When I tell people that I gave Michael Jackson's Thriller three stars when it was originally released in December 1982, they tend to be amused — the implication being that I really blew that call. I let them have their laugh, but I've never backed down from my rating. Fact is, just because Thriller is widely considered to be the biggest-selling album in the history of the world does not make it a masterpiece.
A deluxe reissue of Thriller commemorating its 25th anniversary — expanded to include newly released remixes and a DVD of select videos —
provides me the opportunity to revisit my first assessment. Did I blow it? Given the chance, will I revise my star rating?
Thriller's songs — every one save "The Lady in My Life" and "Baby Be Mine" was a Top 10 hit — along with their videos, have become so embedded in the collective psyche that it's simply understood that they're great. Well, I listened to the nine tunes several times over, and here's what I concluded (this time):
Thriller is not a masterpiece, certainly not measured against landmarks of black music like Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, Stevie Wonder's Innervisions and Prince's Purple Rain, to cite a few. Thriller breaks no bold stylistic ground. Most of the songs — "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "Human Nature," "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," "The Lady in My Life" and "Baby Be Mine" — are pretty much boilerplate pop-R&B common to the early '80s. They have little to say on the lyrics front. These tunes were immaculately produced by Quincy Jones, who managed to stack layer upon layer of tracks while retaining the detail and clarity of each. No small feat. They are given a youthful verve by Jackson's thin, androgynous voice.
Fun songs, yes, but not much else.
So what's left? The title tune is, to these ears, an annoying novelty number. Without the accompanying short film (remember when the world stopped so TV could air the premiere?) I think "Thriller" would be widely dismissed as a trifle. "The Girl is Mine," a duet with Paul McCartney, oozes cuteness (and is actually more likeable than I remember it), but it is what it is: a pop ditty.
Which leaves us Thriller's two best tracks. "Beat It," built around a rock guitar riff, was arguably innovative for its time. (I still get a, um, thrill out of Eddie Van Halen's blazing solo.) You could also argue that its message to walk away from fights (underscored in the West Side Story-style video) could've resonated in an environment where gang violence was on the upswing.
And that takes us to the masterpiece within. "Billie Jean" captivates from its opening four-square drum beat. The song has a real narrative tension: A young man vehemently denies fathering a child. "Billie Jean" is not deep or perceptive, but it does deal with real-life problems. The song is more effective for its emotional tenor. That drumbeat becomes ominous as it relentlessly chugs along. Jackson's vocal hiccups, which would soon become an overdone conceit, add a sense of desperation. Jones builds the arrangement to a measured crescendo, the masterstroke being the descending string riff that doesn't appear until the second chorus, right after "the kid is not my son." The song is a piece of perfection, or close to it.
As far as extras, the DVD includes the iconic videos for "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Thriller," as well as Jackson's galvanizing performance of "Billie Jean" on the 1983 TV special Motown 25, where he unveiled the moonwalk and blew minds the world over. The clips serve as poignant reminders of just how charismatic and likeable Michael Jackson was before he went around the bend. The remixes — featuring the likes of will.i.am, Fergie and Kanye West — are largely disposable.
So … given the opportunity, will I revise my star rating of Thriller? Yes. I'll bump it to 3.5 stars.
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2008.