EPIC RECORDS/LEGACY RECORDINGS UNVEIL
THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
OF MICHAEL JACKSON'S THRILLER
THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM OF ALL TIME

Newly Expanded Deluxe Edition of Multi-Platinum Grammy-Winning Album
With New & Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks
Including Remixes By Akon, will.i.am & Kanye West
+ Bonus DVD Featuring Digitally Restored Short Films
& Michael Jackson's Historic Breakout Performance
From "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" Television Broadcast

Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition
Available Worldwide Week Of February 11, 2008

* * * * *

Epic/Legacy Recordings proudly celebrates the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the world's biggest-selling album of all time, with a newly expanded deluxe edition of the phenomenal record-breaking pop culture touchstone, available worldwide the week of February 11, 2008.

The Michael Jackson Thriller 25th anniversary celebration kicks off in December 2007 and continues throughout 2008 with the release of a new single and a multi-faceted global marketing campaign featuring high-profile television, radio and online events around the world.

The Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition will include the original album in its entirety as well as eight bonus tracks and a DVD featuring Michael Jackson's groundbreaking short films from Thriller ("Thriller," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean") and the artist's Emmy-nominated breakout performance of "Billie Jean" from the legendary "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" television special (first broadcast on NBC on May 16, 1983).

The newly expanded version of Thriller premieres five tracks previously unreleased in any form: a new Kanye West remix of "Billie Jean"; a new 2008 version of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with Akon and will.i.am; will.i.am remixes of "The Girl Is Mine" and "P.Y.T."; and "For All Time," a rare unreleased cut from the original Thriller recording sessions, newly mixed and mastered by Michael Jackson.

Additional bonus material on the Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition includes "Someone In The Dark," "Carousel," and Michael Jackson's original demo recording of "Billie Jean."

The deluxe Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition packaging contains a personal greeting from Michael Jackson to his fans penned exclusively for this special release.

Originally released 25 years ago early December 1982 by Epic Records, Thriller, Michael Jackson's sixth solo album and second with producer Quincy Jones, rocketed the former child-star lead singer for the Jackson 5 into the stratosphere of international superstardom. Introducing the "robot" and the "moonwalk" into the international lexicon of clubland dance moves via the pulsing sounds of Thriller, Michael Jackson revolutionized all aspects of mainstream pop culture -- from radio airwaves to the newly emerging art form of music videos -- becoming the world's most popular entertainer in the process.

The original Thriller spent an astounding 80 consecutive weeks in the American Top 10, 37 of those at #1. Seven of the album's original nine tracks became Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 while Individual singles from Thriller reached #1 chart positions in the US, the UK, France, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada.

Thriller made history as the first and only record to be America's top-selling album two years running (1983 and 1984).

Thriller has been certified 27x platinum by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond Award status in the US. In addition, the album has achieved Diamond or Multi-Platinum status in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Thriller was named the Best Selling Album of All Time by the Guinness Book of Records in 1985.

In February 1984, Michael Jackson held a record-breaking 12 Grammy nominations, going on to win eight, which stands as the record for most Grammy Awards to be won by anyone in a single year. Seven of Michael's Grammys that year were for Thriller: Album of the Year; Record of the Year ("Beat It"); Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ("Thriller"); Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical (Thriller); Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Beat It"); Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("Billie Jean"); Best R&B Song ("Billie Jean"). (Michael's eighth Grammy that year was in the Best Recording For Children - Single or Album, Musical or Spoken category for "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"). That same year, Michael Jackson took home eight American Music Awards and three MTV Video Music Awards. The following year, "The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller" took home the Best Video Album trophy at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards.

Named the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by the Guinness World Records, Michael Jackson is among the most highly acclaimed and influential artists in pop culture. He was named the World Music Award's Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award. He has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice: in 1997 as a member of the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist in 2001.

* * * * *
THRILLER - 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Thriller - original track listing - US Billboard Chart Peaks
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" - (#5 Hot 100, #5 R&B)
"Baby Be Mine"
"The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) - (#2 Hot 100, #1 R&B, #1 Adult Contemporary)
Thriller" - (#4 Hot 10, #3 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks)
"Beat It" - (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B)
"Billie Jean" - (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B, #9 A/C)
"Human Nature" - (#7 Hot 100, #2 Adult Contemporary)
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" - (#10 Hot 100)
"The Lady in My Life"

Bonus Material:
10. Someone In the Dark ^
11. Billie Jean (Michael Jackson's original demo recording) ^
12. Carousel ^

Previously Unreleased Tracks For 25th Anniversary Edition
13. The Girl Is Mine 2008 with will.i.am*
14. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008 with Michael Jackson and will.i.am*
15. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008 with Michael Jackson, Akon and will.i.am*
16. Billie Jean 2008 with Kanye West*
17. For All Time (unreleased track from original Thriller sessions)*

From 2001 Thriller Special Edition
*-previously unreleased

Bonus DVD
The Videos
1. Thriller
2. Beat It
3. Billie Jean

4. Billie Jean performance from Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever

25th Anniversary Executive Producer: Michael Jackson
Original Album Produced by Quincy Jones for [Quincy Jones Productions logo]

* * * * *


BULLSHIT! they could've made this thing sooooo much better

Boring! There are three too many will.i.am tracks on there.

More unreleased recordings from "Thriller" would've been better.

bboy87 said:

Well I certainly wont be spending a dime on this bulls**t. I thought there was going to be more unreleased songs/videos? And Michael is the executive producer on this album? That makes it even worse to me because it seems like all he and Sony are trying to do is rip the fans off with this. Not cool at all.

C'mon, let the Jackson 5 reunion be true!

RipHer2Shreds said:

i actually like will.i.am but i agree there should be more just plain Jacko instead of these collabos but i guess they wanted the new vesrions to sound more current. i may buy this anyway.

So all the studio time spent with Will.i.am and Akon has been for this? I KNEW IT...no new album.

Why does MJ only want to live in the past? It's sad. Not to mention - what is this, like the FIFTH way to buy Thriller repackaged essentially? That's all anyone buys Number Ones, The Essential MJ, The Ultimate Collection, History Vol. 1 for anyway - Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller.

badujunkie said:

no that is probably just other work outside of the album too.

I am upset by this too

I thought Nightline and Hot Sreet would have been on it too...Never Felt So Good For ALl TIme wasnt that on Ultimate? Coule be a re-made version though with lyrics. I will buy it just cause there might be some new pics, other than that I already have those videos on DVD EVen a full motion version of Human Nature from the Moonwalk movie would have been cool.

Mike shouldve asked the fans what WE wanted especially after rereleasing this for the 2nd time

paisleypark4 said:

PP4 I should whup yo ass for being sooo right!

badujunkie said:

Not to mention the Special Edition of Thriller that was released in 2001, which is almost IDENTICAL to this tracklist. What a total rip off.

Cinnamon234 said:

Totally. I'm disappointed... for real.

Cinnamon234 said:

Let's think back shall we?
Thriller on CD
Thriller EP on Souveinir Series
Thriller Millineum Edition
Thriller SACD
Thriller DVD Audio
Thriller/Off The Wall combo
Thriller Gold Edition
Ultimate Collection Disc 2

and now this: Thriller 25

bboy87 said:

Wow, "Thriller" has been re-released more times than Marvin's albums!

bboy87 said:

Timmy84 said:

Marvin's albums ain't been released ENOUGH!

I know it's in celebration and all. But I look to this as a ploy to get more money for michael and Epic. How many time is this going to get re-released? I suppose being the top album of all time does warrant something. At least he's not re-releaseing it ala 1999:the new master. Of course as I write this...

13. The Girl Is Mine 2008 with will.i.am*
14. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008 with Michael Jackson and will.i.am*
15. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008 with Michael Jackson, Akon and will.i.am*
16. Billie Jean 2008 with Kanye West*
17. For All Time (unreleased track from original Thriller sessions)*

WTF??? I am not a great fan, but even I can think of other things to put on it, like the PYT demo, which you have to have the box set in order to hear it. Or maybe more unrelesed tracks (probably saving those for the 30th anniversary). I'm willing to bet that these extra music tracks will be on the same disk and not separate in any way, which I hate. I am ok with maybe a few tacked on the end for re-releases, but there is almost another discs worth of material.

bboy87 said:

I'm saying!

badujunkie said:

Well blame MJ for that. He insists on putting these GH packages out there as opposed to new material (probably because there isn't any). IMO the ultimate collection is mostly for the fans....though not sure why Scream was left off, making it a nearly perfect package.

IMO MJ is dried up creatively. It happens...I just don't think anyone (including MJ himself) wants to admit it. I also wonder now if really it was more of the producers than MJ on his albums. The reason I say this is becaus for the last 3 years he is "supposed to be" working on new material i.e.Katrina Single, but NOTHING has come to fruitation.

bboy87 said:

Hmmm...I wonder why it is the top selling album of all time.

superspaceboy said:

When the album was initially released, it was said people had to keep on buying more albums because their albums got scratched up, some others bought it just for their friends, parents, children, relatives, siblings, etc., etc., etc. and people bought it on the strength of Michael's then hot records and performances. But yeah the re-releases are a big part of why Michael's album sells like it does.

superspaceboy said:

THERE WERE A LOT OF SONGS LEFT OFF THE "Ultimate Collection" that I wish WAS included! Why Disc 2 had just eleven tracks on it defies logic. You gonna have an "Ultimate Collection" and leave off "Human Nature" and the other unreleased material from the album? I still ain't got that. Disc one whoops the competition for the basis of the long version of "You Can't Win" ALONE!

Michael has become his own MOTOWN compilation

paisleypark4 said:

and I don't even think HE knows it.

#1's
Greatest Hits, HISTORY - Volume 1
Off the Wall - Special Edition
Thriller - Special Edition
Bad - Special Edition
Dangerous - Special Edition
The Ultimate Collection
The Essential Michael Jackson
Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition (it's not even a LEGACY edition!)

Only thing NOT re-released is his frigging Motown albums!!!!!

Timmy84 said:

I wasn't too sure about which songs didn't make it. Please enlightlen me on that. I know Leave Me Alone and Another Part of Me (ee hee) were interestingly left off esp Leave me alone which was a bonus track on Bad. The release does seem very uneven. One whole disk dedicated to Thriller era where the others had to share room with each other. I was nice to see the Capt Eo song as well as State of Shock.

superspaceboy said:

Disc 2:
Human Nature
The hit version of Pretty Young Thing
Trouble
Hot Street
Carousel
Love Never Felt So Good
The demo versions of Billie Jean (long version), Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and The Girl is Mine

This would've fit disc 2 perfectly.

I'm just hoping that this is simply a promotional launch-pad to remind people what Michael is capable of before bringing an entirely new album out some months later.








I'm hoping...

While you guys are all stuck on the CD's tracklist, let me point out that the DVD is probably the least essential part of this edition!

Let us review:

bboy87 said:

So..... no "The Making Of Thriller" on DVD?

I'm ashamed being a Michael Jackson fan.

This is the most commercial shit I've ever seen or heard of.

Who needs this cd/dvd???

Put out a Triump- or Victory-Tour-concert as a Bonus-DVD - then I would buy it. But there is absolutely nothing new.

And who needs freakin' Akon-WBSS-versions or remixes of classics, that stand on their own???

Invincible1958 said:

I know. It is disappointing. I have a feeling that this CD was compiled with the hope of appealing to people of my generation - those under 20 - hence, the Akon, william, West collaborations.

I will still buy it since I do not have any of the music videos on the DVD (unlike others who have posted in this thread), but I am disappointed.
[Edited 11/29/07 16:34pm]
[Edited 11/29/07 16:34pm]