I set out last Monday in search of... well, my excuse, I guess, to jump halfway onto the Michael Jackson bandwagon. This mainly revolved around the hype and frantic sales of his music, especially on Amazon.com where a big dent was made over the past 5 days.

"Thriller" was on my mind, of course. For years, I'd fought the urge to pick it up because it could mean I'd be going back on a lot of things I'd said. By this point, I think I'd thrown a lot of my skepticism out the window and a lot of prejudices, whatever you want to call them, about the late singer. But you won't catch me standing by the title "King of Pop," not when we have an artist whose name is actually a type of royalty. Then again, that name didn't even come about in that manner. It was the name of his dad's old band, Prince Rogers Trio.

I also won't completely roll over on Prince by saying Michael Jackson ruled the world with his music. He doesn't rule MY world when it comes to music, but he'll definitely get a nice piece of it. After the hype goes down a bit, I'll try to get my hands on "Bad," if only to have the most reputable albums of his. Of course, there's also the whole story about the one time Prince & Michael might have collaborated on something. With the creative differences and such, it never happened. I'd like to see the end result of Prince's walking away, though, just to muse about what could have been and how things might have been different.

So I arrived at FYE, my favorite music spot, which was also the last in line of the several places I looked for Thriller. Wal-mart had nothing at all, K-mart can scarcely be called a department store with such a tiny music section...
The only downside was the only available version of the album was, ahem, $19.99, and had extra stuff on it. Namely the same songs with guest vocals from people I really don't care about. Will.i.am, Akon, Fergie, and Kanye :cough: :cough: . But the end results of all the mixed up versions are better than I expected. Even "Billie Jean" with Kanye wasn't too bad, it was a different take on the classic. None of this is to say that these versions overtake the originals because its impossible to come close to them.
I also have yet to reek the benefits from the included DVD with the videos for Thriller, Beat it, and Billie Jean attached (as well as the infamous performance of Billie Jean at Motown 25 when the moon-walk was first done).

For now, I'll just go with a review of the main 9 tracks of the album and leave the alt.-versions/remakes for another day.

1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl is Mine
4. Thriller
5. Beat it
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thang)
9. The Lady in my Life

Note: I gave the tracklisting for my own purposes only. I wouldn't make to get any names of the songs wrong.

The album is a fine mix between the late "funk" of disco in its final stages and the upcoming sound of 80's pop (which, as I'd noted, I have a soft spot for, always have).

It starts with one of the "disco"-esque tracks and it ends with a rant that repeats. I don't know the lyrics so I won't repeat them, but the way it sounds brings me back to a lot of disco tracks. The song itself starts the album off great. Catchy as hell and so fun that it speads out in all directions.

"Baby Be Mine" is one of the more relaxed tracks on the album, the same goes for "The Girl is Mine." The first is a love anthem that involves trying to win over a girl. Then the next song is a duet between Michael and Paul McCartney of all people, who both claim the love interest to be theirs. Now that took me by surprise since I never knew the two had collaborated on anything. The back and forth is pretty cool. I took the time to think about the age difference between the two to see how relevant the struggle for the girl was. Given that Paul McCartney had recently turned 67, there's a 16-year age difference, so I suppose if the girl is right in the middle when it comes to age, there is a viable struggle.
Then of course, it ends with a little dialogue and where Michael actually says "I'm a lover, not a fighter." I remember hearing that somewhere before and it was a generally accepted tibdit of knowledge. Then it also hit me that Prince had said the same of him. Just now, I recalled his press conference in May of 2000, when he became "Prince" again after the record label dispute. One of the reporters asked him if who would win in a fight, h im or Michael. Not only did Prince say "Michael's a lover, not a fighter." He also said that people haven't been taking too kindly to him (I'm paraphasing) and not giving him much credit, but he thinks Michael "knows something we don't know" and he might end up surprising us.

I have my doubts he knew that that Michael would have such an untimely death and that would be the surprise. Just maybe, something might come out of his death, something comes to the surface whether it be the public or private side of him. I'm betting whatever comes into the light, it'll be a good thing.

Now we get into "the hits" section of the album where we have the three most infamous singles back-to-back. The title track, Thriller, doesn't come until track #4, which is an intersting place. Usually an album will begin or end with the title track, but this was right in the middle. As if it was the puzzle piece holding the whole album together. And that it is.
The video was unlike anything seen before and it took MTV by storm. Probably holds the record for the longest music video EVER at maybe 14 minutes. Only 4-5 of those minutes are the actual song, the rest was a well-played out movie scenario that involves zombies. What else can I say about the song, though? It's pure excitement that slowly creeps out on you and just explodes with the chorus. On a drive, provided you have a nice open road in front of you with little traffic, it can make for an incredibly ride. And trust me, I've been on this ride at least 3 times now.
Even cooler was the fact they got Vincent Price to do a voice-over for it... enough said.

I never gave much to "Beat it" before I actually hear it within its own family (as I'll call the album). All I had to go by was that it had been covered several times and you really shouldn't do it on American Idol unless you outdo the original (Anoop learned that the hard way). The excitement continues here, but the guitar work is definitely to be appreciated. Even if not played by the artist himself, it rocks the house and it definitely earns its place.
According to Wikipedia (not sure how reputable it is), Eddie Van Halen played the killer guitar for this song. To that, I must say, WOW.

"Billie Jean" always has and always will be my favorite Michael Jackson song. The beat is known by millions and it echoes around the world when played. On VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's, it overtook "When Doves Cry" at the #4 in the countdown. The spot is definitely earned well. Listening to the lyrics, though, you have to wonder what the whole message is about. It sounds a lot deeper than you think. A lot of the songs here are pretty simplistic in their lyrics and you don't have to think too much to know what he's talking about. Here, the issue actually sounds serious. From what I can get, its about a girl named Billie Jean that he once had relations with who claims that Michael's the father of her child. Months ago, I googled the lyrics and it hit me that I'd been getting them wrong for so many years.
I'd heard this several times mostly at functions, either one of my cousins' weddings or in high school (concert choir banquet or senior prom) and you can't help but dance to it. One of my cousins almost always dances to it, but he actually has his own style. No moon-walking or anything remotely similar to the music video, but its definitely a sight to see. Good dancing (compared to mine at least ), but at the same time, can be completely hilarious.
It definitely has that 80's vibe that I love.

"Human Nature" is a pretty cool, relaxed track. I listened to it the first time and remember hearing it before. I knew someone had performed it on American Idol during the Michael Jackson week (I found out last Monday that it was Matt Giraud, who didn't do too bad). The drums here are very soft, drawing more attention to the sensitive subject. The lyrics, I still need to decipher. For some reason, though, I want to say the Linn-drum is used here, but I'm not 100% positive. Maybe I just dig the way it sounds.

Oddly enough, I'm considered investing in one as well as an Oberheim synthesizer so I can see about actually playing some of Prince's songs. I'm sure I could spend hours, maybe days playing around the Linn-drum to see what effects sound the most familiar.

"P.Y.T." is also a great track and it shows the beginning of voice manipulation in music (the back-up vocals are sped-up, so this song could very well be a trailblazer). The remake with, maybe Akon, not completely sure, wasn't too bad either. Danny Gokey did this on American Idol and did a pretty good job. I'm not sure if he captures its fun nature the way Shawn Johnson did dancing to it on "Dancing with the Stars."

"The Lady in my Life" is a beautiful ballad and there's not much else I can say about it. His falsetto is good here as with a lot of the other songs, but I'm still leaning towards Prince's just because I've heard it so many times.
I never figured Michael to be the sentimental type, but he did a song called "We are not alone" in the 90's that gives me shivers. The dude's full of surprises, I gotta say.

So yeah, Thriller is a great album. It was well worth the high price and soon, I'll take advantage of the extra features.

Of course, while I was at FYE, I had to check out the Prince rack to see if there was anything I didn't already have. Then voila, the Batman soundtrack was available for a really good price ($9.99). The same day, I had to play both that and Thriller just to get a feel for them. It also helps to get the first listen out of the way with Prince because I planned on taking the album on my trip to work. Its easier to pay attention to the road when you're not trying to make sense of a completely new album.

My inital reaction, with the exception of a couple songs in the middle, was nothing but praise. And I was definitely surprised. I also found myself agreeing with the reviewers that said the album brought nothing new to the table and were just examples of what Prince had already done on his previous albums.

I've seen the future and it will be...
The album starts on an eerie and mysterious note, much the way that movie starts. For the majority of this review, though, I'm going to focus on it as a Prince album rather than it being the soundtrack of probably the best Batman movie ever released.
The Linn-drum and strings are an interesting combination. Towards the end, I was getting the same vibe as I had from a couple of Parade's tracks, mostly because of the strings. I was probably recalling "I wonder U" or maybe the strings in "Screams of Passion" from The Family's album. Again, the mystery of this track is cool because he never does say what the future will be, but just throws in possible continuations of the present.

...give me the electric chair 4 all my future crimes
I was not expecting this song to sound anything like this based on the title. Maybe I thought it'd be something a bit "scary" in more of the vein of "Darling Nikki." We are talking about an electric chair, after all. The bass and guitar in this tear off the roof because they're funky as hell. The sound of the bass, actually, made me recall "Alphabet Street" on the previous album, Lovesexy. In a lot of ways, the album follows a lot of the same musical patterns as this album, but takes them to the next step. The way it ends always makes it stand out for me. It slowly fades, but then the awesome guitar-bass line returns and slowly fades to silence from there.  

The arms of Orion, that's where I wanna b...
Based on the word on .org, the majority doesn't want to be there. I've heard a lot of bad things about this song, but I don't remember anything specific. For some odd reason, until read the title correctly, I thought it said "Arms of Onion" or something about onion. I dunno... it was a while ago, but because of the fact I can't read well  I didn't think it was going to be ballad.
Maybe it had been dismissed because the lyrics are really cheesy and terrible. The duet between Prince and Sheena Easton is really pretty. And I thought their collobroration on "U Got the Look" was good. The tenderness of the song is to be dearly noted. It also brings me back to Lovesexy when it comes to the vibe of it. I can't remember exactly which song, though, but as a whole, it makes me think about the album.

Young and old gather 'round! Everybody hail the new king in town! Partyman, Partyman...
I've heard this song a couple of times before and seen the video a couple of times too. Maybe I should check it out again for the hell of it. When I think this song now, I can only think about the scene in the movie where The Joker wrecks havoc in the museum. The vocals here are very Camile-esque, but I believe Prince called him Gemini when he used the sped-up vocals. Maybe because of the later track, Batdance, where he brings together his personal take on Batman & The Joker. Gemini is meant to be the two sides of a coin together in one person. And we all know how Prince likes to embrace the whole Gemini concept with his music.
It goes without saying that this song is fun in the way that being bad feels good. The music definitely fits in well with the 80's scheme of things.

I've never known a love so sweet, but still I keep Viki waiting...
Thinking about it now, I'm getting a "Girls & Boys" type of vibe where everything's in the sense of fun. The concept of the song, I find interesting. Why keep Viki waiting if everything's great between the two of you? Then again, the album cover credit the lead vocals to Bruce Wayne, so maybe that's why. I'm sure there'd been another song that this reminds me of, but I can't think any right now. Maybe "Eye No," from Lovesexy.

...Trust - I put this question 2 ya cuz I want U 2 be with me
The music here is a bit frantic at times, but seeing as the lead vocals are created to The Joker, it makes a lot of sense. A lot of his tracks are more fun and upbeat. I'm a little on the fence about this song for a number of reasons, but can't really specify any of them at the moment.

Ah, ah, every time U kiss me - lemon crush...
As if the previous song weren't questionable enough as to whether or not I like it... having these two back to back is a pretty bad move because it takes the overall "value" of the album done a couple of notches. I've played this song each of the times I'd played the album through, but it probably won't do anything for me unless it follows the pattern of some other tracks I'd skipped for a couple years and find myself liking when I pick it up after its been in the dark for a long while.
The vocals, especially the line that's repeated through the song, just grate on my nerves. They're just annoying... if not for them and the sound of the vocals in general, this song might have a little more merit.

Scandalous- I'm talkin' 'bout U and me...
I've seen the video for this a couple times (very simplistic, but Prince's presence makes it very beautiful). The vocals get a little harsh at times (once or twice), but the song itself is still very beautiful. The drums brings me back to "When 2 r in Love," but the way the song is put together, how there really aren't any definitive verses when the performance has very little structrue to it, reminds me a little of "Do me baby" where there is little structure in the spoken section. Most certainly, its a dearly noted ballad that closes out the 80's well.

Batdance!
This song has a lot of good stuff in it, but also pushes the envelope in a lot of places. The music video is pretty killer with the many different scenes that are put into it. There's a whole gang of Jokers led by Prince dressed as Gemini (as he was in "Partyman"), there's gang of Batmans (Batmen?) and there's Prince dressed in his Batman-era attire at an array of keyboard/organs as if he were a rock legend (Mozart/Beethoven almost come to mind here with the whole "rock opera" appearance of that set).
The music is great, but the samplings from the main characters of the movie take away from the overall effect. It just as well should have been just about the music, mixing all of the songs from the album together as he had done with a couple of later albums where he simply composes a rap that gives the title of all of the tracks on the album ("Push" was one of them, but I can't remember the others right now).

Now that I have the lyrics in front of me, I finally found out what one particular line was. I swear to God that when I watched the video for the first time on that website with all those Prince music videos (last time I checked, 2 years later, all of the videos have been untouched by "The Web Sheriff"), that I misheard this line and it scared the hell out of me.
I don't know the relevence of "Hey Ducky, let me stick this 7-inch in the computer "... was there someone by that name in the movie? And what the hell is a 7-inch?! Is that supposed to be one of those old-school floppy disks? But I will swear that when I saw that part of the video, that he had actually said my name and was transcending the video to give me a message...
It had been at least day 3 of my watching Prince videos non-stop and I thought he was asking why I was still at the computer. I was probably in a daze at that moment, but when I hear the line, it scared me straight and I was officially awake and out of that daze. It was a definite WTF moment for me.
I'm sure I know what he meant by a 7-inch in the innuendo sense, but what's the computer got to do with anything?

So I'm going to keep Batdance in the line because there are so many good things about it and I'll just have to cope with the bat and the bizarre. Hopefully after hearing it a few more times, the real lyrics will sink in and I'll stop halluincating about it.

I must say, though, when I heard the album for the first time, I was surprised by how good it was. Maybe it won't stand up too well compared to a lot of Prince's other albums, but it holds it own very well. It was interesting hearing it alongside Thriller because they both go into some dark territory. But what I really should do is play Thriller alongside Purple Rain as well as 1999 (because it also came out in 1982). A lot will be up in the air in the whole "battle" between Prince & Michael. My mind has definitely changed about a lot of things involving Michael based on Thriller alone.