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Thriller – Michael Jackson’s Masterpiece, Better Than Ever!, March 18, 2008

The 25th Anniversary edition of Thriller is a must own CD. The presentation of the CD is great, with top-notch production evident throughout. The original tracks still sound amazing. And the new remixed song versions should introduce younger R&B fans to the man who started it all.

There are many reasons to buy this version of the album even if you already own it. This version includes remastered mixes that sound great. This album also came out at the height of vinyl and casettes, so a lot of people may not own the album on CD. Old school fans will be seduced by the awesome holographic CD dust jacket, sharper re-mastered original tracks and included bonus DVD videos.

Younger music fans who love will.i.am, Kanye West, Fergie and Akon will be attracted by the remade versions. Hard-core Michael Jackson fans might not like those new versions as much. Still, no matter how you slice it, this 25th Anniversary edition belongs in your collection.

It’s clear to anybody who follows R&B that so many artists over the past 10 years have made careers essentially emulating Michael’s singing style and dance moves. You can include on that list:
- Justin Timberlake – FutureSex / LoveSounds
- Chris Brown – Chris Brown
- Usher – My Way
- Omarion – O

THE TRACKS AND EXTRAS

It’s impossible not to hear the songs from this album from time to time, yet it had been a long time since I heard the original album in total, tracks 1-10 on this CD. When you listen to it again, it’s impossible not to realize how amazing of a production this truly was, and still is even 25 years later. Every single song is a number one hit, and Michael moves through genres including pop, rock and R&B with ease. See my awards summary at the bottom for more on this.

The remakes can’t possibly match Michael’s original accomplishment. Yet they are not as bad as many say. I actually like the Akon version of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin.” And Kanye West’s “Billie Jean” mix highlights his abilities as a producer.

The included DVD includes the short film music video versions of “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Thriller.” These videos are historic in their own right, each one a high budget production better than a lot of the movies made in 1982. There’s also a nice liner jacket with all the original lyrics and cool album art.

There’s also the Motown 25 performance of “Billie Jean.” For those that don’t remember this performance, it’s the one where Michael first does the moonwalk on stage. It takes quite a performer to pull off a rhinestone shirt, rhinestone socks, sparkly jacket, high-waters and one white glove!

It’s amazing to note that Michael Jackson actually wrote most of the biggest hits on this album, something today’s R&B artists rarely do. Most of the biggest hits from the album are his original works, including “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” “The Girl Is Mine,” “Beat It,” and “Billie Jean.” “Baby Be Mine,” “Thriller,” and “The Lady In My Life” were written and composed by Rod Temperton. “PYT” was the work of the legendary James Ingram and Quincy Jones. And Steve Porcato wrote both “Human Nature” (with John Bettis) and the newly released “For All Time” (with Michael Sherwood), number 16 on this edition.

I really liked this previously unreleased track, and it definitely has a sound akin to Human Nature. I can only speculate that that similarity is what kept it off of the original release.

AWARDS

It’s amazing to think this album won 8 Grammys,…

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