Michael Jackson
Off The Wall

THE REVIEW

Although some may turn up their noses, I am reviewing another work by Michael Jackson, one of the most important, the one that marked his definitive breakaway from the Jackson group and consecrated him as a great artist and performer in America, and then, with decent success, also in old Europe. A note on style: this album was supposed to also feature the great Freddy Mercury, what a pity he decided, regrettably, not to seal this masterpiece with his collaboration.

This album consists of 10 tracks and spans from pure disco music to R&B to funky and even pop, which will characterize the King’s work in the future.

Michael Jackson is 21 years old and writes 4 songs for this work, including, incidentally, the 2 most famous ones; the music is engaging, played divinely, new even in the guise of disco music. This album is a unique entry in Jackson’s career, it is not comparable to any of his other works, not even the closest, which is Thriller. In fact, I struggle to define it as a pop album, I believe it's MJ’s qualitatively best album.

Jackson wrote "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", a song that rightfully enters the history of disco music, indeed in the history of global music; who among us over 30 hasn’t danced to this song in a club at least once? "Lovely is the feelin' now..." an anthem to dance, life, fun, a carefree Jackson singing, dancing, having fun and entertaining the audience, musically revolutionary for 1979, an R&B touch in a dance atmosphere, a masterpiece of contemporary music.
Jackson also wrote "Rock with You"; see the difference between MJ and other pop artists of the '80s, and especially compared to today’s subpar pop artists, is that Jackson comes from an immense musical culture, the Black Music of Motown, the soul and R&B of the '70s, which he experienced as a protagonist, so at just 20 years old, he manages to write an R&B masterpiece that will remain in music history. Even in the future, remembering his roots will produce significant music, but that’s another story; a gigantic track, still very relevant today, it has an elegant and suave sound— to me, it could have been written yesterday; monumental, history of world "light" music.
Attention, Jackson also wrote the following track "Working Day and Night", in which he plays insieme al mostro sacro Paulinho da Costa le percussioni, an afro piece with a guitar that harkens to solid funky, the performance is fantastic, syncopated, in the arrangement proposed for the Bad Tour '87 this track reaches a unique level of involvement, with the protagonist dancing non-stop for 9 minutes, taking you back to the '70s, and with the addition of a hard-rock style electric guitar, oh my, but where is the artist that makes teen-pop or as I read in a comment, "his music is fun, makes you dance but is very mediocre"? But maybe Jackson did something valid in his thirty-year career? Did he make music a little more meaningful than the Spice Girls or the much-acclaimed Timberlake? Perhaps yes, maybe indeed yes.
"Get on the Floor" super dance, fun yes, but not mediocre, quite the opposite, it has a frighteningly beautiful arrangement, a fabulous bass, and the percussion—ah, the percussion in this track, my god, fabulous, and then the carefree voice of a 20-year-old, who still cannot imagine what he will become.
Rod Temperton, who will write Thriller, brings the title track here, a piece that won’t even come close to the successes of Thriller, yet it is one of my favorites; bass-drums-guitar-electric piano-percussion-sax & flute-trombone-trumpet, just to give an idea of the complexity of this track performed by the one who makes teen-pop, indeed fun but mediocre music.
"Girlfriend" none other than Sir. Paul McCartney, the track is a bit naive, I must say, the lowest point of the entire album, the fabulous Paul writes a track too simple to be on this record, a fish out of water, this track would sound good in Thriller, much less musically complex, not here, here there is no space for chart-topping '80s pop, however, the two will make a comeback with the splendid collaboration "Say Say Say".
"She's Out of My Life" nu me piac'prop', the next "I Can't Help It" is a gift from the giant Wonder, a cheerful ballad, elegantly as per good Steve’s style, not an exciting, beautiful filler track.

Excuse me, I'll go back to the '70s for a moment, listen to the last two tracks of this album, then I'll come back to tell you about them.

Here I am "It's the Falling in Love" 3:48 min. of pure fun, a spine-tingling vocal performance, a voice that contrasts with the first track of the album, beautiful this one, yes it's fun but it has nothing mediocre in it, Patti Austin and Michael Jackson— a beautiful duet.
"Burn This Disco Out" once again Temperton, more beautiful music, DISCO MUSIC in all caps, you feel like you're on the streets of San Francisco, listening to this track with closed eyes, you see sequins, black women dancing, strobe lights, bell-bottom pants, "so D.J. spin the sound"

I feel privileged to have had the luck to listen to this album in uncertain times, to conclude, I just want to say that this record deserves to enter music history because it has crazy quality, it blends funky-dance R&B rhythms, albums of such musical elegance have not been produced for years and years, here you can sense the desire to make music, to dance, to be carefree, of a young prodigy, who had not yet gotten fed up with life.