'Thriller' at 25: When Jacko Wasn't Wacko
Revisiting the King of Pop's crowning achievement

By Michael Shilling
Special to MSN Music

Boy wonder. Genius hit machine. Walking wounded. Gothic creature. When talking about Michael Jackson, it's impossible to encapsulate the pre-eminent pop star of his generation in one snarky phrase or backhanded compliment. The truth is, there are several Michael Jacksons, and all of these personae equally speak to a man who is, at heart, an enigma -- equally talented and bizarre, yet insatiable for perfection and attention.

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Jacko is the prime specimen in the Petri dish of America' s cult of celebrity. And on the 25th anniversary of his iconic studio masterwork and the best-selling album of all time, "Thriller," he deserves an assessment that focuses on the music, not the misadventure.

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When the Jackson 5 burst upon the scene in 1971, Michael was the shining centerpiece in a truly impressive musical package. On the strength of totemic singles such as "The Love You Save," "ABC" and the ever-present "I Want You Back," Michael and his brothers -- Marlon, Tito, Jermaine, and Jackie -- were a dominant presence on both the Billboard Pop and Soul charts throughout the '70s. But as the "Me decade" drew to a close, Michael was starting to feel the constraints of working exclusively within a group dynamic. To branch out, he appeared as the Scarecrow in the film adaptation of "The Wiz," which starred Jackson 5 mentor Diana Ross. During production, he met musician, producer and composer Quincy Jones (who shepherded the score for "The Wiz"), who agreed to man the decks for Jackson's next solo record. It was, to say the least, a match made in musical Heaven. In the summer of 1979, the first fruit of their labors, "Off The Wall," was released.
 
"Off the Wall" showed an utterly new side of Michael Jackson. Gone was the bubblegum, in favor of the funk. Gone were the cute-for-cute's sake lyrics and super-smooth, easily digestible production. Gone, too, was the sense of formula; indeed, "Off The Wall" expanded the boundaries of dance music, deftly utilizing the rhythmic conventions of disco while replacing its sleazy-silly vibe with sincerity and sophistication.

Michael's voice, too, had grown in range and chops, and found a perfect home inside Jones' stellar arrangements and plush, deep sonic landscapes. The record spawned four top ten singles, two of which -- "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You" -- are embedded in any basic understanding of pop music. "Off The Wall" would eventually sell over 20 million copies worldwide, and net Jackson his first series of honors as a solo artist, including a Grammy and two Billboard awards. Dominant as it was, the record could not even begin to hint at the level of musical mastery that Jackson had up his sequin-gloved sleeve. 
 
Recorded in the spring of 1982 and released late in that year, "Thriller" shares a place with LPs like the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper," the Sex Pistols' "Never Mind the Bollocks," and Nirvana's "Nevermind" for the way in which it completely changed the entertainment business. Like those records, "Thriller" was a cultural juggernaut, but unlike them, it wasn't directly tied to any social movement, such as, respectively, '60s counterculture, punk rock, or Generation X. No one associates "Thriller" with part of something bigger; it simply is something bigger.

And it wasn't just the music -- still stunning in its brilliance, range, and versatility -- that gave the record its indelible cachet. Hard as it is to imagine given his current standing as, to put it kindly, a world-class weirdo, the image of Michael on the cover of "Thriller" was one of goodness, purity, and benevolence.

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