Michael Jackson
Thriller
Thriller is Michael's sixth studio album.It was released on November 30th, 1982 ,by Epic Records,as the follow up to Michael's 1979 album Off the Wall Thriller explores similar genres such as Pop,R&B,Rock,Post Disco,Funk and Adult Contemporary music.The Recording of this Album Took place in April and November 1982 at West lake recording studios In Los Angeles,California.This album was produced and managed by Quincy Jones and for the making of the hole album they had a budget of $750,00 dollars.
Quincy Jones during the making of this track Beat it phoned up Van Helen who is a famous well known Rock icon for the involvement of making this track Beat it.Van Helen thought at the time he would not fit into this track because of his different style and genre of Michael Jackson.In the recording studio it only took Van Helen 30 minutes to finish all of his recordings but he was worried that he had ruined the track for Michael.Soon as Michael heard the track he instantly thanked Van Helen and he really liked what he did with the song.Van Helens involvement with the track widened Michaels style of music by giving this song rock features and feel.The use of the electric guitar gave this song power and more meaning and making it very successful especially with the guitar solo Van Helen made which is very well known and one of the reasons it became so successful .This track then became The song of they year and reached the top ten.This track was one of the main reasons why this album was so successful and the blend of rock and pop in the mixing of this track attracted a wide range audience especially Michael working with such a Rock icon.
(From 1;33 in this Video shows the interview with Van Helen and how he made such an impact in the making of Beat it and the process behind it and how he got involved )
In another one of the songs in the Thriller Album Michael ring up another major music icon Paul McCartney and asked him if he wanted to make some hits. Michael visited Paul McCartney and from April 14th they recorded The girl is mine.Working with Paul and Van Helen helped give This album made a complete new sound with there mix of musical styles all put together and Working with these icons help promote and gain a wider range of audiences.
This song was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released as the first single for Jackson's sixth solo album Thriller. . This track topped the R&B Singles chart , the single peaked at number two and number eight in the UK. By 1985, it had sold 1.3 million copies, and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one million units.
For 30 years Michael Jacksons drummer who was Jonathan Moffet who is known as "Sugar foot"played,toured and recorded for Michael all thorough his legacy starting with the Jackson 5.Jonathan had a very close relationship with Michael knowing his family for 32 years and this helped all through out them time together working .Jonathan style of play was a low tuned drums but with power and drive behind the foot pedal giving him the name "Sugar Foot" .
As a drummer Jonathan was known for his power and unique style of play giving him the name "Sugar foot"because of his foot peddle power and techniques he created such as the one handed cymbal catch this help him develop new groves and drum pieces which he would create when performing and recording bringing a unique drum sound to music especially in the thriller album.
When recording drums Jonathan Moffet used larger diameter drums then most drummers with 24 inch bass drums having a larger diameter then using the standard 22 inch bass drum which means when mixing you wont need less EQ and balancing it out.The more low end the sound means you can and more sounds when mixing the drums.He tunes the bass drum to the lowest possible note but still having tone. Jonathan created the hydro drum set up which included 5 bass drums which is his main set up he also had a set up called triple threat including 3 base drums.Sugar foot wanted to be unique and have his own sound so he tuned his drums differently to create a thunder and strong new sound.He uses loads of cymbals to create a number of different sounds and voices to add to his music and drum tracks.
Jonathan Muffet used DW drums (Drumming workshop) which are top of the range drums which still are today which give a natural power full sound through the shells with a wide range of quality sounds.
Here is some rare footage of Michael recording vocals for "We are the world" in the west lake studios with Quincy Jones .In this footage you can see that when recording vocals he uses an condenser microphone with a pop filter which would block out any unwanted sounds to create a clear recording.When recording the vocals they would take many cuts until it was right and perfect and Michael would listen to the track and sing over the top but it would all be recorded separately.In this clip you here Quincy Jones who talks to Michael helping him out and playing the parts that need improving and re going over them and giving him support.
When recording this album every one behind the making of it wanted to recharge the industry and make this the best album and sound quality through the sonic values in the album Thriller.They had a major time pressure problem whilst recording by the record company and it took them 8 weeks to complete the making of thriller. Michael made 4 songs on the album which he then took to the studio which then they worked on and developed.This album had so many changes because Quincy got rid of 4 of the 9 songs and replaced them because he thought the tracks were not strong enough.They felt like they needed a rock track which then Michael created beat it with the help of Quincy getting in the track a rock icon Van Helen Quincy was known for being a perfectionist and even when they though a part of the track was solid he would always ask for another cut.Even when they thought the album was fixed Michael was found crying in another studio because he felt the album didn't have the sonic quality but after that they spent each day spending hours on each song over dubbing parts and mixing them to get the album correct and perfect .
Michael Jackson was also known for making iconic music videos which were shown and viewed over the world.One of the most famous videos he made was for the album Thriller and this song was Thriller which was a massive hit and one of the main reasons he was remembered. Especially during the build up and the event of Halloween this song was played and is still played today also it is remembered as one of the most famous halloween song of all time.In the song Thriller there is a narrative part in the song by Vincent Price who is a famous actor who was well known for being in horror film and having a distinctive voice which was cleverly used in the song thriller to create a scary atmosphere for the song and the music video.This song also reflected the sonic sound and the high quality recording Quincy ,Michael and every one behind the album wanted which created the best selling album of all time.
In the music video the special effects at the time were at a very high standard through the transformation of Michael into a wear wolf and into a zombie which was used to scare the viewers giving the video Horror features and conventions.Also the mise en scene used in then video was very clever such as the locations such as the grave yard to create a Horror atmosphere and the costumes and make up of the backing dancers who looked like zombies and also on Michael when he transforms .The choreography of the dances in the music videos are very famous and are repeated all round the world.One of the things people remember Michael is his great dancing and moves such as the most famous move the moon walk and choreography pieces in his music video such as Thriller.On MTV Michaels videos were played over and over again because the viewers loved his iconic and well constructed music videos which helped promote his albums.
Here are the lyrics below of the iconic narrative in the song thriller by Vincent price which gave thriller the horror aspect and atmosphere :
Darkness falls across the land
The midnite hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'awl's neighbourhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller
Can you dig it?!
Bruce Swedien's microphone collection, spanning many of the best‑known models in studio history.He wanted to set a high standard and raise the bar in the music industry and to do this he had to use the best technology and models he could used such as the microphones.Thriller was the best studio quality album of all time and it was all thanks to the help of Bruce and Quincy .Bruce collected his microphones over the years which enabled him to have a wide rage of microphones to record different sections and instruments for the songs in thriller.Bruce just like Quincy Jones was a specialist and passionate for his work which helped influence and support the making of the thriller album .The quality of the album was reflected from there great work and Thriller became the best sounding studio quality of all time.
Altec 21B
RCA 44BX & 77BX; AEA R44C
Sennheiser MD421
Shure SM57
Telefunken U47
Neumann M149
Neumann M49
Neumann U67
Quincy Jones during the making of this track Beat it phoned up Van Helen who is a famous well known Rock icon for the involvement of making this track Beat it.Van Helen thought at the time he would not fit into this track because of his different style and genre of Michael Jackson.In the recording studio it only took Van Helen 30 minutes to finish all of his recordings but he was worried that he had ruined the track for Michael.Soon as Michael heard the track he instantly thanked Van Helen and he really liked what he did with the song.Van Helens involvement with the track widened Michaels style of music by giving this song rock features and feel.The use of the electric guitar gave this song power and more meaning and making it very successful especially with the guitar solo Van Helen made which is very well known and one of the reasons it became so successful .This track then became The song of they year and reached the top ten.This track was one of the main reasons why this album was so successful and the blend of rock and pop in the mixing of this track attracted a wide range audience especially Michael working with such a Rock icon.
In another one of the songs in the Thriller Album Michael ring up another major music icon Paul McCartney and asked him if he wanted to make some hits. Michael visited Paul McCartney and from April 14th they recorded The girl is mine.Working with Paul and Van Helen helped give This album made a complete new sound with there mix of musical styles all put together and Working with these icons help promote and gain a wider range of audiences.
This song was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released as the first single for Jackson's sixth solo album Thriller. . This track topped the R&B Singles chart , the single peaked at number two and number eight in the UK. By 1985, it had sold 1.3 million copies, and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one million units.
For 30 years Michael Jacksons drummer who was Jonathan Moffet who is known as "Sugar foot"played,toured and recorded for Michael all thorough his legacy starting with the Jackson 5.Jonathan had a very close relationship with Michael knowing his family for 32 years and this helped all through out them time together working .Jonathan style of play was a low tuned drums but with power and drive behind the foot pedal giving him the name "Sugar Foot" .
As a drummer Jonathan was known for his power and unique style of play giving him the name "Sugar foot"because of his foot peddle power and techniques he created such as the one handed cymbal catch this help him develop new groves and drum pieces which he would create when performing and recording bringing a unique drum sound to music especially in the thriller album.
When recording drums Jonathan Moffet used larger diameter drums then most drummers with 24 inch bass drums having a larger diameter then using the standard 22 inch bass drum which means when mixing you wont need less EQ and balancing it out.The more low end the sound means you can and more sounds when mixing the drums.He tunes the bass drum to the lowest possible note but still having tone. Jonathan created the hydro drum set up which included 5 bass drums which is his main set up he also had a set up called triple threat including 3 base drums.Sugar foot wanted to be unique and have his own sound so he tuned his drums differently to create a thunder and strong new sound.He uses loads of cymbals to create a number of different sounds and voices to add to his music and drum tracks.
When recording this album every one behind the making of it wanted to recharge the industry and make this the best album and sound quality through the sonic values in the album Thriller.They had a major time pressure problem whilst recording by the record company and it took them 8 weeks to complete the making of thriller. Michael made 4 songs on the album which he then took to the studio which then they worked on and developed.This album had so many changes because Quincy got rid of 4 of the 9 songs and replaced them because he thought the tracks were not strong enough.They felt like they needed a rock track which then Michael created beat it with the help of Quincy getting in the track a rock icon Van Helen Quincy was known for being a perfectionist and even when they though a part of the track was solid he would always ask for another cut.Even when they thought the album was fixed Michael was found crying in another studio because he felt the album didn't have the sonic quality but after that they spent each day spending hours on each song over dubbing parts and mixing them to get the album correct and perfect .
Thriller
Michael Jackson was also known for making iconic music videos which were shown and viewed over the world.One of the most famous videos he made was for the album Thriller and this song was Thriller which was a massive hit and one of the main reasons he was remembered. Especially during the build up and the event of Halloween this song was played and is still played today also it is remembered as one of the most famous halloween song of all time.In the song Thriller there is a narrative part in the song by Vincent Price who is a famous actor who was well known for being in horror film and having a distinctive voice which was cleverly used in the song thriller to create a scary atmosphere for the song and the music video.This song also reflected the sonic sound and the high quality recording Quincy ,Michael and every one behind the album wanted which created the best selling album of all time.
In the music video the special effects at the time were at a very high standard through the transformation of Michael into a wear wolf and into a zombie which was used to scare the viewers giving the video Horror features and conventions.Also the mise en scene used in then video was very clever such as the locations such as the grave yard to create a Horror atmosphere and the costumes and make up of the backing dancers who looked like zombies and also on Michael when he transforms .The choreography of the dances in the music videos are very famous and are repeated all round the world.One of the things people remember Michael is his great dancing and moves such as the most famous move the moon walk and choreography pieces in his music video such as Thriller.On MTV Michaels videos were played over and over again because the viewers loved his iconic and well constructed music videos which helped promote his albums.
Here are the lyrics below of the iconic narrative in the song thriller by Vincent price which gave thriller the horror aspect and atmosphere :
The midnite hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'awl's neighbourhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller
Can you dig it?!
Bruce Sweiden
Bruce Swedien's microphone collection, spanning many of the best‑known models in studio history.He wanted to set a high standard and raise the bar in the music industry and to do this he had to use the best technology and models he could used such as the microphones.Thriller was the best studio quality album of all time and it was all thanks to the help of Bruce and Quincy .Bruce collected his microphones over the years which enabled him to have a wide rage of microphones to record different sections and instruments for the songs in thriller.Bruce just like Quincy Jones was a specialist and passionate for his work which helped influence and support the making of the thriller album .The quality of the album was reflected from there great work and Thriller became the best sounding studio quality of all time.
Bruce came up with many ideas and inventions such as this custom made kick drum cover which helped create the specific sounds he wanted to create.
When the recordings were complete Quincy and Bruce would spend days mixing each track,song and section till the sounds were all perfected.
Here is a picture of track sheets written by Bruce for Thriller.
Microphones he used :
AKG C414 EBAltec 21B
RCA 44BX & 77BX; AEA R44C
Sennheiser MD421
Shure SM57
Telefunken U47
Neumann M149
Neumann M49
Neumann U67
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