of an era time for the style at that time. Haunting and groovy

10:32 Wait a minute hold on. Whuh-whoa-whoa. Waitaminnit waitaminnit whoa hold on. THAT AIN'T *MICHAEL JACKSON* SINGING THAT LOW BASS. Wait a minute now. THAT IS NOT *MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON* SINGING THAT LOW BASS IN THIS SONG. Whuh-wha-wha... That CANNOT be Michael Jay Jay singing *"In My Room"* so low down to the ground. What in the HELL!! I thought I KNEW this song! So many times I heard this. I assumed it was his brothers singing backup! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME MIKE IS OUT HERE DROPPING BASS NOTES IN 1980?!? That's NOT his brothers?!? Whew...my God. That man ALWAYS got surprises, don't he? You never know how deep the thing goes with this guy. Mike be laying secrets on the track to be discovered decades later. Aw MAN!! This song is WAY thicker than I realized. I'm already surprised by the layers in the instrumentation. Now you drop THIS bombshell on me. Wow.

I've always felt that this is a truly underrated song. This analysis makes me appreciate it even more. The arrangement, musicianship, and production. are just immense!

That cello......and the piano in the end with that last bass note....whew!!! Brings me to tears. I feel this song.😭😭😭

This is my all time fav Michael Jackson song. Learned to sing it early on. I’d forgot all about it until watching your video. Human Nature is my second favorite.

Dude, I don’t know how why this showed up in my feed but the universe knew I needed this in my life. One of my favorite songs from my favorite artist, with this genius breakdown is just everything. I never thought I’d ever be able to hear this song separated. I’ll hold on to this forever. Thank you!

All the clicking and snapping that Michael’s doing… he said that Quincy Jones didn’t like that when he was doing Billie Jean

So happy to see another MJ analysis Chris! I think the bit at 17:43 is what people say a lot about how MJ could recreate the sound of instruments with his mouth and hums. It sounds like he’s trying to mimick an instrument here!

I remember playing this song over and over in 1980 when my mom bought the triumph album

Additional background vocals: Stephanie Spruill, Maxine Willard Waters, and Julia Tillman Waters Written arranged and composed by MJ.

My most favorite uptempo song by Michael. Been listening to it since it came out. It takes me to THAT PLACE every time.

I wish you could get your hands on "Walk Right Now" from the Jacksons including MJ ... The way MJ sings the chorus in that song imho is one of his finest demonstrations of his vocal abilities .. if you havent checked that song out, I highly recommend just for the chorus ... And, please, if you havent, you HAVE to watch this version live ... MJ is on fire here ... that energy is not from this earth watch?v=6l561Q8wry8

Just angelic to hear those raw vocals. ❤

I really really enjoy the Michael Jackson's song analysis, from all his albums, from all his eras. I'd love to see an analysis of some of the songs from his last album Invicible. Songs like Privacy or Unbreakable expose a lot of grit and distortion in his voice. Its increadible

I had the honor to see the Jacksons live in Munich just days ago, it was so incredible to hear that song live :)

I was waiting for another micheal jackson analysis so glads its back. Looking forward to it 😊

MJ had a very low natural speaking voice. The voice that everybody was familiar with was actually fake. He was doing that voice on purpose.

I think it would be really interesting to have a look at a multitrack from Invincible era. Especially 2000 Watts

Man, 1978 to 1980, MJ's voice was at its best as an adult hands down. Just beautiful and there's just this thing he had when performing with his brothers that we never got without them IMO.

I am typing this as I watch right now and may watch more times than any other MJ written song. This is the ultimate paranoia hyper excitement funky soulful, the background vocals. This era. Prequel to Billie Jean in retrospect. This is the one song I have ever listened to the most out of Michale. I love all the live versions, all the bad tour versions, victory tour. I just can’t get enough. Thank you Chris. I love your videos on Michael. I hope we can get the actual vocals from the original in the closet

Amazing tracks, especially loved your analysis and explaining the techniques Michael used.

Thank you for this, Michael is the 🐐

just amazing, just like all of Michael's other tracks that you have covered

I love this song. And the piano at the end was so beautifully played.

These videos are immensely rewarding. I love them so much.

This track is amazing! Going to watch this video right now! 😊❤️ Edit: I loved this video! Hearing all the details in the mix was amazing! I loved the scream part at the beginning (which I believe was done by Michael's sister LaToya!) because you hear Michael laughing afterwards 😅 I think it's so cool that Michael's organic and very emotionally charged sound comes in part because of how he and his team left his breathing, claps, foot-stomps and ad-libs in the mix ❤

This is one of the best songs ever made

This week I 'rediscovered' your michael jackson vids. They are so great! One up for this one 😊

One of my favorite Jackson/Michael songs. It sounds amazing broken down its stunning

Hi, Chris! I truly LOVE you and your channel, particularly the Michael Jackson analyses. Please, keep doing the MJ videos, they're GREAT! By the way, a fun fact: despite of what MANY people think, Michael WAS perfectly able to sing/talk in a much lower register than what he usually did. Seth Riggs, his vocal coach, confirmed that in the incredible documentary "Bad 25" (2012). He said Jackson just "didn't like" or "wasn't personally comfortable" to do so (it was a choice, not an inability). I say that because, when you said there's line in this song likely too low to have been sung by Michael, it is totally possible that he did sing it, specially since it's late 1970's/early 1980's, when MJ used that "low singing voice" a few times in songs from his album "Off The Wall" (1979) and The Jackson's "Destiny" (1978) and "Triumph" (1980). Anyways, love you, and bye!

I believe one of his sisters did the scream in the beginning. I love this song thanks so much for breaking it down!

WOW! I always loved that song but this made me love it even more! What a masterpiece!

Please Chris ! Next Everybody on The Jacksons I love this song ❤

Thank you so much, Chris! This is probably my favourite J5/Jacksons song and I think, although it isn't to everyone's taste, one of their very best. I love it so much I frequently listen to it on repeat, maybe 3 or 4 times in a row. Amazing melodies and arrangement and another example of Michael displaying his absolute mastery of his incredible voice. Thanks for soloing some of the instrumentals too - that bass is soo warm!

this channel has slowly but surely become my happy place! i love these breakdowns

Good Stuff!! MJ was a musical genius.

Some priceless advice mixed in there! Thanks 😊

One of my favorite songs from Mike, the energy in it just feels so good. You feel that energy of Mike being and growing toward being the worlds biggest star before enduring the excruciating pressure of being the King of the Industry

Have you done butterflies?? If not can you please do a deep dive on that one?

The song breakdown ive been waiting for.

His singing is as smooth as his dancing 🙃

people only wish they could sing like mike, He's at least at the minimum top five singers of all time the goat. And that's with whitney and aretha, sam cook an otis

This Place Hotel is one of the most underrated songs in the MJ archive

LEETS GOOO NEW MJ ANALYSIS!!!!

Hey Chris…I am a new subscriber and a huge MJ fan…these videos have given me a whole new perspective on the depth and detail of his music…a look inside to the degree of the creative thought processes involved…a whole new way to listen and appreciate his music…I used to do an MJ dance show for many years and analyzed the visual display to learn those steps and this is the same for the music and voice pieces…as a music lover I have loved listening to the isolation of these beats and melodies…I have tried to explain these things to people who don’t know the intricacies of music but it is hard to understand for them but I LOVE it!!! Thanks for your meaningful analysis!

Thank you so much for posting these Michael Jackson videos.

Been a while. I've never personally listened to this song, but i will after this. Awesome.

omg omg omg!!! haven't watched it yet but this is one of my favourite songs and Michael's performance is so amazing. Thank you!

Amazing gestion of his voice. He is umbelievable. Really the best.

Hell yeah, one of my favourites being analysed 😎🔥

Another fantastic listening and analysis of MJ! 🤩💥Thank you for this ... always so good!

Maaaaaan!!!! You've got me binge watching every Michael breakdown video!! Your breakdowns are just as complex and intense as Michael's recordings.

I was waiting for more Michael Jackson videos. I enjoy how you explain Michael’s vocal. It’s so interesting to learn. Thank you Chris. Hope there’s more MJ videos.

thank you man,this is too cool ...MJ was a true Genius ..only a Genius can be that confident of his Art ,that he can leave all those " human" noises" ..the whole thing is on another level ,anything MJ did is on another level ❤❤❤

love that you broke this track down man I think this track was mad underrated that guitar solo makes me ascend haha

Finally!!!!!! Thank you soo much, I've been waiting for this episode since I discovered your channel

Finally, thank you for this! This is one of my favorites, and one of MJ's favorite's ,,baby,, (source- Moonwalk). And you, Mr. Liepe, you rock!

8:46 We ABSOLUTELY COULD delete regions back in 1980, but because it was tape, you would solo the track, grease pencil (on the tape) at your starting point and end point and erase in between. Or you would audibly use a cue such as a hihat to count it out and be in and out between those points. You could also bounce the original track out to a 2-track master, get your splice points, cut the tape and splice in clean tape from head or tail reel, then fly it back in to the 24-track master. Easiest way was just to send the original track to a clean track on the master and just use the channel mute button on the fly to edit the unwanted parts out! We weren’t dinosaurs back then! Heck, just a few years later, digital audio tape was already being used! (ADAT)

Jermaine on that bass!!

Hi Chris Liepe. Thanks for the breakdown and analysis of this awesome song - Michael sang this song on lead and background so beautifully. I have been watching MJ since the first Jackson 5 performance on Ed Sullivan. I watched all his early videos and I remember one for this song too --- I hope others see my comment and confirm this --- the part you hear at 21:31 was played at the end of the video ---- I keep seeing this in my mind when I hear it --- Michael is dancing in a room of the old abandoned hotel and cries out "Noooo" as the floor collapses from under him and he falls through - the next moment after the fall you see him breathing heavily as he is sitting in the middle of the rubble and the last piano notes play to end the video. I remember that video and also one for The Girl Is Mine. Thank you again. Love your MJ song analysis videos - have watched them all 🥰🥰 Rest in peace Michael. Forever the King of Pop and forever innocent 👑👑🙏🙏

Hallelujah this is father God delivering his promise. I am so out done to hear this channel. What you're doing playing these tracks and education is a miracle for a brother like Big Ron Da-Wolfman. You are more than great as I want to be . I signed up right away Yes!

My point exactly. Excellent video. R.I.P. - MICHAEL JACKSON - Gone But Never Ever Forgotten 💯

Thanks for the content sir, the great MJ and Jacksons track. Great music can never die!!

It would be nice if you do a video analysis about "Can't let her get away" , it's a nice vocal performance by Michael and i'm sure that song had a lot of hidden gems on it haha

It’s that time again! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Thanks for this fantastic analysis of one of my MJ’s favorite songs

Absolutely amazing, someone give me goosebumps medicine.

His vocals have perfect harmony 😂 it's insane it's literally perfection to my ears😂😂😂

The highlight of this is Chris doing the vocals himself lol I love it

Awesome as always. Love all your MJ videos especially the ones with the Jackson 5/Jacksons

Fun Facts: 1.His brothers didn’t sing background on it. Michael had three female singers do the background with him. 2.His sister LaToya did the scream in the beginning. 3.He also sang the guitar solo to Tito.

Wow been waiting for this😂. Please react to the JACKSONS Walk right now Session and analysis ❤

While listening I was thinking this is something I could see Earth, Wind, and Fire doing as it sounds like one of their grooves

Thank you for bringing MJ again

This is incredible! Long live MJ the Great!❤

The energy! You feel it even more stripped back!

I love these Michael Jackson videos!! ❤

These songs literally need to be reworked. Just like how you're listening to them it's so cool and so good

One of my top fav mj songs

"Don't stop 'til get enough" est une chanson aussi intéressante

One of my favorites by the Jacksons.

Can you do “I can’t help it” by Michael Jackson