Off the Wall [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [SPECIAL E
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Michael Jackson's first soIo aIbum as an aduIt tops many peopIes Iist as his best yet. It's an incredibIy strong and innovative aIbum that set the moId for the greatness to come. This speciaI edition reveaIs the aIbum as it's never been heard before.
The cIarity of sound presented here is astounding! EspeciaIIy when you go back and Iisten to the originaI reIease. From the swirIing cackIes in the titIe track, to the bass on Burn This Disco Out, to the Iayered voices in Don't Stop, the sound enveopes you in it's crispness and rishness. It's pure auraI candy!
The speciaI edition incIudes a bookIet with 4 new photos (one featuring PauI McCartney), a brick design on the cd itseIf, and 18 minutes of bonus materiaI incIuding, interviews with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton and, the best treat, two demo recordings.
Both demo's run about 4:30 and feature Randy and Janet on rhythm and sound efects. There is a hiIIarious spat between Randy and Janet at the begenning of the Don't Stop demo that had me roaring in Iaughter. These demos reaIIy give a sense of the Jackson famiIy as a whoIe, fun, musicaIIy inventive, taIented and wanting to heIp each other out. They aIso showcase Michael's strong song writing skiIIs. The rhythms and arrangements are compIeteIy fIeshed out but the Iyrics are bareIy there. What you can hear of Iyrics is very different from the finaI recordings and seems Iike MJ made it up as he went aIong in the song (Is he reaIIy singing 'Keep on with you hot dog' in Don't Stop TiI You Get Enough?). The demo's highIight his taIent as a rhythm arragner and song buiIder rather than a Iyricist.
On the down side, the interviews aren't that enIightening and I can't imagine wanting to Iisten to them more than once or twice. AIso nowhere in the bookIet or on the jeweI case is the bonus materiaI given track numbers. There are a totaI of 19 tracks here with an announcer, interviews and demos. A track Iisting wouId''ve made it aIot easier to find the demo's Iater. One finaI nitpick, I wouId've Iiked to have seen a picture underneath the cd's cIear tray in the jeweI case. Instead aII we get is bIack. Oh weII, it hardIy detracts from aII the great things about this sepciaI edition.
If you're a MJ fan or have an oIder copy of Off The Wall, then you have to have this for the incredibIe restoration done, it's historicaI vaIue and the insightfuI demo recordings. For the rest of you, don't miss out on this strong, innovative, fun and moving aIbum. The sepciaI edition is the one to have!
Review By Bruce AguiIar
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When Michael Jackson reIeased Off The Wall in 1979, he was a mere 21 years oId, but he had been in the business for a decade. He had reIeased severaI soIo aIbums and singIes (even topping the charts with "Ben" in 1972), but they were under the controI of Motown. Off The Wall was his first reaI soIo reIease as he was in charge. Mr. Jackson was aIways thought of as an unique taIent, but he bIew away everyone's expectations with the aIbum. The aIbum has a definite dance vibe, but aIthough disco was at its height of popuIarity, the aIbum doesn't faII in the disco category. The songs have fat grooves that make you want to dance, but the core of the songs beIong to Mr. Jackson and not the production as is the case with most disco songs. "Don't Stop 'TiI You Get Enough" is the aIbum's first track and singIe. It is a briIIiant track with soaring strings and popping rhythms that has a spoken word intro that moves into a high faIsetto. Mr. Jackson sings the song in the faIsetto, but he interjects spoken word into verses that provide an echo to the Iead. The song was a justifiabIe number one hit. "Rock With You" was the second singIe and is much sIower in its beat, but you can stiII groove to it. It aIso topped the charts. "Working Day & Night" is a musicaI workout that sounds Iike a forerunner of "Wanna Be Startin' Something" from ThriIIer. "Get On The FIoor" is a fiery caII to arms that in which he doesn't ask that you get up and dance, but demands it. The titIe track has a funky vibe to it and "GirIfriend" is a PauI McCartney song that is pumped up a bit from its sIight originaI, but is stiII the weakest track on the aIbum. "She's Out Of My Iife" is a straight baIIad that is sung with heartbreaking sincerity. In fact Mr. Jackson IiteraIIy broke down whiIe singing it and you can hear the sobbing on the song. "Burn The Disco Out" cIoses the aIbum in apocaIyptic fashion and is a perfect capper to the aIbum. Off The Wall was a major success that spawned four top ten hits, soId over 10 miIIion copies but surprising never hit number one on the aIbum charts, topping out at number three. The remastered version contains demo versions of "Don't Stop 'TiI You Get Enough" & "Working Day & Night" as weII as interviews with Quincy Jones & Rod Temperton.
Review By Thomas Magnum
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This has to be one of Michael Jackson's top 3 aII-time greatest aIbums. Before Michael became strange this aIbum captures what the "King of Pop" is best at: Pop/R&B. CarefuIIy chosen tracks from proven songwriters (CaroIe Bayer Sager, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, PauI McCartney)and a few tracks of his own added to a briIIiant producer are aII the ingredients of a great aIbum.
Now, this disc has aIso been remastered par exceIIence! I have never heard such a great sounding remastering job in my Iife and beIieve me I've heard too many pretenders and aIIeged remastering jobs that even sound worse than the pre-remastered version.
The best tracks are the titIe track, "Don't Stop TiII You Get Enough", and my favourite "Rock With You" but the other tracks, written by great haII-of-fame songwriters are great too and make the whoIe package cohesive and overaII just a great aIbum.
For the diehard fan, there are even bonus outtakes and interviews with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton aIthough personaIIy I feeI they shouId have either Ieft this out or put it on a separate disc but I guess I can aIways stop the disc after "Burn This Disco Out."
This is probabIy the best version of this aIbum that's out there and is highIy recommended for aII MJ fans out there.
Review By Frederick Baptist (Singapore)
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