Share it plz, Im just getting into him now - yeah that's right.
Yeah I've been listening to it non-stop after it was posted here haha, what next fam.
Ay check it, on the internet there's this thing that happened since his death where Off The Wall is becoming the go to recommendation without much followup or aid beyond that, so let me give you the real
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Thriller is
Thriller. If you aren't already vaguely familiar with some of this album, you must be an alien. It's the megastar making, overplayed, pop culture smash. MJ and Quincy Jones strip back the R&B in an attempt to make a universal, wide reaching, record breaking phenomenon, and they succeed.
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Bad is the last of the MJ/Quincy Jones collaborations, and is maybe the one that dates itself the most due to the late 80s instrumentation and glossy songwriting, but is still great.
After that is where it gets more interesting
- The last 2 albums where MJ was still leading his brothers,
Destiny and
Triumph from '78, and '80, respectively, are fantastic and big parts of the Michael Jackson story that often get left out.
Destiny , specifically, is the first time they had total creative control, and is the missing link between teen star MJ of the mid 70s and the 80s megastar. Just raw Jacksons talent on these 2.
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Dangerous is the unrestrained, "I do what I want, yes every track is the extended remix, kiss my ass" Michael Jackson album. Half of it was created with Teddy Riley, so you get that dope New Jack Swing where MJ reaches back to his James Brown roots with hard percussion based funk-hip hop, and the other half is the pop cuts. That "Man In The Mirror" style gospel maximalism develops on here, as does MJ's more unique vocal techniques in general.
Dangerous is where the mystique starts fading for a lot of people, but it's my personal favorite, even if it could've used a harsher executive producer.
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HIStory is the dark, angry album. Goes hard on isolation, anger towards accusers, frustrations with the media, environmentalism, etc. It's an uneven project, but intensely personal. Plus there's a gotdamn Michael Jackson and Biggie collab on here.
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Blood On The Dance Floor is a remix album, but does have 5 new tracks at the start that are basically the last gasp of 90s MJ. Check em out if you want more uptempo
HIStory style tracks.
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Invincible is widely considered his worst major release, but if you've stuck around this long, you might as well check it out. While it does succumb to the late 90s/early 2000s Darkchild faux-pop Timbaland, herky jerky electronic sound, and 3 too many ballads on the second half, there are some hidden gems on here, and some of MJ's best pure R&B since the 70s.
- The ORIGINAL versions of the tracks on the deluxe version of the posthumous album,
Xscape, are worth checking out if only for a sampling of the heat a legend left in the vault over the years.
