A french magazine ‘Black & White’ recently did an interview with Brad Buxer who worked on the Sonic 3 soundtrack. In the interview Brad speaks on the rumor and pretty much confirms Michael’s involvement. There has been speculation around the reason Michael was not credited as being apart of the game when originally released. It was around the time of the first controversial child case, so the rumor was SEGA wanted no part of that. In the interview however Buxer seems to suggest differently.
B&W: Can you clarify the rumor that Michael had in 1993 composed the music for Sonic 3 video game, for which you have been credited?
Buxer: I’ve never played the game so I do not know what tracks on which Michael and I have worked the developers have kept, but we did compose music for the game. Michael called me at the time for help on this project, and that’s what I did.
And if he is not credited for composing the music, it’s because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console. At the time, game consoles did not allow an optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music…
B&W: One of the surprising things in this soundtrack is that you can hear the chords from Stranger in Moscow, which is supposed to have been composed later…
Buxer: Yes, Michael and I had composed those chords for the game, and it has been used as base for Stranger in Moscow.
