I do not want to dwell on the death of Michael Jackson or his behaviour or his personality or the tabloid rumours. This is a discussion of music. But all I would like to say is that Michael Jackson will always be remembered for so many positive things through his music, videos, live performances, charity work and overall kindness. I will miss him deeply.
But as far as THRILLER is concerned, it deserves every accolade and award it received. For Michael, he was only trying to progress after the success of his previous album, OFF THE WALL. But with Quincy Jones producing and inviting the talents of Paul MacCartney, Eddie Van Halen and Vincent Price, the album had quite a pedigree before hitting the stores.
Seven singles is probably milking the cow very dry but really every song has single potential and it is a shame that the two non-singles: BABY BE MINE and THE LADY IN MY LIFE are always eclpised by the other songs.
1. "Wanna Be Starting Something"
pure funk with a verse that is hard to make out what MJ is saying. But it is a great way to start off the album and is capped off with the very memorable chorus: "mama say mama sa ma ma coo sa"
2. "Baby Be Mine"
Now this is a pretty good song and should be more known. I think it would have been a better single choice than PYT.
3. "The Girl Is Mine" (Feat. Paul McCartney)
My least favourite song is the duet between Michael and Paul McCartney. It's somewhat sugary but it is not so bad until the last minute where they have an atrocious verbal sparring. For a classic album this has got to be one of Pop Music's worst disaters. Also, as it turns out, this would not be the last time Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson would record together. On Paul McCartney's 1983 album, PIPES OF PEACE, there are two duets between he and Michael: "Say, Say, Say", which was released as a single and became a big hit, and "The Man".
(Next comes the powerhouse trio of songs that made the album a mega-seller. There were also three accompanying videos that showed how music videos should be made and everybody else has tried to emulate them ever since. From storyline, drama, backing dancers, the use of colour and choreography, Michael annihilated every video before him layed down the new rules that have been in effect ever since and no-one, including MTV dared dissent.)
4. "Thriller"
Thriller is a six minute opus written by unsung hero, Rod Templeton. Great melody, great musicianship and the most popular video ever made for a song. Throw in the wonderful lyrics and a ghoulish spoken vocal from Vincent Price, it is scary, funky and tremendous fun to listen to (and to watch!).
5. "Beat it"
"Beat it" is MJ in more of a rock mood, again enhanced with a classic video and the superb guitar solo from Eddie van Halen.
6. "Billie Jean"
If I was to pick one Michael Jackson song to take to that desert island, it would have to be "Billie Jean". This has to be one of the sexiest songs ever coupled with one of the coolest videos ever. The solo drum that kicks off the song, the classic bass guitar and those four notes on plucked strings set the mood. For all the glory that the THRILLER video receives, I still think the "Billie Jean" video is much better.
7. "Human Nature"
The one gripe about the album is that it gets anti-climatic at this point. "Human Nature" is a beautiful song and another deserved hit but it is a steep drop after the intensity of the previous 16 minutes.
8. "P.Y.T." (Pretty Young Thing)
This is a fun disco number but it is not in the same league as the three giants in the middle of the album. The "Pretty Young Thing" female vocals actually belong to Michael's sisters: La Toya & Janet.
9. "The Lady In My Life"
Another slow number but is very well done and very serene as a closure to the album.
It's interesting that of the seven singles released, only three had a video made. I do not know of any video for THE GIRL IS MINE, P.Y.T, HUMAN NATURE and WANNA BE STARTING SOMETHING. Overall though, it might have been better for Michael Jackson if this album sold half as much but that he personally doubled his capacity to deal with all the sudden fame and adulation that this album brought upon him. As much as I like the follow-up album BAD, the cover photo is very unsettling because of the change in his appearance. The cover of the Thriller album plus the music it contains will always show the real MICHAEL JACKSON to me.
Score:100 out of 100
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