Michael Jackson's sixth studio album “Thriller”

 

Introduction:

Michael Jackson's sixth studio album, Thriller, was published on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records. It is his sixth studio album. Quincy Jones, who had previously collaborated with Jackson on his 1979 record Off the Wall, produced the album. Jackson desired an album in which "every song was a killer." With the increasing disco backlash at the time, he took a new musical path, resulting in a combination of pop, post-disco, rock, funk, and R&B elements. Thriller foreshadowed Jackson's personal life's discordant elements, as he began to use a paranoia and darker themes motif.

Thriller, the mere mention of the album conjures up a slew of famous visuals and world-record-breaking figures. It is, without a doubt, the best-selling record of all time, was number one for a record-breaking thirty-seven weeks (including a 13 consecutive week run.). For back-to-back years in 1983 and 1984, it was the best-selling record of the year, also it was the first album to chart seven singles in the top ten. It also helped Michael Jackson establish a record for the most Grammys won in a single night with eight. Its videos changed what promo clips might be and shattered MTV's racial barriers at the time. It dredges up visions of moonwalks, illuminated sidewalks, zipper jackets, dancing zombies, sparkling socks, sequined single gloves, and moonwalks.

Thriller served as a model for subsequent albums; outsold the other Top 10 albums combined. It "saved the record business," as Quincy Jones famously stated. It propelled a pop music superstar into the stratosphere of fame. Paul McCartney becomes the first performer to be acknowledged as a featured artist on one of Jackson's albums, with the album featuring a single guest appearance. The album was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, from April to November 1982, with a $750,000 production budget.

 

Musician Background:

Michael Jackson, also known as Michael Joseph Jackson or Michael Joe Jackson (see Researcher's Note), was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer who was the most popular entertainer in the world in the early and mid-1980s. He was born August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, and died June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles, California. Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, into one of the most renowned musical families of the rock period. He was the youngest and most brilliant of five siblings that his father, Joseph, molded into the dazzling Jackson 5 group of child stars.

In the 1970s, Jackson recorded numerous solo albums, but Off the Wall was his big break in 1979. With "She's Out of My Life" and "Rock with You," he became the first solo artist to have four Top 10 songs from a single album. Thriller (1983), his following album, became the best-selling record of all time, selling 45 million copies worldwide. He had seven Top 10 songs this time, and the album was nominated for eight Grammys. Despite the fact that his second album, Bad (1987), only sold approximately half as many copies as Thriller, it was still a huge hit. In 1991, Jackson secured a record deal with Sony for an astronomical $65 million. Dangerous was his first album, which he released in the same year.

By 1984, Michael Jackson had established himself as the "King of Pop" across the world. One of the most popular concert events of 1984 was his much-anticipated Victory reunion tour with his brothers. "We Are the World," a hallmark record for USA for Africa, an all-star collaboration focused at hunger relief, was written by Jackson and Lionel Richie in 1985. Jackson's domination of pop music was cemented by two more solo albums, Bad (1987), which generated five chart-topping songs (including the title song and "Man in the Mirror"), and Dangerous (1991), much of which was produced by New Jack Swing phenomenon Teddy Riley. The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and he was inducted in 2001.

 

About the Album:

The recording began at noon on April 14, 1982, with Jackson and Paul McCartney recording "The Girl Is Mine," and was concluded on November 8, 1982, on the last day of mixing. Several Toto members were engaged in the recording and production of the album. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "The Girl Is Mine," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean" are among the four tracks Jackson penned for the album. Jackson, unlike many other musicians, did not create these songs on paper. Instead, he spoke into a tape recorder, singing from memory while recording.

 A very interesting fact is that during the recording, Jackson and Jones' relationship got tense. Jackson spent a lot of time alone practising dancing moves. When the album was finished, both Jones and Jackson were dissatisfied with the results and spent a week remixing each song.

 "Billie Jean" was extremely personal to Jackson, who was plagued by adoring admirers. Jones wanted to cut the lengthy beginning, but Jackson insisted on keeping it since it made him want to dance. Due to the increasing disco backlash, it was imperative to depart from the disco heavy Off the Wall in terms of musical direction. Jones and Jackson were keen to write a rock song that would appeal to a wide range of interests, and they spent weeks seeking for the right guitarist for "Beat It." They eventually got Toto's Steve Lukather to play the rhythm guitar sections and Van Halen's Eddie Van Halen to play the solo. 

Post-disco, funk, pop, and rock are among the genres explored in Thriller. It improved Off the Wall's strengths, according to Steve Huey of AllMusic; the dance and rock tracks are more forceful, while the pop numbers and ballads are softer and more heartfelt. "Human Nature," "The Girl Is Mine," and "The Lady in My Life" are among the album's ballads. "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something" are funk songs, while "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" are disco tunes.

The song's cosmopolitan character is enhanced with an African-inspired chant (sometimes misunderstood as Swahili but rather syllables based on Duala). "The Girl Is Mine" is a rap that portrays the story of two buddies fighting over a woman, disputing about who loves her more. The tracks on the album range in pace from 80 BPM on "The Girl is Mine" to 138 BPM on "Beat It."

Thriller foreshadows Jackson's subsequent works' discordant themes. Jackson began adopting a paranoid and darker theme with Thriller, including otherworldly images in the title tune. The songs "Billie Jean," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," and "Thriller" demonstrate this. Jackson sings about an obsessive admirer who claims he fathered her kid in "Billie Jean," and protests against media rumour in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Jones used a six-foot (180 cm) cardboard tube to record overdubs for "Billie Jean," while jazz saxophonist Tom Scott used the lyricon, a wind-controlled synthesiser. On a Yamaha bass guitar, bassist Louis Johnson played his part. The song begins with a lengthy bass and percussion intro. Astounding sound effects in "Thriller" include creaking doors, thunder, footsteps, wind, and howling dogs.

Talking about technicalities, Thriller is a mix that is sophisticated, deep, bright, broad, and most importantly, spectacular. The brightness of the brass and sharpness of the hi-hat are so nicely matched with the weight of the synthesisers, organ, and bass's mid-range that they don't seem harsh or sharp at all. The lack of limiting and compression is likely a factor in keeping the high-frequency tonal balance pristine rather than rough.

In the song, the guitar lead is blended very low in both the left and right channels. They perform countermelodies with slightly different tones than each other, rather than playing the same tune in unison. The varied melodies and rhythms give the music a more expansive sense. They improve the groove and mood of the tune without interfering with the primary melody as a subtle part of the mix.

The bass is the track's most prominent element, spanning a wide spectrum of frequencies. The synthesizers, guitars, brass, and BV's dominate the sides of the mix, while the mid-channel is filled with a lush sound. The click of the kick is particularly evident at the highest frequencies of the bass, giving the impression that the kick and bass are glued together from their lowest to highest ranges.

The creepy lead synth can only be heard in the right channel, while the rest of the instruments are balanced on both sides of the mix. This helps it stand out in the mix while not interfering with the voice or poetry reading at the end of the piece.

The original CD for Thriller has a loudness of -13.9LUFS integrated, according to mixing software and other analysis tools. Of course, they weren't thinking about future-proofing their music for streaming services when they debuted the song in the 1980s; they were just aiming for the finest sound possible. Take note of how the short-term loudness never exceeds -10.9LUFS and the dynamic range never drops below 9.1DR. This demonstrates an excellent amount of signal management without over compressing the audio. Without the need to compress transients, the listening experience is steady and balanced.

 

Final Impression/Comments:

This album is loved all around the globe and made a huge amount for the Pop-king and his band, people ranked the tracks of the album according to their own taste, dimension through which they are analyzing and ranking it and some other traits like background music, lyrics, video, dance, acting and theme, liveliness and emotion etc. “Lady in My Life” was ranked top among all the tracks due to its background music, “P.Y.T” was ranked after due to its liveliness and the way it pop-up the people and make them dance, similarly “The Girl is mine” is ranked the lowest due to its low cast and concept and as this is a duet and people love more of the songs of Michael that are solo. That’s how the audience loved and ranked the tracks of the album but overall this album was a huge hit and still after 40 years, they listen to it and rejoice the evergreen melody given by the Pop-king.