An Album/Song A Week: Michael Jackson - Thriller

 One could always make the case that Off The Wall is the best Michael Jackson album.  And I could agree.  But Thriller was the one for a reason. It was a bid for even bigger crossover success.  And at a compact 9 tracks, it did just that.  The amazing thing about Thriller, is that the Jackson-penned first single, "The Girl Is Mine", a duet with Paul McCartney, was supposed to be a massive single along the lines of "Ebony & Ivory". But that's not what happened. Surprisingly, the song peaked at #2 (#1 R&B), and is generally considered the weakest song on the album.  Luckily for Jackson's label, "Billie Jean" would quickly follow it up and once the video for it got on MTV, Thriller was off and running. 

  Among the 9 tracks, four were written by Jackson, 3 by the Quincy Jones fave Rod Temperton, one co-written by James Ingram and "Human Nature" co-written by members of Toto.  All but two, "Baby Be Mine" and the Quiet Storm classic, "Lady In My Life", were Top 10 singles.  

  Jackson's bid for mega-stardom paid off.  Thriller is the biggest selling studio album ever. And it deserves its spot.  Quincy Jones' production reaches a peak here and Jackson is game for whatever is thrown at him.

  Michael Jackson's follow up albums all had their great moments, but Thriller came along at the right moment in 1982.  Perfect for the new MTV era of music consumption ("Thriller" video) and released at a time when the Music Industry was waiting for a massive seller.  Thriller achieved all that and more.