There's also the title track, which takes a cue from Parliament's concept pieces in employing Vincent Price to warn that nonfunky forces will "terrorize y'all's neighborhood." Thriller, of course, continues to battle with the Eagles' first greatest-hits package for the title of biggest-selling U.S. long-player ever. Bonus material on this edition includes "Someone in the Dark," from Jackson's E.T. children's album, and a Quincy Jones interview in which the producer cites "My Sharona" as the inspiration for "Beat It"--and, even better, the real-life Billie Jean's claim that Michael was "the father of one of her twins." --Rickey Wright

In short? a must have. needless to say, all the wonderful tracks have been remastered by engineer Bruce Sweiden, under the direction of Michael himself.
Enjoy the King of Pop!
Oded S.


The album to thrill the generations.   June 1, 2002
Distant Voyageur (Io)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Thriller is absolutely a trmendously creative album in MJs catalog. No wonder it became the biggest selling album of all time selling 47 million copies worldwide!

Noone will ever forget the incredible title track with the Vincent Price narration and the timeless video. The same goes for the tile glowing video 'Billie Jean' or the angsty 'Beat It'. MJ really expresses a "don't mess with me" attitude with class. Beat It will last forever.

Most of the rest of Thriller to me is similar to Quincy Jones' 'The Dude' LP.

In fact I often enjoy the lesser known songs on Thriller a bit more. Human Nature is absolutely a lovely song and is almost opposite to Thriller. I consider this one of my favorite love songs of my lifetime. Lady In My Life is my other favorite song on Thriller. Sorry dudes but while the whole album is great, The Lady In My Life and Human Nature share the crown as my top favorite songs.

The remastered edition includes new liner notes, interviews about the albums making, and a few bonus songs. Someone In The Dark is a very beautiful song although the E.T. singing was a bit jarring. There is a demo version of the huge hit 'Billie Jean' that was recorded before the regular version was eventually made. The last bonus track Carasoul is a bit dissapointing. It's only one and a half minutes long. The song should have been at least three and a half minutes long. Oh Well.

At least there are great new liner notes, and great photo stills taken from the video and behind the scenes.

Although the remastered edition could have been better this CD is absolutely incredible.

It's a shame that so many people my age completely missed this album during it's heyday although it's still immensely popular. I was only about 4 weeks old when it came out but it is one of the earliest memories I have of listening to music.

Thriller I bet will more than likely be still available in 2082, 100 years after it's release. It's that good. This CD is timeless.


Still thrilling after all these years   October 20, 2001
Bruce Aguilar (Hollywood, CA)
16 out of 20 found this review helpful

What more can be said of this album? EVERYONE knows the songs and it's incrdible history. Simply put, this album is a staple like bread, milk or butter. You can't be without a copy. Now comes this special edition and for all the original's gretness, this one outshines it!

Remember the incredible remastering done on HIStory? Well imagine that applied to the entire Thriller album. The sound is unbelievable! Everyhting is so crisp, full and alive! The songs practically leap out of the speakers. You've never heard Thriller like this before!

The gold colored cd clocks in at 72:32 with a total of 21 tracks (9 remastered hits), 6 new photos in the booklet, interviews, a demo and two rare songs. Unfortunately these new tracks aren't numbered in the booklet or on the jewel case, so you'll have to memorize their order.

I've always liked 'Someone in the Dark' from the E.T. Storybook, but hardly ever listened to my recording as I was afraid of damaging it. So it's great to finally have a superb recording of it that I can listen to over and over again. It's a touching (some might say sappy) song about finding someone special then loosing them.

The Billie Jean demo is pretty short (only 2:20), has decent sound quality and is really insightful. The melody and rhythm is exactly like the finished recording, yet the lyrics aren't finalised. It's almost like the lyrics were an afterthought to the beat. Incrdible for it's peak in to MJ's creative process.

'Carousel' sounds like a completed song but only runs 1:40. It's very 70's sounding and is overflowing with refrences to sugar and children. Sample lyric, "She's from a world of popcorn and candy". Ultimately I'm glad the song was cut, but I would've like to hear the entire song.

The section where Qunicy and Rod talk about how the Vincent Price sectin came to be is really entertaining. Then we even get to hear the recording session! Hearing Vincent Price separated from the song highlights his talent and well honed technique. It's a joy to hear this and the extra verse is exceptionally creepy.

You're sure to listen to the extra songs multiple times and the interviews make for a good listen once or twice. That plus the amazing remastering of the original album makes this a must have replacement for all die hard MJ fans and a necessary addition for anyone still not in posession of it. It's a thriller!


This Album Needs No Introduction   October 12, 2003
Busy Body (London, England)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

It's easy to see from a number of points why Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the biggest selling album of all time. With 50 million units sold worldwide the album sold by the truckload back in 1982. The album is everything you could ever wish for. It has the hits, it has the fun factor, it's relaxing, it's uplifting and it revolutionised the music industry. People in the early 1980's weren't buying records as much as they were back in the 1960's and 1970's, but Thriller sold so many copies that it got people back into record stores buying albums. Michael not only raised his own career, but raised the careers of many other artists.

Thriller has sold 26 million copies in the US alone. That is an absolute phenomenon. When you think of mammoth albums, one springs to mind like Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill." That album sold 30 million copies worldwide back in 1995 and was classed a phenomenon, but then you take a look at Thriller which sold almost twice that amount! What must've been going through Michael's head that year has to be beyond what anyone can comprehend. Thriller received a staggering 12 Grammy nominations and won a record-breaking 8. The album also topped the US album chart for an unprecedented 37 weeks. There isn't really much need for me to write a review for this album, because the name speaks for itself, but I will.

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" opens up the album. This classic charted at No.8 in the UK back in June 1983 and has become one of Michael's most-loved songs. It's a shame that it didn't become a bigger worldwide hit than in actually did, but it's still great. The lyrics are a bit weird, but hey, weird is good! "Baby Be Mine" is one of the album highlights. This song has a really smooth and soulful beat which connects wonderfully with Michael's sunlight vocals. The lyrics are catchy and the instruments are very classy. "The Girl Is Mine" is Michael's famous duet with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. Before I heard the song I had expected more from it because both singers on the song are absolute legends, but it's still a fairly good song. The argument is handled very well.

"Thriller" is up next, and is perhaps the most iconic song on the album. This song, amazingly, only just scraped into the UK Top 10 back in November 1983, but nevertheless spent almost five months on the chart. Everyone knows this song - whether you're aged 5 or 70. It's a classic in every sense of the word, and deserves the respect it's achieved. And the video? I won't say anything. "Beat It" is yet another fabulous classic on this album. The theme here deals with gangs of thugs and Michael uses music to solve their differences and make them come together and embrace the beat. It's a brilliant concept, and the guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen is awesome. Yet another fantastic classic comes in the form of "Billie Jean." The first few beats of this song are instantly recognisable from anyone who knows what music is. This anthem became Michael's first UK No.1 single back in January 1983 and made him an international icon. The video features Michael in his iconic clothes such as the white socks, the gloves and the shoes.

"Human Nature" is one of my personal favourites on the album. This is a slower-paced song, but it's still amazing. The beat is very recognisable as it has been sampled many times before since it appeared on this album. Michael's vocals are so soft and gentle. It's just perfect. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" is another brilliant song that is mid-tempo in its style. Michael gives it all in the verses with some brilliant lyrics and his voice complements the instruments very well, especially in the chorus. There's this bit after 2 minutes and 10 seconds that sounds really corny, but it's all good fun! The album closes with the ballad "The Lady In My Life." Albums closing with ballads is usually a bad thing when it comes to my taste, but Michael does them so well. Here, he sings about the one lady in his life so affectionately. It clocks in at almost five minutes, and is a brilliant closer for a legendary album.

The Special Features on Thriller are very good. We get an extra track, "Someone In The Dark," which is one of Michael's slowest songs ever. It's still fantastic though. "Billie Jean (Home Demo From 1981)" is not very different to the original, and you can't help but smile because as Michael is singing the song, you know that he doesn't even know that when he releases it, his life will change forever. In "Thriller (Voice-Over Session)," Vincent Price reads his lines from the Thriller rap that we are all now familiar with. He also speaks the second verse which was never featured on the original version. "Carousel" is another song which was left off the final version of Thriller by the producers because it was said to have been too different in style to the rest of the album.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

All in all, Thriller is definitely deserving of the reputation it has and its sales of 50 million are more than justified. If there was any album to be the biggest selling in the world ever, Thriller is easily it. Michael's two most popular follow-up albums to Thriller are 1987's "Bad" and 1991's "Dangerous." Both albums seemed determined at the time to beat Thriller, but combined sales of both the albums don't even reach the lofty heights that Thriller gained! If you don't have this album yet, what are you waiting for?! It's a classic and needs to be in everyone's CD collection. Buy it now and discover just why Michael Jackson is the most famous male entertainer of the past 20 years.