The Ultimate Collection (Michael Jackson album)
The Ultimate Collection is a box set by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson that features some of his most iconic songs. Released on November 16, 2004 by Epic Records and consists of four audio CDs and one DVD. It showcases the legendary artist's career from his early days with The Jackson 5 through his solo successes. The album includes hits like "Billie Jean", "Thriller", "Beat It", "Black or White", and many more, making it a must-have for fans and collectors. The DVD marked the first physical release of Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour, initially an HBO concert special in 1992, which was later released as an individual title on July 25, 2005. The set also features a 60-page booklet that contains photos and text by the American music critic Nelson George summarizing the artist's career.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Want You Back" | The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, Alphonzo Mizell) | Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 | 2:58 |
| 2. | "ABC" | The Corporation | ABC | 2:57 |
| 3. | "I'll Be There" | Berry Gordy, Bob West, Willie Hutch, Hal Davis | Third Album | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Got to Be There" | Elliot Willensky | Got to Be There | 3:23 |
| 5. | "I Wanna Be Where You Are" | Arthur "T-Boy" Ross, Leon Ware | Got to Be There | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Ben" | Walter Scharf, Don Black | Ben | 2:44 |
| 7. | "Dancing Machine" (single version) | Hal Davis, Don Fletcher, Dean Parks | G.I.T.: Get It Together and Dancing Machine | 2:37 |
| 8. | "Enjoy Yourself" (alternate version) (recorded 1976, during sessions for The Jacksons album) | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | The Jacksons | 3:40 |
| 9. | "Ease on Down the Road" (featuring Diana Ross) (from The Wiz, also unreleased from Off the Wall; recorded August 1977 and 1978) | Charlie Smalls | The Wiz | 3:19 |
| 10. | "You Can't Win" (alternate version) (recorded for single release by Epic Records, original version from The Wiz film; recorded August 1977 and 1978) | Charlie Smalls | The Wiz | 7:18 |
| 11. | "Shake a Body" (early demo) (previously unreleased; recorded August 1978, during Destiny sessions) | Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson | 2:09 | |
| 12. | "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (single edit) | Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson | Destiny | 3:44 |
| 13. | "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" | Michael Jackson | Off the Wall | 6:04 |
| 14. | "Rock with You" (album version #2) | Rod Temperton | Off the Wall | 3:39 |
| 15. | "Off the Wall" | Rod Temperton | Off the Wall | 4:06 |
| 16. | "She's Out of My Life" | Tom Bahler | Off the Wall | 3:38 |
| 17. | "Sunset Driver" (1982 demo) (previously unreleased; recorded 1979 and 1982) | Michael Jackson | 4:03 | |
| 18. | "Lovely One" | Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson | Triumph | 4:50 |
| 19. | "This Place Hotel" (a.k.a. "Heartbreak Hotel") | Michael Jackson | Triumph | 5:44 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" | Michael Jackson | Thriller | 6:03 |
| 2. | "The Girl Is Mine" (featuring Paul McCartney) | Michael Jackson | Thriller | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Thriller" | Rod Temperton | Thriller | 5:58 |
| 4. | "Beat It" | Michael Jackson | Thriller | 4:18 |
| 5. | "Billie Jean" | Michael Jackson | Thriller | 4:53 |
| 6. | "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (demo) (previously unreleased; recorded April and October – November 8, 1982) | James Ingram, Quincy Jones | 3:46 | |
| 7. | "Someone in the Dark" (opening version) (from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial audiobook) | Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Rod Temperton | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | 4:54 |
| 8. | "State of Shock" (featuring Mick Jagger) | Michael Jackson, Randy Hansen | Victory | 4:30 |
| 9. | "Scared of the Moon" (demo) (previously unreleased; recorded 1984, during Victory sessions) | Michael Jackson, Buz Kohan | 4:41 | |
| 10. | "We Are the World" (demo) (previously unreleased; recorded January 28, 1985) | Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie | 5:20 | |
| 11. | "We Are Here to Change the World" (from Captain EO short film) (previously unreleased) | Michael Jackson, John Barnes | 2:53 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad" | Michael Jackson | Bad | 4:07 |
| 2. | "The Way You Make Me Feel" (album version #2) | Michael Jackson | Bad | 4:58 |
| 3. | "Man in the Mirror" | Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard | Bad | 5:20 |
| 4. | "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (radio edit) (featuring Siedah Garrett) | Michael Jackson | Bad | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Dirty Diana" (album version #2) | Michael Jackson | Bad | 4:41 |
| 6. | "Smooth Criminal" (album version #3) | Michael Jackson | Bad | 4:17 |
| 7. | "Cheater" (demo) (previously unreleased; recorded March 1987, during Bad sessions) | Michael Jackson, Greg Phillinganes | 5:09 | |
| 8. | "Dangerous" (early version) (previously unreleased; recorded 1990–1991) | Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell, Teddy Riley | 6:40 | |
| 9. | "Monkey Business" (previously unreleased; recorded 1989, during Dangerous sessions) | Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell | 5:46 | |
| 10. | "Jam" (featuring Heavy D) | Michael Jackson, René Moore, Bruce Swedien, Teddy Riley | Dangerous | 5:39 |
| 11. | "Remember the Time" | Teddy Riley, Michael Jackson, Bernard Belle | Dangerous | 4:00 |
| 12. | "Black or White" | Michael Jackson; rap lyrics by Bill Bottrell | Dangerous | 4:16 |
| 13. | "Who Is It" (IHS mix) | Michael Jackson | Who Is It (Single) | 7:57 |
| 14. | "Someone Put Your Hand Out" (recorded 1987, 1990 and 1991) | Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley | Cassette single | 5:25 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Are Not Alone" (extended version) (recorded September and November 6 and 8, 1994 – March 1995, during HIStory sessions) | R. Kelly | HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I | 6:03 |
| 2. | "Stranger in Moscow" | Michael Jackson | HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I | 5:44 |
| 3. | "Childhood" (theme from Free Willy 2) | Michael Jackson | HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I | 4:28 |
| 4. | "On the Line" (recorded 1995 and January–July 1996, during HIStory and Get on the Bus sessions) | Michael Jackson, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds | 4:53 | |
| 5. | "Blood on the Dance Floor" | Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley | Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix | 4:12 |
| 6. | "Fall Again" (demo) (previously unreleased; recorded 1999, during Invincible sessions) | Michael Jackson, Walter Afanasieff, Robin Thicke | 4:22 | |
| 7. | "In the Back" (previously unreleased; recorded 1994–2004) | Michael Jackson, Glen Ballard | 4:31 | |
| 8. | "Unbreakable" (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.) | Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Nora Payne, Robert Smith | Invincible | 6:26 |
| 9. | "You Rock My World" (album edit) | Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Nora Payne | Invincible | 5:09 |
| 10. | "Butterflies" | Andre Harris, Marsha Ambrosius | Invincible | 4:40 |
| 11. | "Beautiful Girl" (demo) (previously unreleased; recorded 1998 and 2004) | Michael Jackson | 4:03 | |
| 12. | "The Way You Love Me" (previously unreleased; recorded 1998–2004) | Michael Jackson | 4:30 | |
| 13. | "We've Had Enough" (previously unreleased; recorded 1999–2000, during Invincible sessions) | Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Carole Bayer Sager | 5:45 |
- The Jackson 5/Jacksons perform tracks 1–3, 7, 8, 11–12, 18–19 (disc 1) and 8 (disc 2).
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jam" | Michael Jackson, René Moore, Bruce Swedien, Teddy Riley | 8:16 |
| 2. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" | Michael Jackson | 5:13 |
| 3. | "Human Nature" | Steve Porcaro, John Bettis | 5:02 |
| 4. | "Smooth Criminal" | Michael Jackson | 6:00 |
| 5. | "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (duet with Siedah Garrett) | Michael Jackson | 4:45 |
| 6. | "She's Out of My Life" | Tom Bahler | 4:53 |
| 7. | "I Want You Back/The Love You Save" | Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards | 2:17 |
| 8. | "I'll Be There" | Berry Gordy, Bob West, Willie Hutch, Hal Davis | 4:33 |
| 9. | "Thriller" | Rod Temperton | 5:51 |
| 10. | "Billie Jean" | Michael Jackson | 7:44 |
| 11. | "Workin' Day and Night" | Michael Jackson | 10:04 |
| 12. | "Beat It" | Michael Jackson | 7:24 |
| 13. | "Will You Be There" | Michael Jackson | 6:51 |
| 14. | "Black or White" | Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell | 6:38 |
| 15. | "Heal the World" | Michael Jackson | 8:53 |
| 16. | "Man in the Mirror" | Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard | 13:28 |
Limited Japanese Edition bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Blame It on the Boogie" | Michael G. Jackson-Clark, David Jackson-Rich, Hans Kampschroer, Elmar Krohn, Thomas Meyer | Destiny | 3:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Human Nature" | Steve Porcaro, John Bettis | Thriller | 4:05 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3. | "Another Part of Me" | Michael Jackson | Bad | 3:55 |
| 13. | "Heal the World" | Michael Jackson | Dangerous | 6:25 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "One More Chance" | R. Kelly | Number Ones | 3:49 |
- The Jacksons perform track 11 on disc 1.
- The addition of "Another Part of Me" pushes the order of tracks down by one (i.e. "Someone Put Your Hand Out" starts off disc 4).
Sampler CD
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Want You Back" | The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, Alphonzo Mizell) | 2:58 |
| 2. | "Rock with You" | Rod Temperton | 3:39 |
| 3. | "She's Out of My Life" | Tom Bahler | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" | Michael Jackson | 6:03 |
| 5. | "Billie Jean" | Michael Jackson | 4:53 |
| 6. | "Scared of the Moon" (demo) (previously unreleased) | Michael Jackson, Buz Kohan | 4:41 |
| 7. | "Bad" | Michael Jackson | 4:07 |
| 8. | "Man in the Mirror" | Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard | 5:20 |
| 9. | "Cheater" (demo) (previously unreleased) | Michael Jackson, Greg Phillinganes | 5:09 |
| 10. | "You Are Not Alone" (extended version) | R. Kelly | 6:03 |
| 11. | "Beautiful Girl" (demo) (previously unreleased) | Michael Jackson | 4:03 |
| 12. | "We've Had Enough" (previously unreleased) | Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Carole Bayer Sager | 5:45 |
- The Jackson 5 perform track 1.