Thriller 1982 Album

Michael Jackson

MJ's other albums do some of what this does better. The ballads are better on 'Off the Wall'. Songs like 'Rock With You' and 'It's the Falling in Love' are better than 'The Lady in My Life'. The duet 'Just Good Friends' from 'Bad' is stronger than 'The Girl Is Mine'. 'Dangerous' has more tracks that I love and the aforementioned 'Off the Wall' is a more consistently great album, and arguably Michael's most well rounded from his discography. But this is Thriller! The opener is brilliant and feels like it would have almost fitted in place of 'Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough'. 'Beat It' and 'Billie Jean' are worldwide hits that go hard no matter how many times they're heard. 'Thriller' has had a massive pop-culture impact, partly due to its video, but as a song, I don't rate it near MJ's best and it is overrated. I do find that to be the case with some of MJ's most popular singles though. 'Bad', 'Black or White', 'The Way You Make Me Feel' and 'Scream' being others. 'Human Nature' and 'P.Y.T.' on the other hand, are extremely underrated. The vocal harmony just after the 2-minute mark and near the conclusion on 'Human Nature' are enough to make it a favourite and 'P.Y.T.' is fire all the way through, but its strength is its contagious chorus. I like the other weaker songs that I mentioned earlier, like 'Baby Be Mine', but it feels like it's about to kick into the 'P.Y.T.' chorus at times with its similar progression and doesn't quite elevate itself to the level of the other songs. 'The Girl Is Mine' is the most disliked song by the populous but the only part I really don't like is the talking at the end. And as mentioned, the closer doesn't live up to many of MJ's other ballads but is still an excellent tune. Side B is no doubt stronger here. It's not perfect, and again, as mentioned, MJ did some things better on other albums but the best are extraordinary songs and there are enough of them to five star this. Beats: ★★★★☆ Vocals: ★★★★★ Hooks: ★★★★★ Best Tracks: Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Billie Jean, Beat It, P.Y.T., Human Nature