Thriller (album)

Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson, released on November 30, 1982 on Epic Records. Produced by Quincy Jones —who also worked on the album Off the Wall (1979) by the same artist—, the work is composed of a balance of various musical genres: between disco and rock, funk and ballad, R&B and pop. Jackson himself wrote four of the nine songs on the album. Recording sessions began in April 1982 at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, with a production budget from US$750,000. /i> Toto, including Jeff Porcaro (drums), Steve Porcaro and David Paich (keyboards), Steve Lukather (guitar) and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes.

Seven of the nine songs on the album were released as singles: "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "Wanna Be Startin' & #39; Somethin'", "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", "The Girl Is Mine", "Human Nature" and "Thriller" all reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, setting the record for artist with the most top-performing songs. ten from the same album, with "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" reaching number one. With 32 million copies sold by the end of 1983, Thriller became the best-selling album in history. The record established Jackson's status as one of the quintessential pop stars, and allowed him to overcome some racial barriers. In addition, with this project, he became one of the first artists to use music videos as promotional tools, highlighting those for "Thriller", "Billie Jean" and "Beat It", which they were broadcast continuously on the MTV television network.

Thriller remains the best-selling album in history, with estimated sales of 70 million copies worldwide. It is the second best-selling album in the United States, being certified with 34 Platinum records by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), only below Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) by the band Eagles. He won a record eight Grammy Awards in the edition of 1984, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Beat It." He also won a record eight American Music Awards at the 1984 edition.

As of 2008, a copy of Thriller remains in the United States Library of Congress's National Recording Registry due to its "high cultural significance". In the 2012 revision of the list of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was placed at number 20, while in the current 2020 review it ranked 12.

Background

Quincy Jones co-produced Thriller next to Michael Jackson.

Jackson's previous album Off the Wall (1979) received generally favorable reviews. It was also a commercial success, with final sales of over 20 million copies worldwide. The years between Off the Wall and Thriller were a period of change for the singer, a time when his independence increased. During that period, the singer said he felt unhappy: «Even at home, I feel lonely. I sit in my room and sometimes I start crying. It's so hard to make friends [...] sometimes I walk around the neighborhood at night, hoping to find someone to talk to. But I always end up coming home. »When Jackson turned 21 in August 1979, he fired his father Joseph Jackson as his manager and replaced him with John Branca.

When Jackson felt that Off the Wall (in 1981, the best-selling album by a black artist) had been slighted at the 1980 Grammy Awards, he decided to create a new manifested project that would be even better. He also felt undervalued by the American entertainment industry since in 1980, when Jackson asked the publicist for Rolling Stone magazine if they would be interested in doing a report on him, he refused, to which to which Jackson replied, "I've been told over and over again that black people on magazine covers don't sell copies [...] You just have to wait. Someday, the magazines are going to come to me to ask me for an interview."

Recording

Jackson met with Off the Wall producer Quincy Jones to record his sixth studio album. The two worked on around 30 songs, nine of which were included in the final configuration of the album. Thriller was recorded between April and November 1982, with a budget of $750,000. Several members of the band Toto also participated in the recording of the album as session musicians. Jackson wrote four songs for the album: "Wanna Be Startin'; Somethin'", "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney), "Beat It" and "Billie Jean". Jackson did not write these songs on paper, but instead recited them on a cassette recorder; when it was time to record them he was able to sing them from memory.

The relationship between Jackson and Jones became strained during the recording of the album. Jackson spent much of his time rehearsing the dance steps independently. When the nine songs were finished, both Jones and Jackson were dissatisfied with the result and remixed each song, spending a week on each.

Jackson was inspired to create an album where "every song was murder", and developed Thriller around that concept. On the 2001 reissue of the album, Jones and songwriter Rod Temperton discussed in detail about recording the album. Jones explained why "Billie Jean" was so personal to Jackson, who at the time the song was conceived was struggling to keep himself safe from obsessed fans. For his part, Jones wanted the song's lengthy introduction shortened, however, Jackson insisted that she stay, as this made her want to dance.

The decline of disco made it necessary to move in another musical direction. Jones and Jackson were determined to make a rock song that would appeal to all musical tastes and spent weeks finding a suitable guitarist for the song" Beat It", a song written by Jackson. Later they found Eddie Van Halen of the rock band Van Halen.

On the other hand, when Temperton wrote the song "Thriller", he originally wanted to call it "Starlight" or "Midnight Man", but ultimately left it "Thriller", because they considered the name to have great commercial potential. find a person who would be ideal to recite the final lyrics of the song; Jones invited actor Vincent Price, who was an acquaintance of his wife, who completed his part in only two takes. Temperton wrote the final part of the song in a taxi on his way to the recording studio.

Music

The guitarist Steve Lukather – session musician and co-founder of the Toto band – collaborated in four songs of the album.

Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic notes that 1982's Thriller was an album that had something for everyone, building on the blueprint of Off the Wall, but adding harder funk (Billie Jean or Thriller), hard rock (Beat It), softer ballads (The Girl Is Mine or Human Nature), and more fluid soul (Baby Be Mine ), broadening the focus of having something for every audience.

The album includes the ballads "The Lady In My Life", "Human Nature" and "The Girl Is Mine"; the funk pieces of “Billie Jean” and “Wanna Be Startin'; Somethin'," and disco on "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", and has a similar sound to the material on Off The Wall. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" it is accompanied by bass and percussion in the middle of the song, and culminates with a chant in Swahili. "The Girl Is Mine" tells of two friends fighting for a woman, arguing over who loves her more, and concludes with a spoken rap.

Despite the pop sound of these two recordings, Thriller, more than Off The Wall, portends the contradictory themes that would come to characterize Jackson's later work. With Thriller he would begin his relationship with the subliminal of paranoia and darker themes. This is evident in the song "Billie Jean" which begins with the long sound of bass and drums in the introduction, and in which Jackson talks about an obsessive fan who claims to have had a child with him. Somethin'", the artist argues that he is against gossip and the media. In addition, Jackson includes supernatural metaphors on the album's title track, where various sound effects can be heard, such as a door screeching, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and barking dogs.

The fight against gang violence on "Beat It" became a homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first rock hit track. Jackson said after "Beat It", "The point is, nobody has to be the tough guy, you can walk away from a fight and still be a tough guy. You don't have to die to prove you're a man." "Human Nature" is moody and introspective, as stated in its lyrics as, "Looking out across the morning, the heart of the city begins to beat." Reaching out, I touch his shoulder, I dream of the streets."

Rolling Stone magazine compared Jackson's voice to the "breathless, wonderful voice" of Stevie Wonder. His analysis was that Jackson's “light tone is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a surprising falsetto that is used very daringly." Although Jackson could sing in a weak key—below C—he preferred to sing higher because that way pop tenors have more range to achieve the style. The opinion of Rolling Stone was that Jackson was singing in a "wholly adult voice" that was "tinged with sadness". "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", credited to James Ingram and Quincy Jones, and Rod Temperton's "The Lady In My Life", gave the album a stronger R&B direction. The singer had previously adopted a vocal tone called "hiccup", and this continued to be applied in Thriller. The purpose of the "hiccup tone"—sort of like gulping air or gasping—helps elicit a certain emotion for the receiver, whether it be excitement, sadness, or fear.

Cover Page

The Thriller cover features Jackson in a white suit in a shot by photographer Dick Zimmerman. The fold-out sleeve reveals a tiger cub on Jackson's leg, which, according to Zimmerman, he kept away from his face, fearing it would scratch him. Another image from the shoot, with Jackson hugging the cub, was used for the special edition of Thriller 2001.

Launch and reception

Thriller was released on November 30, 1982, and sold one million copies worldwide in its first week. Seven singles were taken from the album, beginning with the song "The Girl Is Mine" which was followed by the single "Billie Jean", which made Thriller a chart hit. The success continued with the single "Beat It", which featured guitarists Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather. The song "Thriller" was released as a single and also became an international hit.

The album was well received by critics. Rolling Stone magazine gave it a four-star rating, and Christopher Connelly's review described it as "a vigorous LP" with "a harrowing, dark message". Despite the positive response, the self-titled song was subject to heavy criticism. Rolling Stone expressed a negative sentiment on her, criticizing her heavily. The magazine explained that there is a terrible mess in the final part, where Vincent Price recites the last words of the song. For its part, The New York Times gave a positive review of the album, noting particularly the song "Human Nature" which he described as one of the "most amazing songs". He concluded his review by adding, "Best of all, in the pervasive confidence that is instilled throughout the album, Thriller demonstrates that Mr. Jackson's evolution as an artist is far from over."

Robert Christgau rated the album positive (A) a few days before its release. He acknowledged that there was "filler" on the album, but still called it "almost classical". He expressed the opinion that "Beat It" was the best track on the album, calling it the triumph of the album, but criticized "The Girl Is Mine" as "Michael's worst song since 'Ben'." ». He was of the opinion that the collaboration did not work out well, but praised it for the "interracial love that got it on the radio". A year after the album's release, Time summarized the top three singles. from the album, saying: "America and much of the rest of the world is moving unevenly, to the difficult struts of 'Billie Jean', the aria from 'Beat It' and the 'Beat It' song." and the supremely fresh chills of 'Thriller'." In contrast, in a review for Melody Maker, Paolo Hewitt stated that "this is not a good LP", in his opinion, there were only "two issues worth noting." "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" it was praised as an "exciting, modern electro funk song", just as "Billie Jean" was. Hewitt's opinion was that the album can only be described as "light", particularly in the closing tracks. He summed up: "It seems that Jackson has lost the talent of him to turn it gross into gold."

During the 26th Grammy Awards held on February 28, 1984 in recognition of recording achievements made during 1983, Thriller won a total of eight Grammy Awards, including for album of the year and best arrangement for an album, non-classical, the latter awarded to Bruce Swedien. That same night, Jackson won the best children's album category for his contribution to the soundtrack E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. That same year, Jackson won eight American Music Awards, the Special Award of Merit, and three MTV Video Music Awards. It is also one of only three albums to have remained in the top ten on the Billboard 200 for a full year, spending 37 non-consecutive weeks at number one. The album was also the first of three that its seven singles appeared in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100,

Sales

Thriller was recognized as the best-selling album in the world on February 7, 1984, when it was included in the Guinness Book of Records, also being the The only bestseller in two consecutive years (1983-1984) in the United States. The album topped the charts in several countries, sold 3.8 million copies in the United Kingdom, 2.5 million in Japan and went 16 times Platinum in Australia.

The album reached number two on the Catalog charts in February 2003 and number 39 in the UK in March 2007. After Jackson's death in June 2009, Thriller experienced a new phase of popularity. In the US it sold more than 100,000 copies in one week, reaching number two on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. The songs on Thriller also helped Jackson become the first artist to sell more than one million song downloads in a week, and according to Nielsen SoundScan, it was the 14th best-selling album on record that year. the United States with 1.27 million copies sold. Also in 2009 the album was certified Platinum in Europe by the IFPI, as proof of legal sales of 1 million copies in that year alone.

Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time with estimated sales of 70 million copies worldwide. In December 2015, Thriller earned the certification of 30 platinum records by the Recording Industry Association of America, upon reaching sales of over 30 million copies in the United States; less than two months later, it reached 32 platinum records, representing 32 million units.

Influence and legacy

Thriller Platinum Disc exhibited at Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood

The album Thriller changed the way the music industry worked by making it more profitable. In a market driven by singles, Thriller raised the importance of an album., and his multiple successes changed the way of perceiving how many successful singles could be extracted from the same album. The era saw the arrival of novelties such as the Michael Jackson doll, which appeared in stores in May 1984. Thriller holds an important position in American culture. Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli explains, at a certain point, "Thriller stopped being sold as an entertainment item—like a magazine, a toy, or tickets to a hit movie—and began to be sold as a a household staple."

At the same time the album was released, a press release from A&M Records said that, "The entire industry benefits from this success." Time magazine speculated that "The success of Thriller gave the [music] business one of its best years since the heady days of 1978, when there was an estimated total revenue of $4.1 billion." Time summed up the impact of Thriller as a "confidence revival" for an industry that stood in "the ruins of punk and sleek synth-pop". The publication described Jackson's influence at the time as "A rock record, radio and video star. A man who rescued the music business. A composer who sets the pace for a decade. A dancer with the most elegant feet on the street. A singer who crosses all frontiers of taste and style."

In January 1984, The New York Times declared that Jackson was a "musical phenomenon", and that "in the world of pop music, there is no one quite like Michael Jackson." In this sense, the artist obtained record profits in the sales of compact discs, and from the sale of copies of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, partially financed by the MTV television.

Music Videos and Racial Equality

Mexico City established a Guinness record for the largest number of people dancing "Thriller" simultaneously, with 13 thousand people in total.

In 1983, the president of CBS Records pressured MTV to air Jackson's video clips: "I'm not going to give you any more videos and I'm going to make public what you've done, if you don't want to broadcast the music of a black man". This stance contributed to the network broadcasting the video clip of "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", a situation that later helped other black artists gain mainstream recognition from the music press. Eventually, the popularity of these videos helped increase the network's media presence. television, and MTV's focus shifted in favor of pop and rhythm and blues. When the 14-minute short film Michael Jackson's Thriller was released at the end of the same year, MTV began broadcasting it twice an hour to keep up with demand. The popularity of the video clip caused the album Thriller, which had fallen from the number 1 position almost six months earlier, to jump to the first place on that chart. Christmas and staying there until the New Year.

With this album, Jackson transformed the video clip medium into an art form and promotional tool through the use of stories, dance routines, and special effects. Short films such as Thriller followed. being heavily used by Jackson, while the group dance sequence in "Beat It" has been frequently imitated. The choreography of Thriller has become part of global popular culture, being replicated throughout Bollywood and the prisons of the Philippines.

For a black artist in the 1980s, Jackson's success was unprecedented. According to The Washington Post, Thriller paved the way for other African-American artists such as Prince. "The Girl Is Mine" was credited for promoting interracial love on the radio. Time magazine noted that "Jackson is the greatest thing to happen since The Beatles. He is the most energetic phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He is the only black singer who can become the most popular in history & # 34;.

Moonwalk

In March 1983, during the television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, Jackson performed the song Billie Jean. Three minutes and 36 seconds into the performance, Jackson did the dance move later known as the Moonwalk. It only lasts a couple of seconds and Jackson hadn't performed the step during rehearsals. Although the singer assured that he simply let "the song create the movements", Jackson had already seen the Moonwalk in 1979 on the television program Soul Train. However, the artist denied this version when in his autobiography Moonwalker assured that he had learned it by observing black children who practiced it in a ghetto.

For Vanity Fair magazine, the impact of the Moonwalk lies not in originality or intellectual property, "but in how it engenders Michael Jackson's own identity as an artist."

Revaluation

The album continues to be the subject of scrutiny by critics. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album the maximum of five stars and wrote that the recording continues to hold the same interests for everyone. He opines that it showed more funk and hard rock while still being "undeniably fun". He complimented "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin'" Somethin'", and said, "the two best songs on the record: "Billie Jean,"... and the delirious "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', the album has a cooler funk, [but] the most claustrophobic." Erlewine felt that Thriller showed clear progress from Jackson's previous album, though Allmusic criticized the title track, describing it as "ridiculous.". Slant Magazine gave the album five stars and like the Allmusic review and the original Rolling Stone review, explained that the best song on the album is ""Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".

Rankings

Based on its massive success to date, Thriller was ranked #20 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. i> in 2003, which held the chart on a revised 2012 chart until its current 2020 revision, in which it placed at number 12, making it the highest ranked pop album on the chart. In 2007 the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) placed it at number 3 on its list of the "definitive" 200 records that "every music lover should own". In 2008, 25 years after its release, the Grammy Hall of Fame Award-winning album, and a few weeks later, a copy of the album was preserved in the United States Library of Congress for its "cultural significance". In 2009, MTV critics Base and VH1 chose Thriller as the best album released since 1981. That same year, Thriller, was chosen as the best album ever in a poll conducted by MTV Generation.

The guitarist Eddie Van Halen executed the guitar solo of "Beat It".

Reissues

The album was reissued in October 2001 in a larger set entitled Thriller: Special Edition. The original tracks were remastered, and the album included a new booklet and bonus material, including the songs "Someone In the Dark", "Carousel", and the original " Billie Jean", as well as audio interviews with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton commenting on the recording of the album. Sony also hired sound engineer and mixer Mick Guzauski to work with Jackson creating 5.1 channel surround mixes for Thriller, as well as all of his other albums, to be released on the then-new Super Audio CD format. Despite numerous attempts, none of the mixes were approved by the artist. Consequently, Thriller was released on SACD only in a stereo version.

On February 8, 2008, Epic Records released Thriller 25, which Jackson served as executive producer. The album appeared on CD, USB, and vinyl with seven bonus tracks, one new song called "For All Time", a snippet of Vincent Price's voice-over, and five remixes featuring contemporary artists including Fergie, Akon, Will.I.Am and Kanye West. Also includes a DVD with three video clips, the presentation of "Billie Jean" at Motown 25, and a flyer with a message from Jackson. The ballad "For All Time" It supposedly dates from 1982, but is considered to have been recorded during the Dangerous sessions.

Thriller 25 was a commercial success reaching number one in eight countries, number two in the United States, number three in the United Kingdom and reached the Top 10 on more than 30 national charts. In the United States, Thriller 25 was the second best-selling album in its first week of publication, reaching sales of one hundred and sixty-six thousand copies, only fourteen thousand less to reach the number one position. It was ineligible for the Billboard 200 for being a re-release, but it entered the Pop Catalog charts peaking at number one (where it stayed for ten non-consecutive weeks), achieving the best sales on this chart since December. 1996. With the arrival of Halloween in November, Thriller 25 spent its eleventh non-consecutive week at the top of the Pop Catalog. This brought the album sales of 688,000 copies in the US, making it the top album on the Pop Catalog chart for 2008. This was Jackson's best release since Invincible in 2001., selling three million copies worldwide in 12 weeks.

Song List