There is a fairly widespread notion that the great voices of popular music are, at their core, technological creations. To listen to certain analyses, the recording studio almost seems like a massive factory of illusions. Yet the more I looked into how Bruce Swedien recorded Michael Jackson, the more the opposite impression took hold of me: everything seems to have been designed, not to fabricate a voice, but to avoid distorting it

Contrary to what is often said, Michael Jackson did not become Michael Jackson solely because he possessed exceptional talent. He became Michael Jackson because he spent his entire life learning. Observing. Listening. Absorbing. Like a sponge. Like a student. Like a researcher. Michael Jackson and the Forgotten Art of Learning and Working