{"id":41086,"date":"2008-08-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-08-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/thriller-2\/"},"modified":"2008-08-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-08-31T00:00:00","slug":"thriller-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/thriller-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Michael Jackson<\/st1:personname> is hurting for new material, all he needs to do is dust off the only two songs from Thriller <\/i>that didn\u2019t become singles the first time around, \u201cBaby Be Mine\u201d and \u201cThe Lady In My Life.\u201d He wouldn\u2019t even have to record them over again or anything.\u00a0 By today\u2019s standards, both songs would be right at home on any radio play list. One is up-tempo and the other is a ballad, so BAM — it\u2019s done. How great would it be to see both of these songs skyrocket to the top of the Billboard charts, twenty-five years after Thriller <\/i>was first released to become the biggest selling album in music history? A couple of spanking new videos for these classic tunes would be all Jackson<\/st1:personname> would need to restore his standing as the biggest star in the world.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

We all know that Jackson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/st1:personname> is capable of creating some of the most incredible music videos ever made, and most of them come from this album. The title track\u2019s clip is by far the most memorable, since it was the longest of any other music video at the time (clocking in at fifteen minutes). With its ghoulish theme and array of cutting-edge special effects, Jackson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/st1:personname>\u2019s imagination totally ran wild as he set out to capture his scariest nightmares on celluloid. Director John Landis helped Jackson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/st1:personname> realize his vision, one that would catch everyone off guard and turn MTV on its ear. The priceless spoken word cameo by master of horror, Vincent Price, certainly didn\u2019t hurt any.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In addition, videos for \u201cBeat It\u201d and \u201cBillie Jean\u201d helped both songs — and the album — to reach #1, where they seemed to take residence for what felt like an eternity.\u00a0 With \u201cBeat It,\u201d Jackson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/st1:personname> even got a certain amount of street cred by recruiting Eddie Van Halen to do the now-famous guitar solo. The onstage performance of \u201cBillie Jean\u201d at the Motown 25 <\/i>television special was what really put Michael Jackson<\/st1:personname> into a league of his own. It unveiled yet another talent by this shy, enigmatic performer — this guy could clear the floor with his original dance moves, particularly the Moonwalk. These days it appears that his dancing days may be behind him, as his health woes continue to add to his increasingly fragile physical state.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Before his toxic celebrity status — and the media — turned Michael Jackson<\/st1:personname> into an isolated recluse, his red-hot career was quite something to watch. Back in the \u201880s, this guy could no wrong. Everything his gloved hand touched would turn to pure gold. Had he chosen to focus on the work and less on luring children to his Neverland ranch, crisis might have been averted. But therein lies the inherent problem that would be his own undoing: Michael Jackson<\/st1:personname> likens himself to Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. With the plastic surgery rumors and damaging interviews, his only solace came when he reverted back to the actions and behavior of a young boy. We already know how that<\/i> story ends, so I\u2019ll spare you with the salacious details.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Whether Jackson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/st1:personname> stepped over the line or not (eventually he was<\/i> acquitted of all charges), there were no signs of impending doom back in the innocent days of 1982. Despite his somewhat effeminate tendencies, he actually looked and acted fairly normal for his age. The music of Thriller <\/i>has it all and has been the prototype of most every pop album ever since. Producer Quincy Jones added his own special buff and polish to the nine dynamic tracks and together, he and Jackson<\/st1:personname> were an unbeatable team. You want edgy funk, the very first track \u201cWanna Be Startin\u2019 Somethin\u2019 has got it. You want a fizzy love song, then look no further than \u201cHuman Nature.\u201d Even underrated gems like the Paul McCartney lead-off single \u201cThe Girl Is Mine\u201d and the perky party tune \u201cP.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)\u201d are aging surprisingly well.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The jury of public opinion is still out on whether Michael Jackson<\/st1:personname> should be allowed another crack at the music biz. You really can\u2019t blame us for being a little wary about this tragic fallen hero. After his last album, Invincible<\/i>, <\/i>failed to catch fire, he blamed everyone else (particularly Sony chief Tommy Mottola) and claimed zero personal responsibility whatsoever for its less than stellar results. Our patience may have worn thin with Jackson<\/st1:personname><\/st1:place><\/st1:city> by now, but with a LOT<\/st1:place> of help, careful planning, and finessing, a large-scale comeback could very well be in the cards for the self-proclaimed King Of Pop. All you need to do is remember Thriller <\/i>to understand how talented Jackson<\/st1:personname><\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was and probably still is. Whether he\u2019s still got \u201cthe stuff\u201d remains to be seen, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the doubting Thomases of the world would be wise to watch their backs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":28090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5802],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-41086","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-michael-jackson","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41086"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}