Off the Wall, Jackson’s breakthrough solo project, devoured the charts in 1979. Diverting away from The Jacksons, he wanted to produce his own album. Teaming with Epic Records, he gave out Off the Wall, which had two different songs take the cake of number one on the billboard top 100, and another two in the top ten.

Going for a funk record, he had a variety of production tactics put into each song, which really stands out throughout. While this isn’t his most popular album, it definitely isn’t short of the rest. Coming in at 10 songs for a total of 43 minutes, Michael brings forth his best effort at a solo project. There is no question for the King of Pop being successful at starting his long and decorated solo career with this album.

Introduction

Michael Jackson is highly regarded as the best pop singer of all time, and I will say he probably has the best voice in music. That voice is shown throughout this project. The way he creates a song that depicts two different vocal levels and flawlessly goes between them is superb. He really is the King of Pop.

Furthermore, the instrumentals on this project are outstanding. He incorporates wind sections, string sections, many different styles of guitars, and other instruments to create near perfect beats. While many misinterpret the true meanings of these songs, Michael does create some realness in these tracks, which creates a connection with the listener. All in all, his solo career started on the right track.

Vocal Performance

As always, Michael’s voice is a clear standout. And more importantly, he demonstrates a great variety of range here. On songs like “Rock With You” or “Burn the Disco Out” he has a more lower tone and doesn’t really exceed a high pitch. On the contrary, in “She’s Out Of My Life” he has to hit much higher notes, which is something he always suceeds at.

He sounds great in both, which capitalizes every song on the project. It is hard to not mention his background vocals. He is known for his iconic “hee-hee,” and he hits those here. It does detract from a few songs, however, it still remains a key element on the production through and through.

Production

Speaking of his production, it is possibly the most interesting element here. Obviously in the seventies, this style of music was prominent, however, it is a different feel to other Michael Jackson projects. My favorite touch of the whole album sits here, and that is the different instruments and styles he brings.

Like I said earlier, he has many different versions from string sections, wind sections, etc. This is most definitely a highlight, as he brings different feels throughout. The beginning and end of the project are more dance songs, sticking to a true funk feel. On the contrary, the middle has a slower feel, where it is less and less a party song, and more so a slow pop song.

Meaning/Misinterpretation

A common thought amongst many of these tracks are that Michael secretly tied all the meanings back to sex. While I cannot agree nor disagree, there are elements that make it seem like that is the case. Moving past that, some of the songs have different meanings at face value. Many of these are explored in the song title, while many of these are explored in different aspects of the song.

The lyrics in many of these songs are simplistic and straight to the point, which understandably makes many people think there is more than the words. So, in this case, the meaning in most these songs are bland and not explored much, which slightly holds back the entire project.

Conclusion

While this album certainly does not compare to many of Michael’s other albums, Off the Wall was a wonderful debut for his solo career. While it is worth a listen to, and I will be revisiting this album more, it certainly isn’t a Thriller or Bad. Apart from the instrumentals, the album is a little generic and simple.

A strong title: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” is simply the best track here. It certainly has one of the best instrumentals on the album. Tie this with how well Michael’s vocals performed here, and you are given a song that has stood the test of time.

Rating: Worth a Listen

Final Notes

As always, take the reviews as opinion pieces. Not everyone will share the same views. These pieces are meant to bring music listeners together. Finally, go give Off The Wall a listen for yourself and leave your thoughts below.