Michael Jackson - Thriller

Michael Jackson's Thriller is the bestselling album of all time, with 45 million worldwide sales powered by seven Top 10 U.S. singles and eight Grammy Awards. The 1982 album was also a success from which the pop superstar never really recovered--subsequent albums seemed to have no other goal than to beat the records set by Thriller. The highly-polished sound of Quincy Jones's production sounds almost organic compared to Jackson's more recent work, and in the same regard, Thriller was significantly slicker than its predecessor, Off the Wall. Both albums established a Jackson style that aimed for the dance floor with songs built on a state-of-the-art bed of percussion and keyboards. Elements of milestone Thriller tracks like "Billie Jean" (arguably Jackson's best-ever performance) and "Beat It" (with its hard-rock solo by guitarist Eddie Van Halen) influenced not just Jackson's records, but those of the entire dance-pop world. On the song "Thriller," Jackson indulged his taste for the juvenile and invited Vincent Price to rap in a really scary voice. With Thriller the album, Jackson created a different kind of monster--a hit album of such magnitude that it would have an irrevocable impact not just on the singer's art, but on his altogether kooky life. --John Milward Amazon.com essential recording

Come on, how can you say no to dancing zombies?

Okay, so here's an idea. Let's approach this album with an open mind. Let's forget all about Michael Jackson's "whacko Jacko" antics. Let's forget all about the "boys pants half-off" jokes. Let's forget about all of that. Let's just think of the music, shall we?
The music here is classic. Despite really being a product of its time, the album's held up very well. Of course, it must be noticed that this is the biggest selling album worldwide by a very long shot. It has sold - wait for it - 65 million copies worldwide since its release and has gone platinum twenty-seven times. And seven of the nine tracks were Top Ten hits, specifically the title track, "The Girl Is Mine," "Beat It," "Billy Jean," "Wanna be Startin' Something," "Human Nature," and "P.Y.T." And I love all of the hits. The dance tracks are aces all around, from the giddy camp of the title track to the disco of "P.Y.T." to the hard-rockin' "Beat It" (featuring Eddie Van Halen on guitar!) to the African rhythms worked into "Wanna Be Startin' Something." A party without any of these songs is not a party at all. One of my favorite memories, in fact, involves having a dance-off with a friend over a chair. What song were we dancing to, you ask? "Thriller."
Ah, but it isn't just all dance. There's more to it than that. "Billy Jean" is the epitome of cheesy '80s synth-pop, with a bass part that will stick with you forever and fantastic use of synthesizers. I usually don't go for that kind of stuff, but this is different. This is really, really good music. And I love the two ballads. For one, I find "The Girl is Mine" HILARIOUS. "Paul, I think I told you, I'm a lover, not a fighter" just cracks me up. It's a great song, too. You know who cowrote and sang it? I'll tell you who cowrote and sang it. Paul McCartney. I mean, of course it's good! It's got Paul McCartney, the undisputed king of melody, on it. And I'm totally in love with "Human Nature," the most melodic and arguably the best song on the album. Michael's vocals really shine there. And I LOVE that melody!!!!!
Okay, now that I'm done spazzing, let me get to the other two tracks. They're... disappointing. They're only bound to be disappointing. I mean, consider the quality of the seven big hits. Still, they're not bad. I'm not a huge fan of "Baby Be Mine," but "The Lady in My Life" is an okay ballad.
But those seven hits have a lot going for them - melody, danceability, campy humor, cool guitar solos from Eddie Van Halen... yeah. Sure, it's overplayed as hell, but I don't care. This is one of the few truly great albums from the '80s. Isn't it ironic how I don't like '80s music much but I love the quintessential '80s smash hit? Funny how life works that way.
Can't forget the videos, either. No one moonwalks like Michael! Whether you're a gangster or a ghoul, you too can dance like MJ. September 29, 2008

Classic Michael: Happy 50th Birthday to the King of Pop!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3DZINSFBJ5XMG August 30, 2008

A Poison Chalice

In the same way that one becomes colder the further away from the sun travel, the quality of MJs CDs/LPs diminished the further away he departed from his best CD Off the Wall. As this is the CD after the great 1979 release, he still has something in his favor. By & large he was still blessed to be working with Quincy Jones & the under valued Rod Templeton. At this time he wasn't chasing the title of King of Pop, or following the latest trends. He was also using live instruments ( the lack of which, I feel, diluted his future CDs) Add to this base, the writing skills of Toto, the guitar skills of Eddie Van Halen, the vocal 'rap' of Vincent Price, and you have all the ingredients of a major, major hit.
This was the first LP (as it was then) that I ever purchased, and I still have it to this day. Whilst this release has its poppier moments ('Beat It & Thriller' being prime examples) there are some quality moments on offer. I have a soft spot for 'The Girl is mine'. Maybe because I can remember hearing it on 'Top of the Pops' and being melted away with it. 'PYT' is another favorite (co-written by James Ingram, and featuring Janet Jackson as a vocal Pretty Young Thing) the much sampled Toto offering 'Human Nature', and the gorgeous 'Lady in My Life'
Subsequent releases from Mr. Jackson would suffer with being compared to this big money seller, and the quality would diminish as a result
May 23, 2008

This Album Has Stood the Test of Time

I'm not the biggest fan of dance or R & B music, but this album cuts across several genres and has long established itself for the pop landmark that it is. Being a longtime listener of top 40 music, I have to say that Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" is one of the most well written and well crafted pop song ever. It was a multi-million dollar best seller and soared to the top of the pop charts in 1983. The video was great too being a landmark clip that broke the color barrier for exposure on MTV. No one can escape the infectious beat of "Billie Jean", and frankly most of the other songs on the album too.

Stand outs include "Beat It" with its heavy rock backbeat and "Wanna Be Startin' Something", a real get off your seat kind of dance track. And then the tender "The Girl is Mine" duet with Paul McCartney picks up where Jackson left off on his previous album and a solo McCartney tune he did on his own called "Girlfriend".

Pure pop genius for its time, "Thriller" has withstood the test of time to make it one of the greats in pop music right along landmark albums by The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones.

March 10, 2008

Fantastic sound

Regarding the SACD sound on this CD - it is one of the best in my collection. It is 2 channel, which is how it was recorded and thus sounds more alive and natural than the CD layer sound. Surround sound ruins many good stereo recordings and I'm glad they didn't do that to this one. If the sound from this doesn't come at you primarily from the center, then your stereo isn't setup correctly. March 8, 2008

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