Well the sound of the synths was the end of it. Because Thriller still delved backwards into that easy listening/yacht rock type stuff (a la Toto IV). (Although both Prince and MJ were using the Linn too.)

If we're being honest here, "Beat It" and "Thriller" were the only two songs on there that weren't easy listening-adjacent. Mid-tempo stuff like "Baby Be Mine," "The Girl Is Mine," "Human Nature," and "Billie Jean" all went into that category.

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was the same thing for him that "She Works Hard For The Money" was for Donna Summer - reinvented rehash. Because disco never went away, it went underground, got a new pair of pants and a haircut and came back as 80s dance music. Summer's 3 or 4 albums just prior to that namesake album were horrible. Absolute schlock. But she found a new way to sing her old music.

MJ did the same, really. Off The Wall was very R&B heavy, but you smooth it out a bit, make it whiter, and it becomes Thriller. That said, Thriller did push an envelope a bit for artists, as far as production. But Thriller wasn't coming out sounding like much of anything on Controversy, which would have immediately proceeded it. And Thriller came out only about 5 weeks behind 1999. So he wasn't dipping those sounds by that point. He had to be pulling them from Controversy or something.

TrivialPursuit said:

Well the sound of the synths was the end of it. Because Thriller still delved backwards into that easy listening/yacht rock type stuff (a la Toto IV). (Although both Prince and MJ were using the Linn too.)

If we're being honest here, "Beat It" and "Thriller" were the only two songs on there that weren't easy listening-adjacent. Mid-tempo stuff like "Baby Be Mine," "The Girl Is Mine," "Human Nature," and "Billie Jean" all went into that category.

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was the same thing for him that "She Works Hard For The Money" was for Donna Summer - reinvented rehash. Because disco never went away, it went underground, got a new pair of pants and a haircut and came back as 80s dance music. Summer's 3 or 4 albums just prior to that namesake album were horrible. Absolute schlock. But she found a new way to sing her old music.

MJ did the same, really. Off The Wall was very R&B heavy, but you smooth it out a bit, make it whiter, and it becomes Thriller. That said, Thriller did push an envelope a bit for artists, as far as production. But Thriller wasn't coming out sounding like much of anything on Controversy, which would have immediately proceeded it. And Thriller came out only about 5 weeks behind 1999. So he wasn't dipping those sounds by that point. He had to be pulling them from Controversy or something.

I think QJ said that they ripped the synth intro in Thriller was them jacking the synth line in 1999 and reversing it. QJ showed MJ the 1999 album and they pulled things from there to.

Edit: found the link: Michael Jackson’s monst... – MJEOL

TrivialPursuit said:

And Thriller came out only about 5 weeks behind 1999. So he wasn't dipping those sounds by that point. He had to be pulling them from Controversy or something.

Brain Banks is the one in the article who directly names 1999, he played and programmed the synths on Thriller

Brian Banks It was late in the evening one night when we were working, and Quincy came to us. We all knew how Thriller was going, they were trying to get Vincent Price, they were doing all this stuff, but he wanted this huge chord sequence – he said, ‘There’s this sound that I’ve got in my head, there’s this underground, this new artist, that nobody’s ever really heard of but he’s great, he’s hot, he’s got this great song.’ And he pulled out the album and it was Prince, ‘1999’. And you know the opening sound on that? Duh-da da, Dur-duh-duh? Well that was the sound – that big, bitey chord sound at the opening of ‘1999’ – he wanted that, but bigger, for Thriller.

But the release of 1999 does seem too close to the release of Thriller. How were things back in those days, would they still be working on an album that close to release? Or maybe Quincy had a promo copy of 1999. Or maybe it wasn't the album and was the single, which released a month earlier, this seems more plausible.

JorisE73 said:

I think QJ said that they ripped the synth intro in Thriller was them jacking the synth line in 1999 and reversing it. QJ showed MJ the 1999 album and they pulled things from there to.

Edit: found the link: Michael Jackson’s monst... – MJEOL

Fair enough. I still wouldn't necessarily link the two out of the box. But it was noted that the turn around from "Starlight" to "Thriller" was very fast, so that could totally track.

TrivialPursuit said:

JorisE73 said:

I think QJ said that they ripped the synth intro in Thriller was them jacking the synth line in 1999 and reversing it. QJ showed MJ the 1999 album and they pulled things from there to.

Edit: found the link: Michael Jackson’s monst... – MJEOL

Fair enough. I still wouldn't necessarily link the two out of the box. But it was noted that the turn around from "Starlight" to "Thriller" was very fast, so that could totally track.

Me also. I only linked the two because of this article. Without it I wouldn't.

i dont hear it tbh

but its cool that MJ was listening

thriller, thanks to QJ, has the kind of perfect 70s/80s production that prince was never really interested in doing.

its also just so finely honed and edited, ie no fat whatsoever, that its totally unlike the album prince released in 82 (ie 1999).

but its obv prince was thinking a little of thriller too when making the PR album, just in terms of really being careful about every little part that went in there, but even then, he was recording songs live and in the warehouse - something MJ and QJ would never have done!

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

i dont hear it tbh

but its cool that MJ was listening

thriller, thanks to QJ, has the kind of perfect 70s/80s production that prince was never really interested in doing.

Thinking about it more, I can hear the big synths on "Thriller"'s opening being lifted and inspired by "1999." Not the same tempo, melody or anything. But that anthemic-intro-fanfare type thing is obvious.

I think MJ and Q used the Jupiter on "Thriller." I'd be interested to know if Prince did the same for anything on 1999 or Controversy. Because you have those big synth moments in other tracks like "D.M.S.R.", "Automatic," "Litte Red Corvette," and "Delirious."

Bootsy did the same thing, clearly influenced by "1999," on "Subliminal Seduction (Funk Me Dirty)" from What's Bootsy Doin'?.

MJ pulled from a lot of sources on Thriller. He later confessed to Daryl Hall that he lifted "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" for "Billie Jean." Hall said he didn't realize that, but said it was fine of course. Looking back, those songs are close sisters.

JorisE73 said:

I think QJ said that they ripped the synth intro in Thriller was them jacking the synth line in 1999 and reversing it. QJ showed MJ the 1999 album and they pulled things from there to.

Edit: found the link: Michael Jackson’s monst... – MJEOL

That would be pretty amazing, considering that Thriller was released just one month after 1999. I think either someone is mis-remembering or flat out making stuff up.

[Edited 6/23/23 12:12pm]

dave1dmarx said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said: