Thriller [Analog]

アナログ恐るべし！デジタルとは別世界。 そうかぁ、昔聴いたのはこの音だったか。 これは、Q3部作をアナログで揃えねば！

やはりマイケルは素晴らしいね

非常に上品質な梱包に感謝します。 休日や会社帰りの自室で聴くレコードは まるで極上の癒しです。 今はソファに置いてますが 棚に片付ければインテリアにもなる素晴らしいコレクションが出来上がりました！

マイケルは世界一

映画が楽しみです

マイケル・ジャクソンの『Thriller』が発売されたのは、中学1年生だった1982年12月。私がその衝撃的な音に直接触れたのは、翌1983年の春のことでした。それまでは日本の歌謡曲が中心だった私の世界に、突如として海を越え、「Billie Jean」のあの不穏でクールなベースラインと衝撃的なムーンウォークが飛び込んできました。続いて「Beat It」の歴史的なハードロック・リフが鳴り響き、私の音楽観は根底から完全に覆されたのです。 当時、お小遣いの乏しかった私は、クラスメイトに頼んでレコードをカセットテープに録音してもらい、擦り切れるほど繰り返し聴き込みました。この出会いによって、私の音楽体験は歌謡曲から洋楽へと完全にシフト。以来、CD、SACD、高解像度のハイレゾ、そして、数年前にはアナログ盤を購入し、メディアを変えながら、40年以上も大切に付き合い続けてきました。久しぶりに、レコードに針を落としてみましたが、その鮮烈な音像と圧倒的な躍動感に再び身体が震えました。 アルバムは、ミニマムなリフを骨組みとした強烈でファンキーな「Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'」で鮮烈に幕を開けます。続く洗練されたR&Bバラード「Baby Be Mine」、そしてポール・マッカートニーとの世界最高峰のスーパー・スター同士による微笑ましいデュエット「The Girl Is Mine」を経て、ここからまるでベスト盤のように圧倒的な楽曲強度を持つ怒涛の展開へと突入します。A面のラストを飾るのは、あの革新的なショート・フィルム抜きには語れないタイトル曲「Thriller」。映像がなくとも、マイケルの劇的なボーカルとヴィンセント・プライスの重々しいナレーションが、一瞬にして部屋をダークで壮大なストーリーテリングの世界へと変貌させます。 ひっくり返したB面は、エディ・ヴァン・ヘイレンによる伝説的なギター・ソロで武装した衝撃のハードロック・ナンバー「Beat It」でスタートします。まるで暴走機関車のようなヘヴィなファンク・ロックの衝撃は、今聴いても息をのむほどです。しかし、本作最大のハイライトは続く「Billie Jean」でしょう。地を這うようなシンセ・ベースが迫り、「私の子どもの父親はあなただ」と主張する女性に対して「違う、僕じゃない」と怒りと緊張に震えるこのスリリングな名曲こそが、アルバムの最高到達点です。続く帝王マイルス・デイヴィスもカバーした美しきデジタル・バラード「Human Nature」、軽快で弾けるファンク「P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)」を経て、最後は洗練された甘美なR&Bバラード「The Lady In My Life」で静かに幕を閉じます。一曲一曲が異なるジャンルの頂点でありながら、アルバムとして一つの完璧な巨大な物語を形成しているのです。 80年代前半の作品の中には時代とともに古さを感じさせるものもありますが、クインシー・ジョーンズとマイケルが創り上げた『Thriller』の音像は驚くほどタイムレスです。 一言でいえば、ポールの気品、エディの情熱、そしてマイケルとクインシーの執念が融合した「人類史に永遠に君臨するポップ・エンターテインメントの最高峰」。 レコードの溝から立ち上がる鮮烈な音像とともに、私の「洋楽への扉」を開けてくれたあの日の衝動を改めて胸に刻みたくなる、永遠に色褪せない人生の記念碑的な一枚です。

CDではカットされている人間の耳の可聴域を超える2万ヘルツ以上の音がもたらすハイパーソニック・エフェクトを求めるならアナログは外せません。 アナログで名盤スリラーを聴く感動と満足感は格別です。

素晴らしい

It is perfect

Maravilhoso. Ótima compra.

Michael Jackson.

There will never be another artist like Michael Jackson. He had everything. The sex appeal, the voice, the experience, the connections- Michael Jackson epitomized everything about a pop artist. Despite his recent history and the jokes that go hand in hand (which haven’t been funny for years), Michael Jackson proves on his albums that no matter what he does, he has something great that everyone will remember him for. Thriller stands out as one of the best albums in his career, showcasing some of his most legendary songs ever. The success of Thriller is flat out scary. The album skyrocketed to the top of the charts and stayed there for 80 weeks, one of only 3 albums to reach that level. Today, it stands as the second highest selling album in the United States and according to some sources, the highest selling album ever in the world. Seven of the nine songs on Thriller became singles, and three of them are among Jackson’s greatest hits. Thriller shows Michael Jackson branching off into a large amount of genres, including rock, R&B, funk, and just straight up 80s synth pop. Despite all the different areas of music, Jackson almost subconsciously inputs his undeniable catchiness and appeal. He took a larger songwriting and production role on this album, allowing him to really play to his strengths. He shows an obvious influence from artists like James Brown, George Clinton, and Stevie Wonder, but he also pulls in some even bigger star power. He called on Paul McCartney, immortally famous Beatles member, to do a duet with him. They “collaborated” and produced The Girl is Mine, the first single off of Thriller Jackson actually wrote all of The Girl is Mine, not allowing McCartney in any of the writing. McCartney simply adds his voice and more importantly, his name to the song. Unfortunately, even with the talents of two of the greatest pop artists of all time, The Girl is Mine fails to impress. The song is a slow, dreamy love song, allowing the vocal talent to stand out. However, the poppy hooks fail to catch the attention of the listener and the music itself pails in comparison to most of the album. Regardless, The Girl is Mine found instant success, maybe due to the star power in the song. It peaked at #2 in the pop singles chart. However, The Girl is Mine was only the beginning of the success for Thriller. Jackson then released Billie Jean, a much more uptempo and overall better song than his previous effort. Jackson also wrote Billie Jean entirely, and proves his undeniable songwriting talent on the song. It grooves a simple drum beat and a fantastic, jumpy bassline. Melodically, a synth chord progression outlines the verse, but more and more instruments add in to the climatic chorus. The chorus features extremely catchy vocal harmonies and a superb funky guitar line. That line later expands into an instrumental bridge, and the guitar stands out as a certain highlight of the song. Billie Jean shot to #1 in both the Black Singles and Pop Singles charts. Thriller contains two more extremely important tracks, the first being the title track. Known more for its dance moves and music video, Thriller is about as epic as a pop song gets. The song draws from Tower of Power horn licks and Funkadelic pop sensibility. The huge brass statement that leads the song into its main groove simply states that Thriller plans to go beyond the normal limits of a pop song. The song outlines the story of a cheesy horror film, which the video conveys perfectly. Immediately following Thriller is Beat It, which also brings in some extreme extra star power. Jackson called on Eddie Van Halen to play guitar on this song. The song draws heavily from the hair metal wave taking the rock nation by storm. The song actually peaked at #14 on the rock charts as well as #1 once again on the Pop Singles and Black Singles charts. Van Halen’s guitar playing is just as lackluster as McCartney’s appearance, but at least Van Halen isn’t as legendary as McCartney. He bursts out his typical fret-burning solo that somehow never impresses me. However, it’s a common misconception that fast guitar playing equals good guitar playing, so fans ate the song up. The riffing plays fairly stereotypical, but this isn’t on a Van Halen album, it’s on a Michael Jackson album, and Jackson lets his audience know that. His poppy vocal harmonies and lyrics make this song for what it is. Overall, Thriller is composed much like a sandwich. The bread covers the top and bottom, the less interesting part of the sandwich. On Thriller, tracks 1-3 make a good first impression but after hearing the entire album, they just do not live up to the middle of the album, or the meat of the album. The three huge singles, Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean all stand out even today as some of the greatest pop singles of all time. Finally, the last half of the album feels much like the beginning. Human Nature and The Lady in My Life are both good tracks, featuring some great bass and Jackson’s more sensitive side, but still never live up to the catchiness and fun of the middle of the album. However, as the entire album is listenable all the way through and each track has at least its moments, Thriller stands as one of Jackson’s greatest efforts, giving him an eternal legacy in pop music.

Arrivato oggi ed ascoltato subito, bellissimo, probabilmente il miglior CD della mia collezione. L'edizione è bellissima, il prezzo conveniente ed il suono è pure molto buono. Ascoltare Michael Jackson in questo suo lavoro mi ha commosso, la sua voce a tratti è davvero commovente. Un album d'altri tempi, come non se ne fanno più. Grazie Michael, ci manchi tantissimo!