One year ago this week, the Michael Jackson Estate released “Xscape,” an album containing eight songs which the King of Pop believed to be unready for release during his lifetime.

Not to be outdone by its inclusion of dubious vocals on its previous album of unreleased music, the Estate assembled a team of producers, led by Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid, to “contemporize” (his word choice) the material on “Xscape” in hopes of reaching a new audience of potential MJ fans.

Never mind that most of the production team had little to no actual experience working with Michael, that for at least one track producer Timbaland didn’t even bother listening to the original recording or that a simple YouTube search reveals Michael’s un-“contemporized” music regularly hooks new fans of all ages.

Call it the biggest musical backhanded compliment of 2014.

“Xscape” was the latest in a series of posthumous projects to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of fans cognizant of Michael’s propensity for perfection. The record and its promotional campaign further stoked the “would he or wouldn’t he have wanted” debate that has driven a wedge between fans almost since the day its subject died nearly six years ago.

The effort’s only saving grace was the inclusion of the original tracks on the deluxe version of the album.

And it’s these original tracks that form the basis for journalist Damien Shields’s new book, “Xscape Origins,” available for purchase in a limited print edition or as a digital Ebook.

Damien, whose fantastic eponymous website sets the standard for presenting news and views on Michael’s art, does the same for Michael-related narratives with this new book.

“Xscape Origins” takes readers into the recording studio for a remarkable account of how the original versions of the eight “Xscape” tracks came into existence. Damien largely lets the people who were involved in each composition – songwriters, musicians, engineers and producers – tell the story, stepping in only to provide context between quotes and to brilliantly set up each of the eight chapters, one per song.

The stories within “Xscape Origins” humanize Michael at a level few, if any, posthumous books about him have been able to achieve. They also portray the method and the magic of an artistic genius – and the effect his mere presence had on his collaborators. In one particularly fascinating (and quite comical) passage, songwriter LaShawn Daniels describes a studio session in which Michael asked him to sing the song “Xscape” into his ear – and Daniels’ eventual reaction:

“I don’t even know what to do right now. And I can’t concentrate on the melodies because I’m singing to Michael Jackson.”

I can only imagine.

“Xscape Origins” belongs in every Michael Jackson fan’s library, whether you bought or boycotted the album whose songs it chronicles. (And for the record, no, it’s not a sin to own the book if you fall into the latter group.) Stories that depict the master at work, creating as he himself called it, a “potpurri of music,” deserve to be told far and wide.

It’s stories like those told in “Xscape Origins” that will reunite the fan community and help us spread the power and truth of Michael Jackson around the world for generations to come.

Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, I received an acknowledgment in “Xscape Origins” (thanks, Damien!) and had the pleasure of meeting both Damien and his collaborator, James Alay, last year in Los Angeles. They are both as genuine and as loyal as Michael Jackson fans come and are every bit as deserving of the fan community’s support on this project!