Dazzling display by Jacko before he went wacko
WHEN American R& B singer Miguel was looking for a song to honour Michael Jackson at last week’s Grammy Awards, his choice of tearjerk ballad She’s Out Of My Life was inspired.
Accompanied by pianist Greg Phillinganes, who played on Jackson’s original, the LA soul man delivered a moving rendition while footage of a young, tuxedo- clad Michael was projected onto a screen. Miguel also acknowledged Off The Wall, the 1979 album on which the song first appeared.
He hailed it as a record that broke musical barriers and, as this repackaged version reiterates, it is a masterpiece that sounds as fresh today as it did 37 years ago.
Off The Wall was made when Jackson, then 20, was craving greater creative freedom than he had enjoyed as a member of bubblegum boy-band The Jackson 5.
That sibling act had been graduates of the Tamla Motown hit factory, learning their trade from Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross.
But Jackson’s early solo hits — teenybop singles like Rockin’ Robin and Got To Be There — were lightweight, albeit brilliant, efforts intrinsically linked to The Jackson 5 franchise. All that changed with Off The Wall, which allowed the former child prodigy to reinvent himself as a serious artist.
Produced by Quincy Jones, a giant of the jazz era who had played with Frank Sinatra, Off The Wall was an electrifying fusion of disco, funk, jazz and pop.
In incorporating agile arrangements and a luxurious, Broadwaylike sheen, it set a template for pop that still resonates today. It also featured, for the first time, all those extraordinary whoops, yelps and squeals that would become Jackson’s hallmarks.
He recorded in a dimly lit studio to add intimacy, and it’s no wonder Quincy claimed his singing was on a par with jazz legend Ray Charles.
The ten-track album has two distinct phases.
The first five songs, kicking off with the singles Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough and Rock With You and culminating with the title track, combine to create what sounds like the best dance party imaginable. Even the tracks that weren’t singles are exceptional: Working Day And Night is a brassy funk workout; Get On The Floor a blistering disco tune.
The second half places more emphasis on the songwriter’s art.
Paul McCartney’s delightful Girlfriend first appeared on the Wings album London Town, but it had been written with Jackson in mind, and its polished pop-soul suits him well.
ANOTHER heavyweight, Stevie Wonder, wrote the Latin-tinged jazz ballad I Can’t Help It.
She’s Out Of My Life, written by composer Tom Bahler, is a song that Quincy had originally earmarked for Sinatra, but Jackson’s version is a masterclass of regretful vulnerability. He reportedly burst into tears as he finished singing.
Listening again to how immersed in the song he is, that’s no surprise.
Compilers of this latest package have wisely left the sonic details of a near-perfect album well alone.
There are no remixes or inferior live takes. In addition to a glossy booklet, the ‘ extras’ include an informative new documentary by director Spike Lee and — bizarrely — a piece of chalk, with which listeners can decorate the album sleeve.
But the most remarkable thing is how Off The Wall has stood the test of time.
Made with real musicians rather than drum machines, it doesn’t sound dated.
It also paved the way for Thriller, which became the bestselling album of all time and led to the superstardom that ultimately destroyed its maker.
But it is Off The Wall that is Jackson’s high-water mark.
Off The Wall is out today on CD and DVD at £13. The CD and Blu-Ray version costs £15.