Music and Michael
I was a kid only a few years younger than Michael Jackson when he was fronting the Jackson 5. I thought that was pretty cool. The Jackson 5 had pretty catchy tunes. I still love them to this day. A few weeks ago I was trying to master James Jamerson's bass line in "I Want You Back." Intricate but simple sounding at the same time. I love Motown but during the disco age my interest dimmed in Jackson's career. Michael's smash solo album "Off the Wall" spawned several hit disco songs when I was in high school. I was into other kinds of music then but much later I heard the cut "Workin' Day and Night." I can still listen to that song over and over. The beat. The percussion. Michael's delivery. Check out the beginning. When most singers would be sitting waiting for the moment when the first verse starts, Michael breaths quickly in and out to the percussion. Paul McCartney used to do things with his voice to make instrument sounds in much the same way. It's not surprising they collaborated.
I never did buy "Off the Wall" until many years later on CD. But like millions of others I did buy "Thriller" when it came out in the 1980s. Also produced by Quincy Jones, the record featured the same infectious rhythms, vocal diversity as well as different musical genres yet still the album had a unified feel. It had something for everybody so it was no surprise it sold a gazillion copies worldwide. I particularly liked "Beat It" with the Eddie Van Halen guitar solo. The videos, or movie shorts, were also an event. Every college bar I was in had people glued to the television screens when "Thriller" came on.
Those two albums marked the creative peak for Jackson. There were other hit songs later on but his celebrity got in the way when he became an international superstar. Then the weirdness took over. Since this is a music blog I spent most of my time discussing his music and art. That should stand on its own and be celebrated for what it means to music and art. He was undeniably a great performer, singer and dancer. His music influenced countless others and he stood, in the 1980s, with Prince as his only rival in the music world. That takes talent, hard work and genius.
And so dead, at what I now consider to be the young age of 50, we are stuck wondering what more he might have produced for the music world had he lived.
I never did buy "Off the Wall" until many years later on CD. But like millions of others I did buy "Thriller" when it came out in the 1980s. Also produced by Quincy Jones, the record featured the same infectious rhythms, vocal diversity as well as different musical genres yet still the album had a unified feel. It had something for everybody so it was no surprise it sold a gazillion copies worldwide. I particularly liked "Beat It" with the Eddie Van Halen guitar solo. The videos, or movie shorts, were also an event. Every college bar I was in had people glued to the television screens when "Thriller" came on.
Those two albums marked the creative peak for Jackson. There were other hit songs later on but his celebrity got in the way when he became an international superstar. Then the weirdness took over. Since this is a music blog I spent most of my time discussing his music and art. That should stand on its own and be celebrated for what it means to music and art. He was undeniably a great performer, singer and dancer. His music influenced countless others and he stood, in the 1980s, with Prince as his only rival in the music world. That takes talent, hard work and genius.
And so dead, at what I now consider to be the young age of 50, we are stuck wondering what more he might have produced for the music world had he lived.
Comment
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Comment by LC on June 29, 2009 at 11:09pm -
"Since this is a music blog I spent most of my time discussing his music and art. That should stand on its own and be celebrated for what it means to music and art. He was undeniably a great performer, singer and dancer. His music influenced countless others and he stood, in the 1980s, with Prince as his only rival in the music world. That takes talent, hard work and genius."
Right on Dave!!! Thanks for the link.
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