25th Anniversary of Thriller
16 November 2007
By Kevin “Chixo” Gibbs In 1982, Michael Jackson was on the cusp of enjoying the kind of success that nobody could have predicted. Already a favorite son of the music industry and to fans around the world, he was about to explode, largely because of the music he would release that year. Thriller, his stellar full-length of 1982, was, and remains the biggest selling and one of the most critically acclaimed albums of this and possibly any other generation: By most accounts, a phenomenon.
This was no rebound. Jackson was still riding the success of Off The Wall, his breakthrough album of 1979 that generated several major hits. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Off The Wall,” and the genre bending, “Rock With You,” a song that brought a soulful voice to disco and was part of the blueprint for modern house music, and other songs introduced a mature, ready to party, ready to love Michael Jackson. If Off The Wall was his coming out party, Thriller was certainly his world carnival.
For Thriller, he re-enlisted Off the Wall’s producer, Quincy Jones, secured the brilliant song writer/arranger, Rod Temperton, brought in guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen, and pop royalty, Paul McCartney. He was even able to persuade horror king, Vincent Price to recite a Temperton penned couplet for the title track. The list of other contributors reads like a “Who’s Who” of musicians any artist would dream of recruiting: Two-thirds of the band Toto, keyboard wizards Greg Phillinganes, Michael Bod****er, and David Foster, percussionists, Paulino Da Costa and Leon “Ndugu” Chanceler, and vocalists Howard Hewitt, James Ingram, and little sister, Janet. The album is all over the place instrumentally – employing sensibilities found in rock, R&B, and modern pop music. Yet, despite its disparity, it manages to remain cohesive – A concept album of many singular ideas.
Jackson begins this gigantic set with the frantic, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin.’” Seemingly, a continuation of the musical ideas put forth in Off The Wall’s “Working Day And Night.” Nonsense lyrics like “You’re a vegetable, you’re a vegetable/Still they hate you, you’re a vegetable,” could not prevent this record from becoming a universal smash. What it lacked in lyrical achievement it made up for in “dance-ability.”
The infectious disco clapping in “Baby Be Mine,” the joyful invitation to party of “P.Y.T.,” and the complicated instrumentation of “Human Nature” could not camouflage Jackson’s superb vocal work both out front and in the layered background of these songs. Potentially sinister lyrics like: “Reaching out/To touch a stranger/Electric eyes are everywhere/See that girl/She knows I’m watching/She likes the way I stare” (Human Nature), lose all their creepiness in the lightness of Jackson’s voice. He never seems to be just going through the paces on these songs.
Remarkably, (possibly because other songs from the album had such memorable videos), many do not remember that Jackson's duet with McCartney, "The Girl Is Mine," was the first single released from Thriller. A close listen reveals very subtle vocal matching and wonderfully simple lyrics enveloped in an elaborate arrangement that moves from Steven Lukather’s funky guitar plucking to luscious strings. McCartney gives his most soulful take ever while Jackson sounds like he is smiling all the way through the song. What seemed so corny to many of us in 1982 sounds like a tour de force, today.
Rod Temperton’s “The Lady In My Life,” today, a “Quiet Storm”/Adult-Contemporary radio format standard, seemed so sad and Las Vegas years ago. Still, it stands firmly beside other great songs that his younger fans would learn to have an appreciation for later in life much as they do jazz and bourbon.
“Just put your trust in my heart/And meet me in Paradise/You’re every wonder in this world to me/A treasure time won’t steal away…”
Despite the fact that they are great songs, three from the album, “Beat It,” the title track, and the ultra-polished, “Billie Jean” are probably better remembered for the over-the-top videos that accompanied them.
The "Billie Jean" video cast Jackson, dancing flawlessly to one of the most recognizable bass lines of all time while his feet lit up the concrete beneath his feet. "Beat It," found Jackson dancing between rival gangs a la Westside Story dancing to Michael Peters choreography while Eddie Van Halen ripped a guitar solo.
His visual, magnum opus, however, was “Thriller." Respected as one of the most influential videos ever made (it most certainly was the most expensive of its time), the John Landis directed stunner also saw make-up artist great, Rick Baker putting in overtime creating line dancing zombies while legendary actor, Vincent Price, rapped an Edgar Allen Poe inspired poem.
The mini-movie hit the airwaves and sold for more than a year after the album was released. The video was so relevant to the project’s overall success that it is almost forgivable that this great song has been relegated to being played only at Halloween.
These elaborate and unconventionally long productions deserved and got world premier treatment. From his jerking knees and hips to his toe hops, spinning, and signature moonwalk, Jackson was mesmerizing.
Jackson’s success could not come any sooner for other Black artists. Fortunately, for them, MTV, too, found him impossible to ignore. Just coming into its own, the young outlet quickly began establishing itself as an essential ingredient to any real marketing and publicity plan. It also famously neglected to play videos by Black artists. Jackson’s popularity, the quality of his output, and his jaw-dropping performances forced their hand, opening the door for other Black artists and setting a new standard for all artists.
Additionally pertinent for other artists of the time was the idea that retailers were convinced at the time that Jackson drove audiences to record shops and consequently they bought more than just his album.
Eight Grammy Awards, 45 million records, and twenty-five years later, Thriller is still a force to be reckoned with – a benchmark for any great pop record. Jackson would continue his rise to even greater fame as he co-wrote with Lionel Richie "We Are the World," a benefit recording benefiting famine stricken countries in Africa. He would follow up Thriller with a very impressive record, Bad and the “New Jack” inflected, Dangerous – Both fine albums. Following 1992, however, he began to become more famous for other things as his inheritance as the “King Of Pop” was challenged.
The forgivable, Rodney Jerkins assisted, Invincible, spawned two Top 10 singles (“Butterflies” and “You Rock My World”) sold more than two million copies, and went to number one.
The major challenge to his legacy did not come directly from other musicians. Nor was his supremacy contested by any new or singular musical movements (of which there were many) during the twenty-five year stretch. Manifestly, the confrontation came in the form of a self-imposed embargo from the life of a truly universal star to that of a pained caricature. The “Gloved One” became equal parts undeniable talent and conspicuous scandal.
Believe what you will about the many accusations about Jackson that have sprung up over the last few years. Because despite his private/public tribulations, one thing remains undisputed: Michael Jackson’s 42 minutes of the Thriller album seem so much longer because the songs are so big, the images so vivid, the talent so great, that we wish the joyous feelings and memories they generate to last. This is, certainly, what Jackson would rather his legacy be.
“…Though you fight to stay alive/Your body starts to shiver/For no mere mortal can resist/The evil of the thriller…”
