Well what can be said about this song that hasn't already been said? You all will have heard this several times, the seventh (and final) single from Michael Jackson's landmark album of the same name. It was written by Rod Temperton, and originally was titled "Starlight". Rod Temperton was asked to consider titles for the album, and after writing down over a hundred titles, originally decided the title would be Midnight Man. The next day, he said the word "Thriller", thought of the merchandising opportunities, and felt that he had found the perfect title, and the rest as they say, is history! The song is also famed for its spoken ending, featuring renowned horror actor Vincent Price. The album version is vastly different from the video version, but if I'm honest I prefer the video version. I just don't think the verse-chorus structure of the album version works as well. Plus the video version has my favourite part of the song, the two minute instrumental breakdown were Michael performed his iconic zombie routine. If I'm honest with you, its one of the tracks I listened to the least, and probably my least favourite track on Thriller. Its an iconic song of course, absolutely brilliant at parties etc and I have a ton of memories associated with the track, but as for showing off Michael's talents there are better tracks. Its also aged considerably more than the other tracks on Thriller (which have aged really well I feel), and I don't think it works on an album, for me its one of those songs that is enhanced by the video. I rarely listen to the song unless I'm going out or watching the video itself. A lot of Michael's fans feel the same, saying that its hard to listen to some of his other work and still favour Thriller. Still a good song, but I just think there's better!
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