I’ve never been a huge fan of “Thriller”. To me, “Off The Wall” is the best thing Michael Jackson ever did as a solo artist. But I found this pristine original Japanese pressing with all inserts for cheap (not dirt-cheap but not expensive either), so I said “why not?”. So, for the first time ever, the best-selling non-compilation album ever is part of my collection.

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” and “Beat It” (in that order) are my favorite cuts from the album, and most likely the reason why I like the opening track so much is because I feel a close resemblance to the style of his previous release. Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango sued Michael Jackson for using the hook from his 1972 song “Soul Makossa” in this recording without his permission (“mama-say mama-sa mama-ko-ssa”).

Numark TTXUSB turntable – Nagaoka MP-500 phono cartridge – ART DJPRE II phono stage preamp – Vinyl record vinilo LP