Paradise, The Garden of Eden, even to the Moon among the stars. In life, everyone has their own idea of euphoria. Thriller by Michael Jackson takes you to that unimaginable place that caters to everyone’s euphoria.
Released in 1982, “Thriller” took the world by storm in a way people had never seen before. The catchy tunes of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”and ballads of “The Lady in my Life” all have a melody to hum and groove to. “Thriller” was produced by the late great musical genius Quincy Jones. Quincy and Michael had a close relationship from their previous projects together such as Off the Wall (1979) and The Wiz, a movie from the prior year in 1978. Without doubt, Quincy was the perfect producer for “Thriller” because of his experience in the business of 30-plus years alongside Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and others.
Michael’s motivation for “Thriller” came from Off the Wall. Though Off the Wall was a commercial success, selling over 20 million copies world wide, it wasn’t good enough for Michael. He wanted the to sell the most albums and win the most awards for the quality of his work; that’s exactly what he accomplished. Thriller became the best selling album of all time selling over 70 million copies world wide. In 1983, the album also received 12 Grammy nominations, winning 8 Grammys in total. Michael set the record for the most Grammys received in one night.
“Thriller” not only was a commercial success but also a social success. Michael Jackson made music for everyone to listen to no matter their race. It’s mixture of Rock, R&B, Pop, and Soul music within one album captured the attention of millions of listeners around the world. Specifically “Beat It” was a major crossover song for Michael. “Thriller” made Michael the most famous person in the world.
“Human Nature”
Many may argue that “Billie Jean” or “Beat It” are the best tracks on this album, but “Human Nature” easily tops both of those songs. “Human Nature” is a song that makes you feel like you are on an evening drive with the Sun soon to set. This song was originally written for the band Toto but was given to Michael through Quincy Jones. The majestic synthetic sound that loops the entire songs takes you to another universe. This song talks about human curiosity and the ambition to live life to the fullest of ones pleasure. Michael gives a catchy explanation of why the human race is so curious. The calm rhythm of the guitar played by Steve Lukather, gives the song flavor like seasoning to food. “Thriller” isn’t “Thriller” without “Human Nature”.
“The Girl Is Mine (with Paul McCartney)”
“The Girl Is Mine” is the perfect song to listen to when you and you best friend both want the same girl. The very catchy melody of the verses in the song tell a story of how a girl can get in the way of a beautiful friendship. Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson battle the situation out lyrically. Though it’s not clear in the song who gets the girl, Michael made it very clear that he was a lover, not a fighter. This song is often overlooked and underrated, when “The Girl Is Mine is one of the best songs on the album.
“Thriller”
The title track of this album, “Thriller”, is the greatest Halloween song of all time. Ironically enough it happens to be on the best album of all time. The iconic bassline that creates a heartbeat for the song, makes you want to dance no matter where you are. “Thriller” is played all around the world every Halloween. But “Thriller” is more than just a spooky song talking about zombies and monsters. It’s also a music video that brings the song to life through Michael Jackson’s vision. Michael Jackson paved the way for many artist creating music videos, and it all began with “Thriller”. If the album was summed up into one song it would be this title track.
Every good album has it’s flaws. “Billie Jean” can be recognized by anyone by the opening drums and bassline, perhaps the greatest bassline of all time. But the length of “Billie Jean” can be exhausting. After the song’s bridge, the instrumental stays the same throughout the rest of the song. For many this may be good music, but in reality after a while it becomes repetitive and tiring to listen to. Other songs like “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” have the same problem. This song is one of Michael’s greatest hits but the album version is very long. It’s funky groove is amazing but kinda suffers from the same problem as “Billie Jean.” The song becomes very complacent after its bridge.
Thriller described in a few words would be an 80’s late night road trip to the future through a different universe. The sonics of this song gave this album a futuristic feel that was ahead of it’s time in 1982. “Thriller” will never be topped by any album, as well as Michael will never be topped by any artist. Many songs from the album are sampled by artists today. This goes to show just how influential the album was for the songs still to be used over 40 year later. Michael was a musical genius that pored his creativity into his albums. Off the wall, Bad, and Dangerous are all iconic, but no album can surpass “Thriller”.
