Thriller Revisited
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
This year is the 25th anniversary of the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. You can Say, Say, Say (that duet is actually on Paul McCartney’s album, I know) what you want about Wacko Jacko these days, but you can’t argue how huge that record was - 27 times platinum in the U.S. alone.
I received the album for Christmas. I had asked for Elton John’s Too Low for Zero, but my parents couldn’t find it. I was quite happy with their substitution, though. Not only was the music awesome, but Michael looked so cool in that white suit, and when you opened up the cover, you saw that he had a tiger cub on his leg. Hot!
I haven’t heard Thriller 25: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition with contributions from Fergie and Will.i.am. They’re extremely talented, I know, but somehow I doubt they can hold a candle to the original collaborators: Paul McCartney on “The Girl is Mine”, the late, great Vincent Price on “Thriller”, and Eddie Van Halen on “Beat It”. I still feel the urge to hit the dance floor when I hear that tune or “Billie Jean” at a wedding.
Here’s what music critic Rashod D. Ollison remembers about Thriller:
I was cool just for a day. Any other time, my classmates, most of whom were suburban white kids, ignored me. But on that spring day in second grade when I brought in Michael Jackson’s Thriller LP for show-and-tell, seemingly everybody in class wanted to be my best friend. Some gladly sat near me at lunch and invited me to play at recess, which had never happened before. Even as I waited for the school bus that morning, standing alongside the potty-mouthed brats who lived in the projects with me, I was king. “Look! He got Thriller!”
(To read the rest of Ollison’s trip down memory lane, click HERE.)
What did you think of the record? Did you own the album? (Come on, admit it!) Do you think it stands the test of time? Leave your thoughts by clicking on the No Comments/Comments link below. Today’s Jack Nation bonus code is BEATIT. It’s valid until midnight on Feb. 15th.