The Michael Jackson Album You Must Own
Off the Wall by Michael Jackson
By 1978, Michael Jackson was hungry. He'd already spent almost a decade as the lead singer of the Jacksons. After beginning their career as the Jackson 5 with Motown Records, Michael essentially became the first black teen idol. A split from Motown in the middle of the decade necessitated a name change to the Jacksons, and after two moderately successful albums, the brothers finally gained some semblance of creative control, began writing and producing their own music, and managed to reignite the flame in their dormant career. As Michael reached the age of majority, he began to think about making a name for himself — not as 1/5th of the Jacksons, but as Michael Jackson. Period.
Off The Wall certainly did the trick. Released a week before Michael's 21st birthday, this album sounds like the joyful noise of a man who has just found out what he's capable of. With an able assist from producer Quincy Jones, this album synthesizes funk, disco, pop and soul to create an unforgettable meld that still sounds fresh nearly thirty years later. Off The Wall not only established Michael as a legitimate adult superstar, it broke records! At the time, it was the most successful album by a Black act ever — until MJ broke that record himself. It was the first album by a solo artist to spawn 4 Top Ten singles (another record Michael broke), and it set the template for teen stars to successfully mature.
Amid the spectacle that is Michael Jackson nowadays, one of the things everyone forgets is that the man can sing his ass off. Listen to Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough. The man sings the ENTIRE song in an impossibly high falsetto. Know why there's never been a cover version of this song? Because there's not one singer in the world that could vocally do this song justice. From a musical standpoint, it's the busiest yet simplest arrangement ever. Strings and horns are everywhere, but what you really focus on is the song's insistent bassline — one of many provided by Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson. The song itself screams of buildup and release.
One other thing about OTW is that this is an ESSENTIAL party album. The title track may have that corny witch's cackle at the beginning, but there's nothing funny about Michael's insisting that you shed your inhibitions and just live life. Hearing a song like this, you wish that MJ had stopped for a second and took his own advice. Working Day & Night is the point where Mike's woman-hating first peeks it's little head out-but unlike songs like Billie Jean and Dirty Diana, he sounds almost playful here. Over an impossibly funky arrangement, Mike sounds alternately ticked off and attitudinal. "How can you live girl?", he sings, taking his voice so high it almost sounds like a J5 sample on top of an adult MJ record, then concludes the line with an obnoxious "You must be seein' some other guy instead of me". This song (one of two solely penned by Michael) is irresistibly danceable, although the break in this song may have you moving so fast you might break a hip. Get On The Floor features Mike's loosest vocal, culminating in his actually breaking out into laughter as he turns into the final chorus. If you enjoyed J. Timberlake's Rock Your Body and wanna know where that song originated, check out this track — Justin & The Neptunes emulated almost every grunt, beat and bassline from this track, all the way down to them both singing "dance with me" at the end of the first line of the chorus.
While OTW is more memorable as a groove album than anything else, it's highlights move far beyond the dance tracks. Girlfriend is an unbelievably peppy, poppy Paul McCartney track, but Mike's reading is so gleeful and innocent, you fall for it even despite it's corniness. The dramatic She's Out Of My Life has provoked snickers ever since Eddie Murphy delightfully skewered it in a comedy routine, but it's a simple, pretty love song — definitely in line with what was going on at Top 40 radio in the late Seventies/early Eighties. What saves the tune from dissolving into treacle is Michael's searing vocal performance. He completely nails the absolute despondency of the track, although, yeah I could do without the crocodile tears at the end.
Rock With You, the album's biggest hit, is a summery singalong classic. Over a walking bass and shimmering keyboards, along with a groove that straddles the line between danceable and slow, Michael turns the vocals into a massage, using the right inflections on the right words at the right time. "Girl, when you daance...there's a magic, that must be love!". It also features evidence of Michael being one of the best melodic singers of his era, as the multi-tracked gang of Michaels on this song harmonize beautifully. As if all this classic material wasn't enough, there's also I Can't Help It, a Stevie Wonder-composed ballad that flutters lightly over a wash of ethereal keyboards and a spacey bass line. Many consider it to be MJ's single greatest vocal performance, and I'd be hard pressed to find one better — except for maybe Billie Jean. This is the perfect blue light slow dance classic.
There are a couple tracks here — exactly two — that aren't exactly stellar. Better than average-they're just a slight letdown after the genius that is the rest of the album. It's the Falling In Love is a back-and-forth duet with Patti Austin that just sort of floats around for a while. The two vocalists have a decent enough chemistry as they portray a couple who are sort of on the outs, but the sparks don't really fly until Patti makes her graceful exit about 2/3 in and Mike takes over the ad-libbing for himself. Burn This Disco Out is just a case of Mike going to the well one too many times. However, Michael tempers his outbursts with a call-and-response type thing between his soulful normal range and a funky-sounding lower register.
The special expanded edition of this album doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of bonuses. It's kinda fun to hear Michael, Janet and brother Randy screaming at each other while recording the demos for Don't Stop & Working Day & Night, and it's kinda cool to look through the new booklet at photos of Mike when he was a young, handsome Black man. However, the interviews (with producer Quincy Jones and songwriter Rod Temperton) are tear-inducingly boring, and unlike many special edition discs, there really doesn't seem to be a personal touch to the proceedings — although we all know that the Michael Jackson who recorded OTW departed Earth years ago. Although Thriller may win the popular vote by virtue of sales, OTW is the Michael Jackson album you MUST own.
