Yes, yes. I know. This isn't by any means a rock album. However, since today marks 6 years since the king of pop died I figured it's only right to pay tribute to his finest work: Thriller. Besides, countless rockers have been influenced by Michael Jackson anyway. That being said, this is the album that in 1982 spawned seven major singles that are still well known to the general populous even to this day and sold 29 million copies due to Jackson wanting to "create an album where every song was a killer". Not very many artists of any genre can stake such a claim on their albums.
Thriller while sounding pretty modern for the time it was released still featured much of the R&B, soul, and post-disco sound that were part of the base of Jackson's musical roots. Jackson veered away from disco because at that point in time there was such a backlash against it. That being said, Jackson sought to create a rock song (which ended up becoming Beat It) that would draw in a wider demographic. As many folks well know by now, Jackson recruited Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen to play the iconic solo.
Billie Jean seems to be closer to Jackson's roots. It is very much a funk song; retaining many aspects of 70's dance music while bringing them into the new decade. The opening bass line is iconic and legendary in its own right. This is definitely a song you can put on your dance shoes and shake what your mama gave you to.Plus, if you can do the moonwalk then this song is the perfect one to do it too; especially during the bridges and outro. If you can't do it, at least you can have a good time faking it.
The Girl is Mine is one of my personal favorites, as it features former Beatle Paul McCartney as a second vocalist due to the fact that the song is a duet. Who knew that two guys fighting over which one a girl loves more could be so musical and entertaining? It is very youthful and has almost a childlike naivete to it, but then again I suppose that's what gives it its charm. It isn't really a dance song, but it is still something nice that you can sway to while listening to the musical quarrel.
Thriller is one of those albums that everyone should have in their household even if they aren't huge music buffs. Even though I'm not huge into pop myself even I find that there are numerous tracks on it that I find enjoyable and worth my time to listen to. It's just a shame that Jackson never got to make one more album or do that final tour/set of shows he was planning on doing. However, his legacy will live on forever through his outstanding music and videos.
Thriller, by Michael Jackson receives 4 out of 5 stars.
Track List:
1. Wanna Be Startin' Something'
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl is Mine
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T.
9. The Lady in My Life
Buy the album on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Thriller-Michael-Jackson/dp/B0013D6LEM/ref=tmm_msc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-2&qid=1435289739
No comments:
Post a Comment