Masterpiece: Off The Wall

[Today: Saying goodbye to the King of Pop...]

Michael Jackson died yesterday at age 50, and the news left me strangely unmoved. No shock, grief, or schadenfreude, just a nagging hum of nostalgia for the days when Jackson’s notoriety was primarily to do with music, rather than plastic surgery or out-of-court settlements. He became the Citizen Kane of our times, trapped within the walls of his own exorbitant fame, a star among stars, but personally impoverished by the experience. His 1979 album Off The Wall sold nearly 8,000,000 copies – a huge number of records, but a mere blip compared with what was coming. Thriller of course, went platinum 28 times over and, along with the accompanying MTV videos, catapulted Jackson into the outer stratosphere of stardom. He would never return to earth.

But Off The Wall is Jackson’s real masterpiece, in part because its imperfections haven’t all been air-brushed away. Released at the tail end of the extended dance party that was the 70’s, this is very much a disco album. ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ and ‘Rock With You’ would fit comfortably within the boundaries of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. ‘Working Day And Night’ ‘Burn This Disco Out’ ‘Get On The Floor’ and the title track were almost as good, and can still reliably fill any dancefloor. Unlike the more mature story lines of some of his later music (including paternity suits, physical confrontation and psychological soul-searching), these songs were all about dancing and having a good time. This music was created before Jackson got completely strung up in the web of fame, and here he sings with a youthful exhilaration that was missing from his later work.

Thriller shifted an unprecedented number of units, but Off The Wall remains the more rewarding listen. Because of the tabloid trainwreck that Jackson’s life turned into after Thriller, much of that album now sounds like unintentional comedy (‘P.Y.T.’, which can’t be heard with a straight face) or tragedy (‘Human Nature’, which chronicles his wish to walk down the street like a normal person), and the music is weighed down by the circus of his life. But Off The Wall is a whole different story. Just look at that cover. That’s the Michael Jackson worth remembering – a young guy with a sparkle in his eye, full of the magic he was making, and ready to rock the world.

RIP MJ…

Listen: Off The Wall

Listen: Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough

Listen: Working Day And Night

Tags: disco, Michael Jackson, Off The Wall, Saturday Night Fever, Thriller