Off The Wall = 1999
Thriller = Purple Rain

The later albums were mega-successful and shot their artists into superstardom, but the earlier albums both have that something that makes them "as good" if not better.

Maybe they're edgier albums, maybe fame hadn't taken its toll yet. 1999, for me, is better simply by having more Minneapolis sound and longer jams.

midnightmover said:

My main memory from the time is of kids in school trying to copy the dance moves. Not just the moonwalk, but virtually all the moves. No-one held kids in a spell like Mike. I remember someone doing a poll in school of who our favourite singers were and MJ got twice as many votes as everyone else put together.

whatsgoingon said:

That's why my appreciation for Off the Wall differs from Thriller. With OTW, every song jumped out at ya and you were immediately hooked, with "Thriller", it took more songs to come out to fully appreciate it (and sometimes I'd play the CD back to back). I still say "Human Nature" was one of the greatest songs he's ever done.

midnightmover said:

Yeah Michael was the shit back then. Everyone would stop what they were doing every time a new video of his would come on. I remember watching "Bad" the long form video like this - Same with that "Moonwalker" movie. I was three, four years old so how did I know that the dialog on "Moonwalker" sucked but the "Smooth Criminal" sequence is still a CLASSIC!

Se7en said:

I thought that too, and I like 1999 way better than purple rain too

Timmy84 said:

I remember seeing "Moonwalker" in the cinema and turning in my seat at some of the dramatic scenes, lol. That film career was never gonna happen, but yeah, "Smooth Criminal" was out of this world. The best video of all time IMO.

Rodya24 said:

LOOK WHO'S HERE!

from the Thriller 25th Anniversary thread:
THRILLER was released on December 1, 1982, debuting at #11 on the Billboard 200 and #29 in the UK. The album with success of singles, "The Girl Is Mine" and "
"Billie Jean" would reach #1 10 weeks after it's debut in the US and 12 (in the UK). In the US, it would go on to spend 37 non consecutive weeks at #1 and in the
Top 10 for 79. In the UK, it would spend 8 non consecutive weeks at the top and in the Top 10 for 78.
In 1983 Michael became the first artist to simultaneously hold the number one spots on Billboard's rock albums and rock singles charts, as well as the R&B albums and singles charts
With 7 Top 10 singles, Thriller won
7 American Music Awards, 8 Grammy Awards(7 in 1984 and 1 in 1985), 3 MTV Video Music Awards, 19 Billboard Awards(Music and Video),
4 NARM awards, 2 People's Choice Awards, 4 Canadian Black Music Awards, and a Crystal Globe Awards, and became the best sellling album
of all time, selling 104 million copies to date


Billboard Awards
Pop Album of the Year - Thriller
Pop Artist of the Year
Black Album - Thriller
Black Artist of the Year
Pop Album Artist
Pop Male Album Artist
Pop Male Singles Artist
Black Album Artist
Black Singles Artist
Pop Singles Artist
Dance/Disco Artist
Dance/Disco 12" LP - Billie Jean
Dance/Disco 12" LP - Beat It

Rolling Stone
Readers Poll - #1 Artist of the Year
Readers Poll - #1 Soul Artist
Readers Poll - #1 Video - Beat It
Readers Poll - #1 Producer (with Quincy Jones)
Critics Poll - #1 Artist of the Year
Critics Poll - #1 Video - Beat It
Critics Poll - #1 Male Vocalist
Critics Poll - #1 Soul Artist

Black Gold Awards
Top Male Vocalist
Best Album - Thriller
Best Single of the Year - Billie Jean
Best Video Performance - Beat It

Billboard Video Awards
Best Performance by a Male Artist
Best Overall Video - Beat It
Best Performance by a Male Artist Best Choreography - Beat It
Best Use Of Video To Enhance Artist's Song - Beat It
Best Use Of Video To Enhance Artist's Image - Beat It

Cashbox
Number One Male Artist
Top Black Male Artist
Top Pop Album
Top Black Album
Top Male - Singles Artist
Top Black Male - Singles Artist
Top Pop Single - Billie Jean
Top Black Single - Billie Jean

Album Of The Year - U.K, Japan, Australia, Holland

Artist Of The Year - U.K, Italy, Japan

International Artist Of The Year - Brazil

Record Of The Year - Greece

Best Male Vocalist - Japan

Most Important Foreign Album - Spain

Single Of The Year - Australia

Guinness Book Of Records
Best Selling Album Of All Time - Thriller

Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Grammy Awards
Michael recieves a record breaking 12 nominations and a record breaking 8 Grammy awards - the most won by an artist in one year.
Album Of The Year - Thriller
Record Of The Year - Beat It
Best Male Pop Performance
Producer Of The Year (with Quincy Jones) - Thriller
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance - Beat It
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance - Billie Jean
Best New R&B Song - Billie Jean
Best Recording For Children - E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Album (narration by Michael Jackson)

Canadian Black Music Awards
Top Male Vocalist
Entertainer of the Year
Top International Album - Thriller
Top International Single - Billie Jean

American Music Awards
Special Award Of Merit
Favorite Album-Pop/Rock - Thriller
Favorite Album-Soul/R&B - Thriller
Favorite Male Vocalist - Soul/R&B
Favorite Male Vocalist - Pop/Rock
Favorite Single-Pop/Rock - Billie Jean
Favorite Video-Pop/Rock - Beat It
Favorite Video-Soul/R&B - Beat It

MTV Awards
Viewers Choice Award - Thriller
Best Overall Video - Thriller
Best Choreography - Thriller

People's Choice Awards
Best All Around Entertainer Of The Year
Favorite Video of the Year - Thriller

Hotel Royal Plaza
Presentation Casement - 37 Gold & Platinum Discs

Presidential Special Achievement Award (U.S)
Presented at the White House by President Ronald Regan to Michael Jackson in recognition of his contribution to the nation's campaign against drunk driving - Michael's song "Beat It" was run in the ads

Presentation Casement Of Platinum Disc 1985
Presented in the U.K for the "Thriller" album

NARM
Gift Of Music Award
Best Selling Album - Thriller
Best selling Single - Billie Jean
Best Home Video - The Making Of Thriller

NAACP Image Awards
H. Claude Hodson Medal Of Freedom

Ebony Magazine Award

Billboard Awards
Top Album

American Video Awards
Best Long Form Video
Best Home Video

Crystal Globe Awards
Exceeding Sales Past 5 Million

poll - World Almanac and Book of Facts 1985
Voted "Hero of Young America"

Grammy Awards
Best Home Video - The Making Of Thriller

Rolling Stone Magazine(1989)
Video Of The Decade - Thriller

MTV Awards(1989)
The Greatest Video In The History Of The World - Thriller

Music Video Producers' Hall of Fame(1991)
Thriller Video


Billboard Music Award(1992)
Commemoration of 10th anniversary of Thriller (Biggest selling album of all time).

VH1 poll(1998)
# 1 greatest video of all time - Thriller

CNN Internet Poll(1999)
Best Music Video Of All Time - Thriller

80 Classics of the 80's Poll - Dutch Music Channel (TMF)(1999)
#1 Song - Thriller

Entertainment Weekly Poll(1999)
Best Solo Artist (Modern) - #1. Michael Jackson (with 25.90% of the votes)
Best Group (Classic) - #2. The Jackson 5 (with 13.57% of the votes)
Most Underrated Artist or Group - #2. Michael Jackson (with 17.125 of the votes)
Best Modern Album - #1. "Thriller" - Michael Jackson (with 23.43% of the votes)
Best Song (Modern) - #2. "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson (with 16.11% of the votes)
Best Music Video - #1. "Thriller" - Michael Jackson (with 25.11% of the votes)

.....and just 3 videos, 7 singles, and 1 performance

midnightmover said:

I flipped channels and then turned back to see where they were at. Michael was put on this earth to SING AND DANCE. Michael Jackson is no actor. And I agree, "Smooth Criminal" has "Thriller" beat. I'm still amazed by the choreography in that piece! I think it was Michael and Vincent Patterson who put it together.

Here are the chart positions:

US 200:#1
US R&B:#1
UK:#1
Canada:#1
Australia:#1
Austria:#3
Belgium:??
France:#1
Holland:#1
Japan:1
South Africa:#1
Germany:#1
Ireland:??
Spain:#1
Finland:#1
Switzerland:#1
Sweden:#1
Norway:#6
Italy:#1
New Zealand:#1
Zimbabwe:#1

bboy87 said:

Didn't he like get an Emmy nod for the "moonwalk" performance and "Thriller" get an Oscar nod for Best Short Film? Michael was everywhere and he didn't have to do much and look what happened!

Here's Bruce Swedien's story.....

The REAL Story on "Billie Jean"...

-----

Recording and Mixing "Billie Jean"....

The year is 1982. The song is "Billie Jean". The sonic image of Michael Jacksons' "Billie Jean" is a perfect example of what happened, when I sat around dreaming awhile, about combining different recording techniques to produce a unique musical canvas with a tremendous 'sonic personality'.

Of course I was comfortably ensconsed in Westlake Audio’s beautiful new Studio ‘A’ on Beverly Boulevard, with my good friends Quincy Jones, Micheal Jackson and Rod Temperton. We were doing our favorite thing... We were making music!!! We had just started recording Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller”...

We were recording Michael’s song “Billie Jean”.....

I recorded the drums,(played by the fantastic drummer, N'Dugu) with as tight, and powerful a drum sound as I could come up with. Of course I put N'Dugus' drum set on my plywood drum platform. Also at this time, I had a special kick drum cover made that covers the whole front of the kick drum. There's a slot with a zipper in it that the mike fits through. When the kick drum mike is in place, in the slot in my drum cover, I zip the opening tightly shut around the mike.

I brought in my old pal George Massenburgs' spectacular sounding, portable, 12 channel recording console and used it to record the rhythm section. With it I recorded the bass, drums and guitars on my analogue 16 track, with no noise reduction equipment in the way of that fantastic sound!

In my estimation, the the result of the song “Billie Jean”, is a perfect example of what I call “Sonic Personality”. I don’t think there are many recordings, where all you need to hear is the first few drums beats, and you instantly know what song it is.

Great albums always start with great songs....

"Billie Jean" is just such a superb song! Of course, Michael wrote "Billie Jean"..

Quincy says that the lyric that Michael wrote is highly personal. I’m sure that’s true. Michael told us... it was about a girl, that climbed over the wall at Michael’s house, and was lounging out there, by the swimming pool.... she was laying out there, near the pool , lounging... hangin’ out... with shades on, her bathing suit on. One morning she just showed up! Kind of like a stalker, almost. She had accused Michael of being the father of ONE of her twins... Is that possible? I don’t think so....

When it came time for me to mix "Billie Jean", it was business as usual... When I am working with Michael, Quincy, Rod, Jennifer, Sergio and so on..... I am allowed total ceative freedom with the sonics of the music... In other words, I am always left to myself when it is time to mix. My mixes can take hours, days or even weeks.... I firmly believe that a mix is not finished, until it is on a Record for sale at Tower....

So I had been mixing "Billie Jean" for a day or two. I’d do a mix. ..... Say I was up to mix number 2.... (At that time I was mixing onto 1/2” analogue.) I thought it was killer!!!

I called MJ, Quincy and Rod into the control room and played mix 2 for them. They loved it!!! They were all dancing and carrying on like crazy!!! Smiles all around! Then Michael slipped out of the control room, turned around and motioned to me to follow him... Then he whispered to me, “Please Bruce, it’s perfect, but turn the Bass up just a tiny bit, and do one more mix, please....” I said to him...”OK Smelly, no problem”...

(When we were recording “Off The Wall”, Quincy gave Michael the nickname of “Smelly” because when Michael liked a groove, he’d call it “Smelly Jelly.” Also Michael doesn’t curse, and when MJ wants to say a bad word he’ll simply call it “Smelly”... The name has stuck...)

Then I went back into the control room to add Michael’s tiny bit of bass to my mix... Quincy pulled me over into the corner and said “Please Svensk... “(Svensk is Quincy’s nickname for me. It means “Swedish Man” in Swedish... When you have a genuine Quincy Jones nickname like ‘Svensk” - You are truly honored....) Q said to me.... “Add a little garlic salt to the snare and the kick. Just a squirt!!!”) so I went back into the control room and added a little garlic salt to the snare and the kick. Just a squirt!!! Now I was up to mix 20 on "Billie Jean".

Well, this went on for about a week. Soon I was up to mix 91!!! I had a stack of 1/2 inch tapes almost to the ceiling!!! I would do a few mixes, we’d listen... Then do a few more. We had it PERFECT!!! We thought we had a really ‘HOT’ mix on “Billie Jean”. I played Mix 91 for the boys... Everybody smiled... but Quincy had one of his funny looks on his face...

I thought.... Hmmmm.... Oh, Oh....

Quincy said “You know Svensk, just for the fun of it, can we listen to one of your earlier mixes???” My heart jumped because I knew that my earlier mixes were dynamite!!! Then Quincy said, “Let’s hear mix number 2!!!” Oh WOW!!!! Hallelujah!!! I love mix 2!!!!

We listened to mix 2... IT WAS SLAMMIN’!!! EVERYONE IN THE STUDIO WAS GROOVIN’ AND DANCIN’ and HAPPY, and actin’ IGNORANT!!!!

Well, here’s the deal. When “Thriller” was released to the Whole World by Epic Records, on Tuesday, November 30, 1982, it went to Tower Records with MIX 2 OF "Billie Jean" on it!!! AND, when the single of "Billie Jean" came out it was MIX 2!!!

The REAL Story of "Billie Jean"...

Bruce Swedien

http://www.gearslutz.com/...-jean.html

Timmy84 said:

"Smooth Criminal" is my all time favourite video and "Thriller" comes in at number two. I'm not sure the precise order of the rest, but the top two is cast in stone.

Timmy84 said:

The main difference between Off The Wall and Thriller, IMO, is that Off The Wall had more of a theme which ran through the album: the theme was very simple, it was all about living life and dancing.

Thriller was more diverse and looking back in hindsight it was quite autobiographical. The mystery and suspense in songs like Thriller and Billie Jean parralled Michael's life. I would say that Thriller has become more iconic as times have gone on. The video and the song, Thriller have become a Halloween theme, Lady in my Life has become a slow Jam classic. And songs like Wannabe Startin Somethin have gone on to be a dance classic. And Billie Jean sounds even richer now than when it was first release.
[Edited 12/1/07 15:49pm]

bboy87 said:

I bet Austria and Norway feel pretty stupid now.

And I present to you: MICHAEL JACKSON IN PHOTOS- The 1981-1985 years

midnightmover said:

That's pretty much the same thing with me but for some odd reason, I don't know what other eight videos filled in those spots, lol. He had great videos though. I already have "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" in the top ten too and maybe "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" because there were three "Michael clones". The cheapness made it looked beautiful to me.

whatsgoingon said:

True that. Thriller had so many moments on there, it's hard to pin it to just it being an album. I would say beside What's Going On, which also had concurrent themes (though it fit in the socially conscious subject matter), no other album did it the way Thriller did. Quincy, Bruce, Rod and Michael knew what they were doing going into it.

If this is targeted at selling to a younger generation, good luck - they don't pay for anything these days.

1983 in review:
1983 : 'A Personal Message From The Jackson's' is issued by the Jackson's World Fan Club to club members. It features a 'Surprise Song' a song that Jackson's improvised on the spot
-Italian based 'Clubhouse' officially released ' Do It Again - Billie Jean'. The track contains a sample of Billie Jean
-January, 1983 : The Billie Jean single is officially released
-January, 1983 : The E.T album is commercially available in the UK for a limited period.

February, 1983 : While in England, Michael and Paul McCartney work on two new songs, 'Say Say say and 'The Man'.

February 10, 1983 : Michael attended the Prize-giving ball in the UK with friends Paul and Linda McCartney and received a Record Industry Award

February 17 : Rolling Stones magazine publish an exclusive interview with Michael.

February 23, 1983 : Michael Jackson receives a double platinum award for the Thriller album from close friend Jane Fonda

February 26, 1983 : The 'Beat It' single is officially released

March 1983 : The 'Beat it' short film directed by Bob Giraldi is officially released
March, 1983 : After five years, co-managers Freddy DeMann and Ron Weisner part company with the Jackson's, who are
managed solely by their father Joe.

March 7, 1983 : Michael becomes the first artist to simultaneously chart the number one slot on both the 'Billboard' rock album and
rock single lists, and the RnB album and singles lists.

March 20, 1983 : Michael Jackson attends the opening of 'Dream Girls' in LA with sister LaToya

March 25, 1983 : The Jackson's re-unite to film the TV special ‘Motown 25’ at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Michael and the other guests from the TV special attend the after party

April 9, 1983 : Michael and Quincy Jones attend the post-concert party for Liza Minelli at the Universal Amphi Theatre in Hollywood

April 9, 1983 : Michael and Quincy Jones attend the Oscar Rehearsals.

April 16, 1983 : Michael pays tribute to Charlie Chaplin on the anniversary of Chaplin's birth

April 30, 1983 : The 'Beat it' single reaches to No. 1 in US

May 16, 1983 : Motown 25 was aired on NBC. The show was the highest rated program of the week and went on to win several Emmy nominations.

May, 1983 : The Wanna be startin' somethin' single is officially released

July, 1983 : Michael Jackson's single 'Human Nature' is officially released

Summer, 1983 : An announcement is made that father Joseph Jackson no longer represents Michael as manager

August, 1983 : Michael Jackson attends a photo shoot with International photographer Matthew Rolston

October, 1983 : Michael Jackson's single 'P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) is officially released.

November, 1983 : Michael and Quincy Jones receive a platinum award for the work done on the 'Thriller' album

September, 1983 : Michael made a very special appearance at the James Brown concert and surprised the audience when he got up on stage and performed

October 3, 1983 : The single 'Say Say Say' is officially released and reaches number one. John Jellybean provided an exclusive 12" mix of the track.

October 4, 1983 : The production of the 'Say Say Say' video begins. The short film is directed by Bob Giraldi and features his first cameo appearance

October 11, 1983 : The Jacksons and Rodger Enrico conclude the negotiations for a new Pepsi-Cola commecial campaign that will will feature the Jackson brothers and will pay $5 million.

November 30, 1983 : A press conference was held at the Tavern On The Green in New York to announce the lauch of the Victory tour

November, 1983 : The red vinyl ' Michael Jackson 9 singles Pack' is officially released in the UK.

November, 1983 : Michael's 'Beat it' short film won five awards at the Billboard Music Video Awards held in Calafornia.

November, 1983 : Michael conducts an interview with a local radio station in the U.S named ' The Words And Music By Michael Jackson.

November, 1983 : The Jackson's express an interest in a commercial for Quaker Oats cereal. The offer was later turned down.

December 2, 1983 : The Thriller shot film is officially released and 'The Making of Thriller' VHS is available to buy (Vestron Video). The Thriller short film was truly an event. It was the first of many ground achievements Michael would make throughout his amazing career. The birth of this short film established Michael as a true pioneer in the field of expressing dance and story telling through music. What Michael did with this release was ground-breaking, costing a un-heard of $800,000 to make and setting the record for the most expensive music video ever made. The release was so widely anticipated that MTV offered to broadcast it as a world premier free of charge

December 2, 1983 : The Royal Plaza Hotel in Disneyland, Florida opened its doors to the room that Michael stayed in for public viewing.

December, 1983 : Michael was issued the Music Industry Trade Magazine 'Billboard' which awarded him 'Number One' honours 13 times. Here was named: No.1 Pop Artists Of The Year, No.1 Black Artist of The Year, No.1 Pop Album: Thriller, No.1 Pop Album Artist, No.1 Pop Singles Artist, No.1 Pop Male Album Artist, No.1 Pop Male Singles Artist, No.1 Black Album Artist, No.1 Black Album: Thriller, No.1 Black Singles Artist, No.1 Black Album, No.1 Black Singles Artist, No.1 Black Male Album, No.1 Black Male Singles Artist, No.1 Dance/ Disco 12" LP Cut: Billie Jean, No.1 Dance/ Disco 12" LP Cut: Beat It
[Edited 12/1/07 16:14pm]

Timmy84 said:

I'm not completely sure how many other MJ videos would make my top 10. I'd have to give some other artists a chance. Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" would definitely be one. It's the only one that actually touches my heart. "Another Part Of Me" is great, 'cos it captures Mike in his prime and gives you a sense of how he seemed like the centre of the universe for a while. Maybe "Billie Jean" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" could get in there too.
[Edited 12/1/07 17:14pm]

midnightmover said:

I understand. Yeah Cyndi's video was touching.

bboy87 said:

Seriously, your post reminded me of the scene in Beverly Hills Cop, where Eddie Murphy goes to check into that hotel room with his bogus story of being a writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, and is like bitching at the person for not having a room waiting for him.

"I was going to call the article Michael Jackson is sitting on top of the world. Now I might as well call the article, Michael Jackson is sitting on top of the world as long as it isn't at the ____ hotel." LOL.

Then later ofcourse when Eddie walks out of the hotel, he sees 2 guys walking side by side wearing Thriller jackets and you hear his trademark laugh.

SO MJ'S LEGACY...

Actually rests in his earlier albums. What was your point again?

midnightmover said:

[Edited 12/1/07 18:36pm]

Vanilli said:

papaaisaway said:

If you can't understand my point then you should never have started talking to me in the first place.

GUESS SO.

midnightmover said:

midnightmover again:

midnightmover said:

papaaisaway said:

[/quote]
Aaah poor boy, you're confused. Let me help you out. This sentence "His legacy rests on his earlier albums" means they are what he'll be remembered for. Those are what most people think about when they talk of classic MJ, not History. That's one thing. How much of his influence we hear in the sound of today's music is another thing all together. You appear to have got these two points woefully confused. Nevermind, it can happen to any of us.

when thriller came out you couldnt turn on the radio without hearing a song from that album...these was the good ole days when radio played whatever they wanted instead of having a list of about 10 songs they rotate all day...i wasnt crazy about the album at first,but it grew on me fast.the thriller era was the best era any pop star has ever had imo, mj-mania was everywhere and he really did cross every race,age,gender barrier.i remember everybody going in the house to watch the thriller video when it premiered, the motown 25 performance,the award show appearences,the pepsi commercials...i feel kinda bad for those who wasnt born or wasnt old enough to experience it, no matter how much you read about thriller, you had to be there.

midnightmover said:

Take a listen to "Let Me Love You" and come back and say that with a straight face.

Imbecile.