Off the Wall

Though, Michael began his solo career in 1972 with his first-ever album entitled, GOT TO BE THERE, to me, his solo career took a turn for the even-better when he released, OFF THE WALL, his sixth solo album, in 1979. OFF THE WALL is a great album with many great songs featured. "DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH" The first single from the album. I never really cared too much for this song when I was a kid, but I find this song to be growing on me. "ROCK WITH YOU" The second single from the album. This was always one of my favorite songs from MJ. The outfit he wore in this song's music video had to have been one of the coolest outfits he's ever worn. "WORKING DAY AND NIGHT" This was another favorite song of mine, ever since I was a kid. I remember hearing this song for the first time on MJ's "The Making of 'Thriller'" video. How I wish the song was released as a single. It could done really well on the charts, in my opinion. "GET ON THE FLOOR" A great tune. "OFF THE WALL" The third single from the album. Another great song. I could listen to this song 24 / 7. "GIRLFRIEND" The fifth single from the album. This song was originally recorded by Paul McCartney, who, by the way, had originally written this song with Michael Jackson in mind, then decided to keep this song for himself. Michael then covered this song for this album. Great song. "SHE'S OUT OF MY LIFE" The fourth single from the album. This is such a beautiful song, though, at the same time, very sad. Another song that I could listen to 24 / 7. "I CAN'T HELP IT" Great song. "IT'S THE FALLING IN LOVE" (performed by Michael Jackson & Patti Austin) Great duet. "BURN THIS DISCO OUT" A great song to end this great album. Growing up in throughout the late '80s and throughout the '90s, I had always been a fan of Michael Jackson's. Now, that Michael has sadly passed on, leaving us with his incredible music and memory, I feel like an even bigger fan than I already was. As much as I love his music, I have no idea how I, as do the rest of us, am gonna listen any of his songs without feeling heartbroken over his untimely death. This album, among his many others, will help us to remember Michael as one of the greatest singers and dancers of all time.

Michael Jackson's solo career started with a bang in the early 1970s with several huge hits, including two top 20 records ("Got to Be There" - #14 and "Ben" - #5) and three top 5 singles ("Got to Be There" - #4, "Rockin' Robin" - #2, and "Ben" - #1). However, his mid-70s output performed significantly poorer with the public, with his next two records producing only one top 40 hit ("Just a Little Bit of You" - #23). As he transitioned into young adulthood, Michael wisely turned to super-producer Quincy Jones to help him re-capture his earlier hit-making days. "Off the Wall" was the result, and it's a classic of late-70s dance pop. “Off the Wall” peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and sold millions of copies; it has subsequently been certified for sales of 8 million in the United States. Notably, the record also become only the second in chart history to yield four top 10 singles (“Rumours” was the first), making Michael the first solo artist to accomplish this feat. Those singles stand up so well today. The first was the #1 hit, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” which helped bridge the gap between the late-70s disco purge and the flourishing of dance music in the early-80s. “Rock with You” also went to #1 and to my ears is one of Michael’s all-time best. This sunny dance song sounds just as fresh today. The final two singles both peaked at #10 – “Off the Wall” and “She’s out of My Life.” Of course, the four hit singles are terrific, but the overall record is outstanding. I love the innocent, fun feel that the entire CD provides. The production obviously has a very 80s feel to it, but everything is so well done that the CD has aged beautifully. Although many people have viewed “Off the Wall” as a mere warm-up for the spectacular “Thriller,” the record definitely stands on its own as a pop dance classic.

This album is full of good material. For starters, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough is the full album version (not the single version), and it is one of the defining songs of the fall of 1979. Rock With You, another full album version, really defined the end of that year into 1980. Basically, whatever you were involved with when this song first came out is probably going to be associated with it. Both topped the pop charts, for good reason. Then, Off the Wall came. This was one of the best songs of the year--presuming you don't just positively hate funk and disco. Even the B sides of Rock With You and Off the Wall were better than most of today's lousy excuses of "music" that are so sanitized that they all sound lifeless. She's Out of My Life is a break from funky disco, as this song is much slower. The rest of the album is also excellent listening--the whole record topped the Dance and Disco charts, for good reason. The mastering of this record is spot on. Quality of the recording compares nicely with the original CD, and the times all come up spot on (typical of Michael Jackson). No, you are not getting the shorter single versions of Rock With You (3'23 instead of 3'40) or Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough (you get the full 6'05 version here). This is typical of full price albums, and even at full price, I would recommend it. If you never heard this music (it is vintage 1979/1980) because it's before your time, you will be in for a pleasant surprise if you get this record and you may really like it. About the only reason you might hate it would be if you simply cannot stand funk and disco--most of the tracks are a hybrid between these genres. Everyone else should enjoy it thoroughly.

The album has an amazing sound, incredibly detailed and almost three-dimensional. Honestly, the mastering process was carried out with absolute precision. I think it's the best version of this classic album. Simply excellent.

¡Me llego! :) Mi vinyl llego, bien y a tiempo. Cumplieron con su garantía, sigan así con su excelente servicio No cambien :)

Para mi su mejor álbum.

Mooi afgewerkt, zwaar dubbel album! Heel erg blij mee.

Es ist Geschmacksache welches Album von MJ nun das Beste ist, meiner Meinung nach ist es OFF THE WALL zusammen mit THRILLER. Zur Zeit dieser beiden Alben war MJ sicher auf dem Höhepunkt seines Schaffens. OFF THE WALL von 1979 ist nun 35 Jahre alt, und klingt immer noch frisch und funky. Das ganze Album ist wie aus einem Guss, da gibt es keine schlechten Songs oder Füller, dies gelang MJ danach nur noch bei THRILLER. Die Songs auf OFF THE WALL sind erstklassig, die Musiker hervorragend, alles Meister ihres Faches. Besonders hevorzuheben sind da sicherlich der Percussionist Paulinho Da Costa und natürlich Louis Johnson am Bass. Die meisten der Musiker haben 3 Jahre später auch THRILLER eingespielt. Die bekannten No.1 Hits DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH' und ROCK WITH YOU sowie die Ballade SHE'S OUT OF MY LIFE sind sicher jedem bekannt, zumindest aus diversen MJ Samplern und Best Off's. Aber auch die anderen Songs stehen diesen Hits in nichts nach. Da ist z.B. WORKIN' DAY AND NIGHT bei diesem ausgezeichneten Dance-Song zeigt Da Costa an den Percussions was er kann, unheimlich komplex und unruhig aber einfach mitreissend ist dieser Titel. Dann GET ON THE FLOOR, hier feuert Louis Johnson ein absolut fantastisches Slap-Bass Feuererk ab, ebenfalls extrem tanzbar. Bei GIRLFRIEND (geschrieben von Paul McCartney) gelingt MJ das seltene Kunsttstück das die Coverversion besser klingt als das Original (von den WINGS). Der Song ist wunderbar eingesungen und zeigt MJ in Höchstform. I CAN'T HELP IT (geschrieben von Stevie Wonder) und BURN THIS DISCO OUT sind ebenfalls hörenswerte Tracks die sich hervorragend in das Albumkonzept einpassen. Bei IT'S THE FALLING IN LOVE singt MJ zusammen im Duett mit Patti Austin, die beiden Stimme passen toll zusammen, sicher ein weiterer Höhepunkt des Albums. Mein Lieblingssong des Albums ist aber der Titeltrack OFF THE WALL, man wird nicht müde diesen Song zu hören, er macht einfach gute Laune, toller positiver Text, super instrumentiert und fantastisch gesungen. Die 2 Bonus Homedemoaufnahmen und die Interviews mit Quincy Jones und Rod Temperton sind zwar ganz interessant stören aber den Flow des Albums, also am besten die 10 Original-Tracks anhören und die Bonussachen getrennt betrachten. Schön ist das neue Booklet der 2001er Special Edition, das neue Design und vor allem die neuen Bilder von MJ sind sehr geschmackvoll. Besonders hervorzuheben ist das Foto wo MJ zusammen mit Paul McCartney beim abwaschen ist:-) MJ erreichte musikalisch leider nie mehr die Klasse von OFF THE WALL & THRILLER, auch weil ab BAD immer mehr auf Synthesizer statt auf echte Instrumente gesetzt wurde. BAD ist sicher noch ein sehr gutes Album, aber mit DANGEROUS ging es dann leider deutlich bergab. Daran kann mach auch sehen was MJ seinem Produzenten Quincy Jones zu verdanken hat, die beiden waren einfach ein unschlagbares Team! Schade das der Künster so früh von uns gegangen ist. Er war mit Sicherheit ein toller Mensch der oft falsch verstanden wurde, und ein Opfer seiner beraubten Kindheit, durch seinen Vater, sowie der häufig unverantwortlich handelnden Presse. OFF THE WALL ist und bleibt einfach zeitlos..........

La conferma di un grande Artista con una voce unica e un talento Artistico infinito.