Off The Wall/Thriller - Michael Jackson > Reviews > A value for money, thrilling double album

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Cheap to buy, good mix of music
Disadvantages:	Some of the interviews are not very interesting

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"Off The Wall" and "Thriller" were released together last year in this double pack, which costs around £17. "Off The Wall" has officially sold nearly 19 million copies since its release in 1979. "Thriller" has officially sold 59 million copies since its release, though estimates including pirated copies etc, have put it at closer to 75 million.

So, what is on these very popular albums?

OFF THE WALL

1. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

This is a high energy track, featuring a great range of vocals and a famous spoken intro. The only down side to it is, even to this day I don't know all the words simply because they aren't that clear. It remains a dance floor classic though.

2. Rock With You

A softer dance song with better soft vocals. A very gentle affair.

3. Workin' Day And Night

This classic rock/dance track is about the perils of never seeing your partner due to one of you working too hard. "You say that working, is what a man's supposed to do..."

4. Get On The Floor

This is a typical 1970s dance track, which sounds a little dated now. References to "shaking your thing" sound quite silly today!

5. Off The Wall

The title track off this album is another Rod Temperton song (he also wrote "Rock With You" and "Thriller"). It's a song to blow the cobwebs away after a hard working week. "Life ain't so bad at all".

6. Girlfriend

This rather cheesy song was originally written for MJ by Paul McCartney but it eventually went on to Paul's "London Town" album instead and then MJ later covered it for this album. The man is trying to persuade the woman he's having an affair with to leave her boyfriend. It's not a bad little pop song but it seems childish in places.

7. She's Out Of My Life

This beautiful ballad is the best song on this album, even if it did have a terrible out of synch video. This single sounds very much like something from a Broadway musical and the swirling strings at the beginning are similar to the style of Nat "King" Cole. The song showcases MJ's range of vocals really well. It's a warning to not let love slip away. "And so I've learned that love needs expression but I learned too late".

8. I Can't Help It

This is a Stevie Wonder song and it's a bit of a filler track. It's a nice gentle ditty after the previous song though.

9. It's The Falling In Love

This duet with an uncredited Patti Austin is a good pop song about the perils of falling in love. It's simplicity is its strength. "It's the falling in love, that's making me high, it's the being in love that makes me cry, cry, cry".

10. Burn This Disco Out

Here is where the album sounds old fashioned again. It's a funky track but references to "DJ spin the sound" and "burning this disco out" place it firmly in the 1970s.

Tracks 11 and 12 are interviews with producer Quincy Jones. Interesting the first time around, but I tend to skip them now.

13. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough [Original Demo From 1978]

This is a fascinating insight into MJ at work. Here him put this song together and see how different the end product sounded compared to this early stage.

14. Quincy Jones Interview

15. Voice-Over Intro ''Workin' Day And Night'' [Original Demo From 1978]

16. Workin' Day And Night [Original Demo From 1978]

Again, this is a great insight into the structure of this song.

Tracks 17, 18 and 19 are more interviews with Quincy Jones and song writer Rod Temperton.

THRILLER

1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

This dance track is catchy but at times the lyrics can be incomprehensible. It's about name calling and allegedly about fights between MJ's sister Latoya and their various sisters-in-law. How true that is, I don't know but watch out for the Swahili chants and the final yells of "I know I am someone!".

2. Baby Be Mine

This pop/soul song is my favourite track from this album. It's a little dated but Rod Temperton knows how to write a catchy tune. MJ's vocals are very strong as well.

3. The Girl Is Mine

This duet with Paul McCartney is a rather drab affair with lame lyrics and a cheesy tune. It reached number 2 in the charts but everyone expected a big rock affair from two of the biggest names in music. Instead, they got this feeble "tug of war" between two suitors, petty squabble, of a song. Nobody could have guessed from this that "Thriller" would become the biggest selling album in history.

4. Thriller

This highly original track written by Rod Temperton needs little said about it. Lyrics like "You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it" and the excellent "rap" by Vincent Price make it superb.

5. Beat It

This rock song features Eddie Van Halen on guitar and it's a rant against fights and gangs. The video featured real gangsters.

6. Billie Jean

A classic pop song, with an angry lyrics and a thumping bass line.

7. Human Nature

This is a strange ballad sung beautifully by MJ but it wasn't written by him.

8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

This track was written by Quincy Jones and James Ingram and it's got about a guy chasing a girl. The only thing which lifts it out of the ordinary, apart from the great singing, are the odd words like "sugar fly" and the backing vocals from Latoya, Janet and Rebbie Jackson.

9. The Lady In My Life

A wistful ballad, which has no chorus to speak of, this song was very difficult to record. Jackson just couldn't get the vocals or the desperation needed to suit the song. Take after take ended in this final cut which sounds perfect. "Girrrrrl, I need your sweet caress". Lovely though it's odd ending an album with a ballad.

10. Voice-Over Intro Quincy Jones Interview/ Quincy Jones Interview

11. Someone In The Dark

A slow song which is quite long and wasn't originally included on the album. It doesn't sound out of place but it's easy to see why it got cut in favour of the other tracks.

12. Voice-Over Intro Quincy Jones Interview / Quincy Jones Interview / Voice-Over Intro Billie Jean [Demo]

Billie Jean demo is astounding.

13. Quincy Jones Interview

14. Voice-Over Intro Rod Temperton Interview / Rod Temperton Interview

15. Quincy Jones Interview

16. Voice-Over Intro Voice-Over Session From Thriller / Voice-Over Session From Thriller

This is a great selection of out takes with Vincent Price and MJ having a laugh together. It also shows the bits of the "Thriller" rap which were cut out. Even though Vincent Price is chatting and having a laughing and saying how much fun it all is, he still sounds very creepy!

17. Voice-Over Intro Rod Temperton Interview / Rod Temperton Interview

18. Quincy Jones Interview

19. Carousel

Finally, after the interviews, demos etc, it's back to some music. This song is lovely if a little short. I think it should have been included on the original album.

20. Voice-Over Intro Quincy Jones Interview / Quincy Jones Interview

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Overall, all of the tracks on these albums are better than some of the average music around today, and the demos are interesting. It could do with less interviews but they can easily be skipped. I would recommend this if you want to up date your old vinyl or simply want a bargain!