by Matt Besterman

Created on: October 15, 2009

Like most people growing up in the 1980s, I had "Thriller" on vinyl. There hasn't been an album since - nor will there be, for reasons I'll get into in a moment - which was as universally listened-to as "Thriller." Everyone had it: white, black, rich, poor, people of all ages and backgrounds. As the Wikipedia entry puts it, at some point the album stopped selling like an album and started selling like a household item. Everyone had it.

Whether we all listened to it continuously is another story. I know I hadn't heard "Thriller" from beginning to end since I was 8 - musically in diapers, as it were. So last night seemed as good a night as any to download it. It was my train music tonight - I gave it a couple spins to hear what it had to offer. (I got the 25th Anniversary Edition, but was unimpressed by the bonus tracks, so I'll pretend they don't exist and focus on the album proper.)

Some overall impressions first. The album is a short one: only 9 songs. Remember back in the years B.C. - before CDs - when they could only fit 45 minutes of music on an LP? Am I the only one who thinks that was a good thing? It forced artists to pick their best material. (As Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones did with "Thriller": another song was dropped to make room for "Human Nature.") These days you can fit 75 minutes on a CD - 45 minutes of good stuff, 30 minutes of crap and filler. But I digress.

The album starts off with a bang: "Wanna Be Starting Something" is definitely the shape of things to come. In that song you can hear the seeds of all 80s dance-pop. But then what struck me about "Thriller" is how quickly it sags - and how much of the good stuff is on Side Two. The second track, "Baby Be Mine," could easily have been on "Off The Wall," and the third, "The Girl is Mine" - well, let's not even talk about that song. Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney do not fight over a girl - the age difference is big enough to be creepy. (And this was before we knew where Michael's interests truly lie, which makes the song three or four shades of creepy.)

Fortunately things pick up from here on in, with the title track. The song "Thriller" is so married to its video that you forget what a piece of pop craftsmanship it is. (And those who know the song only from its video do not actually know the song - it was completely re-edited to match the visuals, putting the verses up front and saving the chorus for the end.)

Now would be a good time to mention Quincy Jones's production. Jones is, of

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