Soul Strut 100: # 7 - Michael Jackson - Off the Wall

RAJ

I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 7 - Michael Jackson - Off the Wall



The list so far:

# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja
# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen
# 67 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis/Live! (1971)
# 66 - Al Green - Im still in love with you
# 65 - The Beatnuts - Street Level
# 64 - Archie Whitewater - Archie Whitewater (1970)
# 63 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & the Soul Brother
# 62 - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
# 61 - The J.B.???s - Food For Thought
# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)
# 59 - Niagara - (Tiddies)
# 58 - Can - Ege Bamyasi
# 57 - Whatnauts - On the Rocks
# 56 - The Mohawks - Champ
# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)
# 54 - Darondo - Let My People Go
# 53 - Dorothy Ashby - Afro Harping
# 52 - Beastie Boys - Paul???s Boutique
# 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia
# 50 - Lyman Woodard Organization - Saturday Night Special
# 49 - Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
# 48 - Lyn Collins - Think (About It)
# 47 - James Brown - In The Jungle Groove
# 46 - Bill Withers - Still Bill
# 45 - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
# 44 - Silver Apples - S/T
# 43 - Mobb Deep - The Infamous
# 42 - Lyn Christopher (1973)
# 41 - Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson
# 40 - Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
# 39 - Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop
# 38 - Terry Callier - What Color is Love
# 37 - David Axelrod - Song of Innocence
# 36 - The Invaders - Spacing Out
# 35 - Leo Sayer - Endless Flight
# 34 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
# 33 - DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist - Brainfreeze (Mix)
# 32 - Michael Jackson - Thriller
# 31 - DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
# 30 - De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
# 29 - Ray Barretto - Acid
# 28 - The Sylvers - II
# 27 - Donald Byrd - Places and Spaces
# 26 - Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
# 25 - Nas - Illmatic
# 24 - The Baby Huey Story - The Living Legend
# 23 - Roy Ayers - He???s Coming
# 22 - Kool and the Gang (album) (1969)
# 21 - Demon Fuzz - Afreaka!
# 20 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis!
#19 - Eugene McDaniels - Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse
# 18 - Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock
# 17 - Placebo - Ball of Eyes
# 16 - Arthur Verocai - Arthur Verocai (1972)
# 15 - A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
# 14 - S.O.U.L. - What Is It
# 13 - Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
# 12 - Boscoe
# 11 - RAMP - Come Into Knowledge
# 10 - Bob James - 2 (Mardi Gras with or without the Bells)
# 9 - Syl Johnson - Is It Because I???m Black?
# 8 - The Meters - S/T (1969)

Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.

About

Off the Wall was a departure from Jackson's previous work for Motown. Several critics observed that Off the Wall was crafted from funk, disco, soft rock, jazz and pop ballads. Jackson received positive reviews for his vocal performance on the record. The record gained positive reviews and won the singer his first Grammy Award since the early 1970s. With Off the Wall, Jackson became the first solo artist to have four singles from the same album peak inside the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was a commercial success; to date it is certified for 8?? Multi-Platinum in the US and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling albums of all time.
On October 16, 2001, a special edition reissue of Off the Wall was released by Sony Records. Recent reviews by AllMusic and Blender have continued to praise Off the Wall for its appeal in the 21st century. In 2003, the album was ranked number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers listed it at number 80 of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time. In 2008, Off the Wall was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_the_Wall_(album)

Related Threads

Off The Wall vs. Thriller???

Thriller VS. Off The Wall (part2)

Media

DocMcCoy

VINDICATED.

RAJ

DOR

DocMcCoy said:

VINDICATED.

YES!

Jimster

For me, a benchmark for R&B vocalists.

There is, for those capable of feeling it, a real magic in this record, even more than the sum of it's considerably talented parts.

HarveyCanal

Eh.

Of course I love this album. My aunt got it for me on 8-track when it came out.

But it's become way too beat and cliche'd to be on this list IMO.

What used to be a certain understanding and appreciation of Off the Wall has over the years given way to unnerving visions of bad dancing by cheesy white girls.

I mean, would you actually still spin from this album during your dj night? Even at a house party, this one by rule gets skipped over when building the crate.

Sorry, y'all, but she's out of my life.

Jimster

^^^ ICONOCLAST.

b/w

Grinch

RAJ

This was totally unplanned, but today is his birthday!

Mr. Attention

HarveyCanal said:

What used to be a certain understanding and appreciation of Off the Wall has over the years given way to unnerving visions of bad dancing by cheesy white girls.

So the reason you don't like 'Off the Wall' anymore is because of its universal appeal? (which includes its popularity with social groups that have tastes that differ from your own, e.g. "cheesy white girls.") I'll admit that "Don't Stop..." is pretty played out at weddings, et al., but that doesn't change the fact that it remains to be a great song.

HarveyCanal said:

I mean, would you actually still spin from this album during your dj night? Even at a house party, this one by rule gets skipped over when building the crate.

Sure, why not? I still throw in the title track on occasion during sets when the mood and crowd are right.

It seems like you're not a fan of the album mostly due to its wide reach and popularity, or you're just being a contrarian to get suckers like me to respond.

HarveyCanal

I don't like many albums, no matter how good, that I wind up hearing 5 million times.

Yes, being a populist, especially as a dj, has its merits. But I always thought this site was more about that RAER.

batmon

DJ with creativity play Working Day and Night, Get On The Floor.

Mr. Attention

HarveyCanal said:

I don't like many albums, no matter how good, that I wind up hearing 5 million times.

Yes, being a populist, especially as a dj, has its merits. But I always thought this site was more about that RAER.

I see your point. And while this site is predominantly about the RAER (which is why most of us are here), we can still appreciate the more popular/mainstream classics from time to time.

Plus, doesn't the eternal "Off the Wall vs. Thriller" argument (which has taken place on these messageboards many times over the years) alone warrant both albums taking spots on this list? I thought the rankings were Soul Strut-centric, not a statement of "Album X is greater and therefore higher on the list than Album Y."

DJ_Enki

Mr. Attention said:

I'll admit that "Don't Stop..." is pretty played out at weddings, et al., but that doesn't change the fact that it remains to be a great song.

I'm DJing a wedding next weekend, and Don't Stop" is 99% sure to be played. Gotta do whatcha gotta do....

Also: THRILLER!

batmon

DJ_Enki said:

Mr. Attention said:

I'll admit that "Don't Stop..." is pretty played out at weddings, et al., but that doesn't change the fact that it remains to be a great song.

I'm DJing a wedding next weekend, and Don't Stop" is 99% sure to be played. Gotta do whatcha gotta do....

Also: THRILLER!

You rock Thriller at a wedding? After Beat It, Billie Jean, PYT, and Wanna Be, why?

Controller_7

I think he means he prefers the album Thriller, not that he'd play that track in particular.

edpowers

Off The Wall takes a huge nose dive after the title song. The first 5 songs on OTW are absolute FIRE. The second half of OTW is mediocre. "I Can't Help it" saves the second half of this record from being total blah.

batmon

edpowers said:

Off The Wall takes a huge nose dive after the title song. The first 5 songs on OTW are absolute FIRE. The second half of OTW is mediocre. "I Can't Help it" saves the second half of this record from being total blah.

Nonsense.

The side 2 is the sensitive side.

She Out Of My Life is Classic MJ crying steez.

Its the Falling In Love is that shit.

edpowers

Its the Falling In Love is that shit.

Ehh. Decent Filler.

batmon

Side Two is where hes really singing.

SIRUS

get on the floor always gets played at a party -- c'mon y'all.

Bon Vivant

> Thriller, IMO.

ketan

batmon said:

DJ_Enki said:

Also: THRILLER!

You rock Thriller at a wedding? After Beat It, Billie Jean, PYT, and Wanna Be, why?

Baby Be Mine?

I'll say that the hits on OTW could not be bigger or better, but I just think that everyone stepped their game up for the follow-up...

batmon

ketan said:

batmon said:

DJ_Enki said:

Also: THRILLER!

You rock Thriller at a wedding? After Beat It, Billie Jean, PYT, and Wanna Be, why?

Baby Be Mine?

I'll say that the hits on OTW could not be bigger or better, but I just think that everyone stepped their game up for the follow-up...

Just curious...how old are u?

ketan

36. yeah, i was just a toddler when OTW came out, but actively listened to Thriller as a kid.

batmon

ketan said:

36. yeah, i was just a toddler when OTW came out, but actively listened to Thriller as a kid.

Cool.....
So u didnt really get to witness the impact OTW had, to fully assess how Thriller was a step up?
U came into Thriller and had to back track to OTW, right?
If your baptism is Thriller, then........

ketan

batmon said:

So u didnt really get to witness the impact OTW had, to fully assess how Thriller was a step up?
U came into Thriller and had to back track to OTW, right?

you're hilarious!

edit: your passion for OTW is commendable

Jimster

batmon said:

crying steez.

If you can't get your saline on to this, then... I dunno... You Don't Know What Love Is.

b/w

Yeah I have been dumped before. What of it?

WHAT OF IT??1??!?!?1??!

Cuts like a knife, brah... Some Brooke Shields shit right there.

skel

Bought this at a bootsale once.
20p.

Got it home, played it through, thought it unremarkable, tepid even, threw it in the recycling bin.
My bad.
Should have taken it to the charity shop.
Still feel guilty about that.

batmon

J i m s t e r said:

batmon said:

crying steez.

If you can't get your saline on to this, then... I dunno... You Don't Know What Love Is.

b/w

Yeah I have been dumped before. What of it?

WHAT OF IT??1??!?!?1??!

Cuts like a knife, brah... Some Brooke Shields Tatum O'Neal shit right there.

Bon Vivant

Get On The Floor is my shit.

Snapping

Off The Wall vs. Thriller = Revolver vs. Sgt. Pepper?