Michael Jacksons Off The Wall Album Review

Michael Jackson wanted this album to be the best it could be. He needed someone with great experience and had met Quincey Jones on the set on the movie "The Wiz" and Quincey produced the album.

Michael wanted the sound of the album to be different from that of the Jacksons who had just had there biggest album success with "Destiny".

Michael wanted songs that were good for him to sing and that he could move to. In came Rod Temperton who penned "Rock With You" a big hit, "Burn This Disco Out" and the title track.

During the sessions Quincey approached Michael with "Girlfriend" saying how well suited that song would be for him. Little did he know Paul had written the song for Michael a couple of years previous and even sung it to Michael at a party.

"Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" was the first song Michael had written himself as a whole and became US No1 hit single. "She's Out of My Life" a heart wrenching ballard.

Tracklisting:

1. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
2. Rock with You
3. Working Day and Night
4. Get on the Floor
5. Off the Wall
6. Girlfriend" (McCartney)
7. She's out of My Life" (Tom Bahler)
8. I Can't Help It
9. It's the Falling in Love
10. Burn This Disco Out

For every artist that finds massive success in the music market (and for this review’s purpose, more “definitive” acts), there’s usually a specific album that propels them into the public eye and an audience with wide-open arms. Nevermind helped make Nirvana huge seemingly overnight, and established them as one of the biggest names in grunge. The hiring of almighty Bruce Dickinson coupled with the release of The Number of the Beast would transform Iron Maiden from a “quite successful” band to the definitive metal juggernaut they are now.* And although rapper Jay-Z made his best album the first time (in 1996), it was five years later when The Blueprint would re-establish him as one of most critically and commercially successful hip-hop artists.

After being part of the Jackson Five for more than half a decade (and being recognized as a musical prodigy by Rolling Stone, among others), Michael starred in a musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz (“The Wiz”) and formed a relationship with composer Quincy Jones, who agreed to produce Jackson’s solo debut. Off the Wall would be the first album to generate four top 10 singles, and set the stage for Jackson to cement his place in history with the follow-up Thriller.

A few listens to Off the Wall should leave no doubt as to why it became such a huge success. Save for one exception, the album consists of bouncy and energetic R & B influenced pop (or quite poppy R & B) with close to no filler. Much like Thriller, it opens in grand fashion. “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” wastes almost no time in grabbing your attention, with horns, strings, and guitar forming a rhythmic foundation for Jackson’s calm falsetto. At the two and a half minute mark, another horn section gives way to a short guitar solo. Although it does get repetitive to a slight degree, “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” nonetheless accomplishes a feat that seems so uncommon in pop music – a high quality song with a running time just over six minutes. None of the nine tracks following it will quite match this opener, but rest assured that several of them come close.

Not only does “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” open Off the Wall on a high note, it exhibits all the major strengths of the album. Horns, strings, electric guitar, and real drums are among the various instruments forming the sonic template for nearly the entire album, which means that Off the Wall doesn’t suffer from poor production – it’s quite the opposite. Not only does it sound excellent from a this production standpoint, but there are also enough instrumental hooks to make the music almost work well without a strong vocal performance. However, there’s no reason to worry about that.

As good as the music is, it’s Michael’s performance that truly elevates the pop here from good to excellent. There’s an irresistible charm that Jackson exudes almost every second that he’s singing, and a bare minimum of one great hook to be found in each song (save “She’s Out of My Life”). Jackson’s rather natural falsetto is far from annoying, his singing voice is far above average, and his delivery is spot on. Off the Wall sounds like the man is just having fun, and doing one heck of a job in the process

Although Michael Jackson the performer is much better than Jackson the songwriter, that doesn’t mean the songs he writes are weak in any form. On the contrary, his two songwriting contributions to Off the Wall, “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Working Day and Night”, are both standout tracks, and “Get on the Floor” (co-written by Louis Johnson) is pretty good as well. Yet another comparison to Thriller is the star power present (or rather, behind) two of the songs. “Girlfriend” and “I Can’t Help It” are written by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder respectively; the former is a lighthearted song that might have fit in on an album like Help!, and “I Can’t Help It” kicks off the final trio of songs after the lone ballad “She’s Out of My Life”.

There’s one exception to almost every strength of Off the Wall, and that is “She’s Out of My Life”. Here, Jackson and his songwriting team opt for the ballad route, and the results are pretty average at best. The lyrical theme of a man heartbroken has potential, but instead of being emotional and heartfelt, Jackson sounds whiny, almost like a child who just needs a couple minutes to get over a slight physical injury. Backing synths don’t really help either, and thus “She’s Out of My Life” sticks out like a sore thumb placed in the middle of the album.

The last great strength of Off the Wall – consistency – is also the reason it’s bettered by Thriller. As mentioned before, nothing quite matches the opener “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”, but the rest of the album stays at such a high quality you don’t necessarily notice. But even the best song isn’t able to reach the benchmark set by the 15-minute midsection of “Thriller”, “Beat it”, and “Billie Jean”. Superior or not, it should be obvious why the album made Michael Jackson a pop superstar: it’s catchy, fun, and well written, and with a running time shortly over 42 minutes, it’s too short to really get tedious. It’s not his best, but it still comes fairly close, and considering the artist in question, that’s saying a lot.

Michael Jackson’s Invincible 2001 CD Will Be A Classic In Collections

INVINCIBLE On October 29, 2001 (October 30th in North America) Michael Jackson's latest album was released! Titled, "Invincible", the 16-track album has been said to be Michael's best work since 'Thriller', and was expected to revolutionize the music industry as we know it today....

The album was released on CD, and vinyl and released with 5 different covers. Album covers were printed in white/silver, blue, green, red and orange, to make collecting the CDs "more fun" for fans!
However, after the first single "You Rock My World" was released it became clear that Sony Music were nt interested in promoting the album. Only 1 more single "Cry" written by R. Kelly was released and that was without a proper music video.

Track Listing

1. Unbreakable
2. Heartbreaker
3. Invincible
4. Break Of Dawn
5. Heaven Can Wait
6. You Rock My World
7. Butterflies
8. Speechless
9. 2000 Watts
10. You Are My Life
11. Privacy
12.. Don't Walk Away
13. Cry
14. The Lost Children
15. Whatever Happens
16. Threatened

Invincible is the tenth and final studio album completed and released by American recording artist Michael Jackson during his lifetime. The album was released by Epic Records on October 30, 2001, six years after Jackson's 1995 double disc studio album HIStory. The album art is an image of Jackson's face with his right eye pixelated in a deeper hue (the rest of his face appears as a watermark). When it was first released, it was available in five different colors - the standard silver cover, along with red, green, orange, and blue. As of 2009, the red, green, orange, and blue covers are out of print. To date, Invincible has sold an estimated 8 million copies worldwide.

It's finally here, six years and 21 million dollars later. And while the production is never less than sumptuous, does it really contain six years' worth of great tune? NAME heard it once in a room full of liggers, so our remarks should be understood with that proviso. But it didn't sound all that to us...

1. Unbreakable
Dramatic, machine-tooled opener operating at producer Rodney Jerkins' slightly-slower-than-you'd-expect patent tempo, this is the only tune that really stuck in NME's head the morning after hearing it. Featuring a rap by Notorious BIG, it's lyrically defiant and the longest track at nearly six and a half minutes.

2. Heartbreaker
A busy, percussive groove with a compulsive repetitive chorus but a classic soaring Jacko middle eight. The words excoriate some girl who's, yes, broken Michael's heart.

3. Invincible
The riff is slightly reminiscent of Sly & The Family Stone's 'Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again)' (which Jackson used on his remix of 'Scream'). The lyrics describe Jacko competing for the affections of a girl with another bloke who buys her "diamonds and pearls". Jacko isn't getting anywhere because she's, yes, invincible. It's a good, hard R&B record, but on first listen not really much of a song.

4. Break Of Dawn
The first ballad and a typical mid-paced R&B production (by Teddy Riley) with bells and strings a-go-go. Features excellent Jackson vocals and even tweeting birds but it's hardly cutting edge.

5. Heaven Can Wait
Around this point you realise that Jackson is no longer pioneering - this would be a good Usher ballad. It has classic "if I should die tonight" love lyrics and swelling chords, but doesn't add up to all that much.

6. You Rock My World
Since this sounds unremarkable the first 16 times but suddenly turns mysteriously great on the 17th, it serves as a warning not to judge the rest of the album prematurely. It's the full version, including the annoying intro.

7. Butterflies
Slow, dragging funk with Fender Rhodes piano and huge harmonies, it's Michael talking about some girl who gives him "butterflies inside". It finishes with the lyrics "I wish I could be in you tonight". Oo-er!

8. Speechless
Written and produced by Jacko alone, this is the first really soaring tune on the album. Possibly a tad sugary for some tastes, it at least has an indubitably strong chorus. It's also beautifully sung, with a good chord change at the end. A glimpse of what could have been before the production armies marched in?

9. 2000 Watts
Hard, hammering and chant-like, this is a definite highlight. With minimal, industrial production, it's a rough equivalent to 'They Don't Care About Us' on 'HIStory'. The tribal feel underlines that this album is really good at rhythm, but unfortunately less so at tune.

10. You Are My Life
A Carpenters-style ballad with a soppy key change, this is neither here nor there.

11. Privacy
Very slow funk, with the tempo (and tune) of Jacko's old cover of The Beatles' 'Come Together'. It also sounds a bit like Bobby Brown's 'My Prerogative', before turning into Whitney Houston's 'Queen Of The Night'. Lyrically, the title says it all - but at least it has balls.

12. Don't Walk Away
Despite the title, this passed NME by. It's a ballad.

13. Cry
The first single in the US, this is an R Kelly-penned belter adorned with a massive gospel choir. It'll be released as the Christmas single over here. A proper song, it's about the death of a loved one and should strike a chord with the latent Jacko massive.

14. The Lost Children
It's a waltz, with interesting chord changes and - yup! - a children's choir. Has refreshingly light production compared to the sonic assault of the rest of the album, but it's a bit wishy-washy

15. Whatever Happens
Bossa nova bollocks featuring Carlos Santana, this is like a lo-cal version of Terence Trent D'Arby's 'Sign Your Name'
16. Threatened
More Rodney Jerkins funk, this has a compulsive upward chord sequence and good drum rolls. Sporting a 'Thriller'-style rap, it's an emphatic end to a less than convincing album.

And that's it. On first listen, 'Invincible' is a good R&B record, but certainly not pioneering - and there's a question mark over too many of the melodies. It doesn't sound like the album that will save Jacko's US career, and why it's taken so long remains a mystery.

Michael Jackson's Invincible Album on CD