Review 9/02/10

Today I’m writing my first album review, and I figured I might as well start with something familiar and famous. Undoubtedly you have heard of this album. The biggest selling album of all time with an estimated 100 million copies sold worldwide, winner of a record-breaking eight Grammy awards, and spawning seven Billboard Top 10 singles, it’s arguably Michael Jackson’s greatest legacy, Thriller.

What I Know

What I know about this album is, besides all of the amazing achievements already listed, is that when this album came out, Michael Jackson was the shit. Also, it’s been listed consistently in ‘Greatest Albums of All Time’ lists, and spawned arguably the best music video ever for the title track.

Cover Impressions



As covers go, this one is pretty straightforward. Black background, handwritten title, and the King of Pop reclining. It’s not offensive to the eye, and the white suit does create a pleasing contrast with the background. I have mixed feelings about Michael’s facial expression.





The Listen
Album Specs:
Length: 42 minutes
Number of songs: 9

Track One: Wanna Be Startin’ Something (6:04)

Starts off with an extremely catchy little drum & bass riff, then brings in some guitar and a horn section. Michael’s voice is impressive, but unfortunately I can’t understand any of the verse lyrics. Goddamn that bass lick is awesome. My only complaint so far is that there is an irritating shaker part in the right channel.
About 2:00 in we get a cool vocal part with some layered vocals. 3:20 we get it again. 3:36 we get an awesome harmonized guitar breakdown. Then it’s back to the same chorus. This song is 6 minutes long? Christ. Not really going anywhere. 5:09 we get a very catchy vocal part with the instrumentation reduced to clapping and sporadic horns. Drums back in at 5:38 and...fade it out. End of track. Not bad to start off.

Track Two: Baby Be Mine (4:21)

Once again, a very funky bass riff and drums. This time we get a funky-as-hell clavicorn riff in the background. Nice. Whoa, I can understand the vocal part. Chorus is pretty cool with some synth noodling in the background. This song is 80’s as hell. Doesn’t really do much for another couple of minutes. 2:53, that was kind of a flubbed note. The rest of the vocal is pretty impressive, however. Chorus from 3:20 until fade out. Pretty funky, but safe in my opinion. Next.

Track Three: The Girl Is Mine (3:42)

The shortest track. Starts off slower. Very stereotypical ballad typical of this period. Descending bells? Are you kidding me? Smarmy, warm vocal from Michael. And...what? Is this a duet? Apparently it is, with none other than Paul McCartney! Nice! His vocal part is pretty good, and meshes surprisingly well with MJ’s. On a side note, can you imagine being fought over between MJ and Paul McCartney like in this song? If you were a girl in the 80’s, you’d probably piss yourself. Fucking hilarious spoken part between Paul and MJ about 3 minutes in. Chorus to fade-out. Mostly good for laughs.

Track Four: Thriller (5:58)

The title track and one of the album’s most enduring hits. Starts off with an eerie door and wolf sound, then kicks in the synth and drums. 0:37...DUN DUN! DUN DUN DUN! Funky-as-shit bass line again. MJ seems to have a knack for those. 1:00, Michael comes in with his trademark vocal hiccups. Surprisingly awesome horror-themed lyrics. 1:30, we get a very good chorus. That guitar hook is latching itself into my inner ear. Brass section is pretty cool. Goddamn that drum part is tight. 3:20ish, some cool synth parts in the background. Another chorus. 4:15, awesome breakdown. 4:23, we get a BADASS spoken part from actor Vincent Price. Most undeniably creepy pop song of all time? Maybe. 5:14, Vince comes back in. Man, his voice gives me the willies. 5:44, creepy laughter fades out the track. Phew.

Track Five: Beat It (4:17)

We begin with some synth nonsense and a catchy drum beat. 0:23, segue into that awesome guitar riff. MJ’s range on this song is pretty impressive. Bet you never thought Michael Jackson could be a hard rocker, huh? Well, sort of. Good chorus. 2:22, move into a sweet breakdown with cool synth impacts. 2:49, seriously shreddin’ solo by Eddie Van Halen. He wraps up about 3:17, and it’s back into the chorus again. And...fade it out. End of track.



Track Six: Billie Jean (4:54)

Once again we start with a tight drum part and a funky bassline. And once again an irritating shaker part. 0:30, in comes Michael. His range is good, but too breathy in my opinion. I like the fairly minimal instrumentation. 1:27, very catchy chorus. 1:48, some hilarious vocal hiccups. The second verse has some nice, contemplative violins. It’s the chorus again, this time with more reverb on the snare drum. Sounds very good. 3:30, nice guitar breakdown. Fun fact: this is the part where you do the moonwalk, for those following along at home. Then it’s back to the chorus again. Doesn’t go anywhere with it for a few seconds, and then it’s fade out time.


Track Seven: Human Nature (4:06)

Oh boy, another quintessentially 80’s ballad. More shaker! Ugh! And there’s no funky bassline to distract from it. Michael sounds very, very cheesy with his soft vocal. Now we get a few distant pings of tribal percussion during the chorus. 1:32, this song is starting to bore. 1:59, brass-like synth part. 2:06ish, some cool strings. Then back to the verse. Still boring. Chorus goes absolutely nowhere for nearly two minutes, and then a little bridge. Then, fade out.

Track Eight: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (3:59)

Starts with some funky guitar and creepy voiceover. 0:18ish, kick in that requisite fat bass lick! 0:46, nice chorus with some sweet synth leads. Rock that pitch bend. I admit, that bass took me by complete surprise. Definitely growing on me. This track has kind of a post-disco feel to it. 2:13 we get a cool talkbox breakdown. 2:28, hilariously bad call-and-response vocal with some funky slap-bass. Then it’s back to that chorus with the synthesizer noodling. About 3:10, we get this weird chipmunk voice coming in to help sing the last chorus. Then some kissing sounds. Then fade-out. Thank god, that was starting to get uncomfortable.

Track Nine: The Lady in my Life (5:03)

Last track, here we go. Starts off non-committal...oh shit. It’s another ballad. Minimal percussion, with some cheesy electric piano. Goes nowhere for a while besides adding some brass and drums. I won’t lie, I’m disappointed that this is the closing song of the album. Some more sweeping synths in the second verse, and then back to that chorus. Michael starts yelling about 3:15 in. Dear god, this is going to continue for a few minutes, isn’t it. Yep, the beat doesn’t go much of anywhere for two solid minutes. Michael hits a high note about 4:05 in, but at this point I’m too bored to be impressed. Some funky bass slapping, and then it’s fade out. End of track, end of album.

Overall Impressions

I have to say I am impressed with the songwriting on the majority of this album. Overall, however, the album is hurt by the fact that the closing track is another ballad. In my opinion, one of the up-tempo songs on the album should have closed it. However, overall it’s exactly what a pop album should be, and that’s catchy as hell. I enjoyed this album, particularly some of the middle parts. I recommend it.

If you want to leave a suggestion for one of my upcoming reviews, feel free to comment.

The Obligatory First Post

Well, internet, this is my latest web log project, and this is going to be a good one. For two reasons; one, I now actually have time where I can update this sucker, and two, the subject matter is focused enough to interest me.
And what is the subject matter? Well, reader, I love music more than life, and music is the subject matter of this particular web log. Specifically, one of the most important aspects of music, the album. In what I like to call the Download Age, many people have lost sight of how significant the idea of an album is. A great album has to be more than just a collection of songs. It has to be cohesive, well-polished, and most importantly, entertaining. A great album, in my opinion, flows together like one continuous piece (some, in fact, literally do), and yet the songs on it are distinctive enough from each other to be memorable. This rare nirvana has been achieved by few albums.
On this very web log, every day or so I will select one album to listen to in its entirety. During the album, live, I will be jotting down my thoughts on the songs and, after, the record as a whole. I have a feeling this will be a lot of fun for me, and hopefully you will gain some musical understanding, or a least a few chuckles along the way.
I probably shouldn't encourage illegal downloading of music on this site, but I'll just say, if you want to obtain the songs mentioned and follow along or (gasp) listen to and appreciate them, go ahead. If this site has a purpose (other than temporarily relieving my boredom), we can say that it is to get you to listen to some decent music.
Anyway, I feel I should lay down some rules before I begin. Each review needs to be consistent. I'll start with some background on the album, my personal knowledge of it, and impressions of the cover art (hey- say what you will, but you're lying if you say the cover art isn't important). The rules for listening are:
1. I must listen to the entire album. No pausing, rewinding, or skipping allowed. Period.
2. I can do nothing else but type and eat while listening to the album.
3. I'm allowed one Rush album for every two crappy albums.
This will produce a stream-of-consciousness review and/or rant about the album. That's it.
So, the first one will probably be going up later today. Feel free to give it a read. If you want, tell your friends.
This is going to be fun.