Thriller (25th Anniversary Edition) [Remaster]

Performer: Michael Jackson
Artist: Eddie Van Halen; Paul McCartney; Steve Lukather; Vincent Price; David Foster; Janet Jackson; Jeff Porcaro; Will.I.Am; Akon; Fergie; Kanye West
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Michael Jackson (vocals, percussion); Paul McCartney (vocals); Vincent Price (spoken vocals); Steve Lukather (guitar, bass); Eddie Van Halen, Dean Parks, Paul Jackson (guitar); Larry Williams (flute, saxophone); Jerry Hey (trumpet, flugelhorn); Bill Reichenbach (trombone); David Paich (piano, synthesizer); Greg Phillinganes (Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer, programming); Steve Porcaro (synthesizer, programming); David Foster, Rod Temperton (synthesizer); Tom Bahler (Synclavier); Louis Johnson (bass); Ndugu Chancler, Jeff Porcaro (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Brian Banks (programming); LaToya Jackson, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters, Becky Lopez, Janet Jackson (background vocals). Principally recorded at Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, California. Off the Wall was a massive success, spawning four Top Ten hits (two of them number ones), but nothing could have prepared Michael Jackson for Thriller. Nobody could have prepared anybody for the success of Thriller, since the magnitude of its success was simply unimaginable -- an album that sold 40 million copies in its initial chart run, with seven of its nine tracks reaching the Top Ten (for the record, the terrific "Baby Be Mine" and the pretty good ballad "The Lady in My Life" are not like the others). This was a record that had something for everybody, building on the basic blueprint of Off the Wall by adding harder funk, hard rock, softer ballads, and smoother soul -- expanding the approach to have something for every audience. That alone would have given the album a good shot at a huge audience, but it also arrived precisely when MTV was reaching its ascendancy, and Jackson helped the network by being not just its first superstar, but first black star as much as the network helped him. This all would have made it a success (and its success, in turn, served as a new standard for success), but it stayed on the charts, turning out singles, for nearly two years because it was really, really good. True, it wasn't as tight as Off the Wall -- and the ridiculous, late-night house-of-horrors title track is the prime culprit, arriving in the middle of the record and sucking out its momentum -- but those one or two cuts don't detract from a phenomenal set of music. It's calculated, to be sure, but the chutzpah of those calculations (before this, nobody would even have thought to bring in metal virtuoso Eddie Van Halen to play on a disco cut) is outdone by their success. This is where a song as gentle and lovely as "Human Nature" coexists comfortably with the tough, scared "Beat It," the sweet schmaltz of the Paul McCartney duet "The Girl Is Mine," and the frizzy funk of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)." And, although this is an undeniably fun record, the paranoia is already creeping in, manifesting itself in the record's two best songs: "Billie Jean," where a woman claims Michael is the father of her child, and the delirious "Wanna Be Startin' Something," the freshest funk on the album, but the most claustrophobic, scariest track Jackson ever recorded. These give the record its anchor and are part of the reason why the record is more than just a phenomenon. The other reason, of course, is that much of this is just simply great music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine The finest example of perfect disco pop, and a record that should be prescribed to musical snobs and manic depressives. The album is a true ambassador of what pop music can be. Jackson whoops and dances through a suite of unforgettable melodies that should be danced to with a smile on your face. Each track offers at least one musical hook, whether it is the beauty of 'Human Nature' (who can resist the 'dada dada da da da') or the 'whoo whoo' of 'Billie Jean'. It's all too good. The finest example of perfect disco pop, and a record that should be prescribed to musical snobs and manic depressives. The album is a true ambassador of what pop music can be. Jackson whoops and dances through a suite of unforgettable melodies that should be danced to with a smile on your face. Each track offers at least one musical hook, whether it is the beauty of 'Human Nature' (who can resist the 'dada dada da da da') or the 'whoo whoo' of 'Billie Jean'. It's all too good.

Rolling Stone (pp.67-68) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "THRILLER was MJ at his breathiest and most salacious, and his most beautifully fragile....[A] work of genius." Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.98) - Ranked #20 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...There was a time when he was truly the King of Pop. This is it..." Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #7 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The 80s" survey. Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.98) - Ranked #20 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...There was a time when he was truly the King of Pop. This is it..." Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #7 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The 80s" survey. Entertainment Weekly (p.64) - "[A] masterpiece....THRILLER was a collection of songs that cohered as the statement of a young artist proclaiming his freedom..." Q (1/03, p.56) - Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" Q (1/00, p.138) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The music stands undimmed by time....delivers some of the greatest ever pop-soul-dance-whatever...hardly a weak moment, and still no one goes 'aow' quite like Michael Jackson." Q (1/03, p.56) - Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" Q (1/00, p.138) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The music stands undimmed by time....delivers some of the greatest ever pop-soul-dance-whatever...hardly a weak moment, and still no one goes 'aow' quite like Michael Jackson." Uncut (p.90) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]racks like 'Wanna Be Starting Something' remain slabs of total pop, whose genius should never by obscured by a blizzard of sales stats." Vibe (12/99, p.164) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Vibe (12/99, p.164) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Blender (Magazine) (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's genius....This is a profoundly quirky and omnivorous R&B mash-up, making room for hard-rock guitar and soft-serve balladry." The Word (magazine) (p.113) - "[A] magnificent helping of pop history, due in no small part to Quincy Jones's immaculate production."

In the spotlight since the age of four, Michael Jackson rose to fame as the lead vocalist for the Jackson Five. In the late 1970s, Jackson embarked on a solo career as a young adult with the Quincy Jones-produced OFF THE WALL. With one hit album under his belt, Jackson proceeded to bring R&B to a whole new audience with his massive THRILLER release--one of the top-selling pop albums of all time--and his innovative videos, not only broke an unspoken color barrier, but began to dominate the newly founded MTV network. Although his personal life would become the ultimate fodder for the tabloids, the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" remained one of the most successful and influential recording stars worldwide until his sudden death in 2009 at 50.

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