Michael Jackson: Thriller

Thriller was Michael Jackson's sixth studio album and quite possibly a record that may never be surpassed in sales and critical acclaim. It is a record where Jackson succeeded with his vision to make an album that "every song was a killer". The album is a mix of pop, post-disco ('cuz disco was being canceled at the time), rock, funk, synth-pop, and R&B sounds.

As many have eluded to, Thriller foreshadows Jackson's personal life, as he began using a motif of paranoia and darker themes. However, Thriller was Jackson's first number 1 album on the Billboard Top Albums chart, where it spent a record 37 weeks at number 1. The record spawned seven top ten singles, of which "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" reached number one. Fueled by Jackson's moonwalking appearance on the Motown 25 television special and the release of the "Thriller" music video on MTV, the album sold 32 million worldwide by the end of 1983. Thriller went on to solidify its position as the best-selling album of all time by reaching 70 million copies sold worldwide in 2021.

It also won eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. the song "Beat It" won Grammys for Record of the Year & Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. The song "Thriller" won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. "Billie Jean" won Grammys for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male & Best Rhythm & Blues Song. Furthermore, Jackson won eight American Music Awards

As one would expect, Thriller has been included in numerous greatest albums of all time lists. In 2008, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In the same year, the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant recordings".

So, the case is made for the quality of the music and the songs. To honor, if you will, the album Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs released Thriller on their UltraDisc One-Step platform in 2023. This platform is an audiophile pressing platform that incorporates a digital step into the analogue tape to vinyl pressing process. Some argue they cannot hear a difference between all analogue and the addition of the digital step. Others adamantly disagree. We would be one of those that adamantly disagrees.

Like all MOFI UltraDisc One-Step pressing we've reviewed, the album has great detail. The low ends are good and the mids are present and where they should be. Where this pressings, and this one is no different, tend to fall apart is with the highs. the highs tend to be pushed out too far, making the listening experience less than it should be for an audiophile release.

Track Listing
1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl Is Mine
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billy Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9. The Lady in My Life

If you are looking for a nice copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller, you may want to save a few dollars and go with an OG or a 40th anniversary release. The MOFI version is good, but not great. 💵

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