Back when MJ was still a P.Y.T: Michael Jackson's legendary Thriller and more.

It’s been twenty five years since Michael Jackson released his phenomenal album Thriller and it would be terribly obvious to state that things have changed. Our perception of the man, our perception of the times and even our perception of ourselves is drastically different from the world we knew in 1982. Michael Jackson was revered as a cultural icon, an innovator, a role model for all Americans and the embodiment of success. I was six years old and was fascinated by “Thriller”. The world was much more innocent it seemed. Of course, for me it was. Now he’s a pariah of society, branded a child molester at worst and a raging weirdo at best. The world is not innocent and at 32 years old neither am I. Yet, there is something that can’t be tarnished about this landmark album. Say what you want about Jacko, but his 1982 masterpiece still holds up twenty five years later. All the collaborations on this album show that this was an album that really can’t be improved upon. You can give bigger beats, more elaborate synthesizers and the producers of the moment but you can’t make Michael better. The best you can do is just make his songs different.

There are really only two new versions that I feel are worthwhile although I wouldn’t go as far as to say they add to the original. They just don’t amount to desecration. Kanye West gives “Billie Jean” a slamming beat and adds some dramatic, bittersweet strings to the mix. The integrity of the song remains intact with Michael Jackson’s superior vocal performances still given their proper due. Even the emphatic whoos and eccentric hiccups are included. I also enjoy the new version of “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” with Akon. The blissful piano and Akon’s distinctive voice are a treat and he oddly proves to be a worthy duet partner with the King of Pop. It’s still not as good as original but it’s definitely an interesting and likable take on a classic song.

The other remixes and collaborations have results that aren’t as admirable. I love Fergie but I also recognize that while her pop/hip-hop/R&B confections are enjoyable, I don’t think they give her the credentials to get a guest spot on one of the best songs of the eighties. It’s a bit like putting Jennifer Love Hewitt in a remake of Gone With The Wind. She just can’t even hold a candle to Jackson and sounds a bit gaudy in his presence. The production sounds MORE dated than the original sounding more Goth for some reason. I think this version should just beat it. Will.I.Am has been recruited to give Jackson’s classic material a new spin and the results are okay at best. “P.Y.T. Anniversary Remix” is pretty much a completely different song and overall it’s not too bad except for Will.I.am’s pretty inane rap stuck right in the middle. Thankfully, Michael Jackson is pretty hard to ruin but this producer comes dangerously close. The almost exact critique can be given to “The Girl Is Mine 2008”. It has some cowbell percussion and while it’s not terrible it gets redundant as Will.I.am keeps repeating “the way I rock, the way I rock”. It gets old quick. I have to think there are producers out there who could have done something more inventive with this song.

The original material is still phenomenal. The complete lyrical nonsense is just as infectious on “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” as it ever was. It’s a charismatic performance with searing hot vocals, excellent music and the song just leaps off the recording. “Thriller” is the number one song to play on Halloween with its creepy story line and I am always impressed how he manages to capture the terror and even the adrenaline from fear. This is such a defining eighties song with its funky, percolating groove, sound effects and that priceless outro by Vincent Price. One of my favorite songs on this album is “Human Nature”. To me its one of the most timeless of the album with it’s beautiful, soaring vocals from Michael and a melody that is to die for. SWV sampled this song for their nineties hit “Right Here” and I love it as a sample as well. Everything you love about the original album is still here; the scandalous “Billy Jean”, the aggressive “Beat It”, the romantic “Lady Of My Life” or the soul strut of “P.Y.T.”.

The rediscovered track is a very typical Michael Jackson ballad and in this case typical means good. He’s a guy that really could sing the phone book and sound good. “For All Time” is more than likely written by Diane Warren as it has that generic ballad sameness she’s infamous for. I guess the prudent thing would be to find out for sure…..(checking Wikepedia, please hold). Well, it’s not Diane Warren but if you know any of her songs this one sounds like it. What elevates this song beyond the mediocrity it was destined for (that or an American Idol winning song….wait that’s the same thing.) is Michael Jackson’s expressive and deft voice.

Overall, this re-release of Thriller proves two things. The first is that this album is a classic, period. The second is that you can’t improve on a good song. Michael Jackson is the king of pop for a reason. There are new artists who are talented, there are producers who are gifted but they can’t recreate what is rightfully MJ’s. The sad thing is I don’t think he can either. Yet, we will always have Thriller a towering pop monument to a phenomenal talent.