I've been a fan since early 1983, and until 2002 when the promotion of Invincible stopped. I wasn't too focused on Michael's past albums era until then, I was interested in Michael's career was it was there an then, when I became a fan obviously Thriller was my favorite album. Then was Bad was released that was my favorite album until 2002 (and always has been my favorite era since it started in 1987). When Dangerous was released I was mostly focused on that album and era until HIStory was released etc. Invincible I never real got in to because it was an era that ended almost as soon as it started.
My Favorite Albums:
1. Off The Wall
I bought Off The Wall in between the releases of Thriller and Bad in the mid 1986. I have this album on Vinyl, Cassette, and 3 CD's (one of them a rare mini vinyl cover replica). I always loved Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, Workin' Day & Night, Get On The Floor, and Burn This Disco Out when I first bought the album. But I never really listened to the album or songs from Off The Wall very much. As I said I was alway focused mainly on Michael's very current music.
When the Off The Wall (Special Edition) was released in 2001, this brought the album back to my attention. It was the first time I'd really listend to it as an adult. And by now I had a more varied and sophisticated taste in music than I did as a child and teenager. I always loved the disco and new wave influenced era of around 1978-81, and even today I find that era fascinating as I feel it was the best era for music.
Anyway around 2002 I noticed I was listening to the Off The Wall album a lot more than Bad which was always my favorite Michael Jackson album. Songs I felt were good but not brilliant like Off The Wall and Rock With You, which I always knew were classics just sounding amazing, and I got the grooves of those songs I hadn't as a teenager. Girlfriend was still a song I skipped, It's The Falling In Love still sounded ok but nothing special. She's Out Of My Life sounded beautiful in a way it never used to sound to me, and I Can't Help It was both beautiful and surreal. As a kid I always wondered why Michael had those ballards on the album. I just wanted uptempo dance songs. As an adult I got what Michael was saying about Off The Wall telling a story, ie meeting a girl, having a romance, breaking up as in the song She's Out Of My Life etc.
I love the cohesivness of Off The Wall in the way the songs are kind of linked together to tell a story. Manly I love the free spirit of The Off The Wall album. You can hear the how free and unhibited Michael is singing the 3 songs he wrote for the album. This is a Michael Jackson without the pressure to selling huge amounts of album, or media intrustion. I love the fact this album is a 1970's album, because I feel that was the best decade for albums (Michael was one of the few people in my opinion to release all time great albums in the 1980's), and the quality of the album says a lot about that. Sadly songs like Don't Stop Till You Get Enough are over looked, just look at the songs fans voted for, for Michael to perform on his This Is It concerts, they were all from Thriller onwards. Michael was said to have been a bit disappointed nothing was selected from Off The Wall. I would loved to have seen Michael perform Don't Stop Till You Get Enough .
I don't know if I will have a different opinion of what my favorite Michael Jackson album is years to come, as I never expected to move Bad from my No.1 to No.2 after 15yrs of being my favorite, but for now it's still Off The Wall for it's free sprite and funkiness.
2. Bad
I loved this album as soon as I bought it on vinyl on it's release in 1987. I love every song on this album, and for that reason I would say this is Michael's most perfect album. My favorite songs on the album are Smooth Criminal, Speed Demon, Bad, Another Part Of Me and Dirty Diana. I feel the Bad album has a feel adrelin and high voltage feel to it. Could an album that scored 5 Number 1's in the USA not be called anything other that at least as near to perfect an album can be. Thriller may have had Billie Jean the ultimate single, and Beat It as Number 1's which are more classic singles. But look at the songs Michael got to No.1 with Bad from, they are also pure classics and Michael came up with the goods when the media were expecting him to fail.
I love the fact Michael wrote and composed 8 of the 10 songs on Bad, which is also what makes the Bad album very special to me.
3. Thriller
Like Off The Wall, I didn't realise what an amazing album Thriller was until the Thriller (Special Edition) in 2001. I knew these were amazing albums, but I just didn't appreciate actually how amazing they were because I'd just taken them for granted having bought them as a kid. Especially Thriller which I bought just before Michael went in to orbit and became a legend with his Motown 25 performance. For many years I viewed Thriller as just a collection of songs, and nothing more than that. Listening to it as an adult I heard a magical feel from it, I never heard before.
The Thriller album is both simple and highly sophisticated at the same time. It contains different genres of music, which should have made the album sound patchy, but the way the album was put together and the way Michael composed a rock songs like Beat It, it makes you see that great music is great music regardless of genre, and that is what I think was one of Michael's messages on Thriller. I hate choosing one of Michael's over another, because I actually think Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad are all as brilliant as each other. But some albums suit were we are at as indivuals better than others.
I have found myself listening to Thriller a lot over the last two years. My favorite songs on Thriller are Wanna Be Startin Somethin', Billie Jean, Beat It and Human Nature. Lady In My Life is also a beautiful song, very magical.
The funny thing about Michael's albums like Thriller and Bad, is that I have never listened to them in a nostalgic way in remembering my childhood and being a teenager (I was 11 when Thriller was released, and 15 when Bad was released). This albums and all of Michael's albums are always the present for me.
My next post will be about the HIStory album, which is my 4th favorite. I will say, I feel HIStory had he potential to be Michael's greatest album artistically if he had written, composed and produced the album completely by himself. Just listen to They Don't Care About Us, Stranger In Moscow and D.S, ok they are angry songs but amazing songs.
