Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

Reason for Listening:
#80 on the Billboard 200 (Week of 20200104). Sorted by Weeks on Chart.
Last Week: 81 | Peak: 1 | Weeks on Chart: 398

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I read on Wikipedia that "[Thriller 25] was ineligible for the Billboard 200 chart as a re-release but entered the [Top Pop Catalog Albums chart] at number one (where it stayed for 10 non-consecutive weeks)." Eventually I was able to understand what it meant by reading this section of the Wikipedia article on the Billboard 200. In short, when Thriller 25 was released, the Billboard 200 had a criteria that excluded older albums. Older albums, or "catalog" albums,* at the time could instead appear on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart and/or the Billboard Comprehensive Albums chart.

Due to success of catalog albums such as Thriller - which outsold the number one album on the Billboard 200 (week of 20090711) - the criteria was lifted in November 2009.**

Standard album cover.

Released 19821130.
9 songs. 42:19. Thriller (1982)
9+12 songs. 42:19+30:20. Thriller: Special Edition (20011016)
9+7 songs. 42:19+25:00. Thriller 25 (Standard) (20080208)
9+7+12+2 songs. 42:19+25:00+30:20+12:37. Thriller 25 (Deluxe) (20080208)
Wikipedia (Thriller)
Wikipedia (Thriller 25)
Discogs

*"Billboard defines a catalog title as one that is more than 18 months old and that has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200." (Wikipedia)
**If my understanding is correct, it can be said that, the (pre-Nov 2009) Top Comprehensive Albums became the (post-Nov 2009) Billboard 200 and the (pre-Nov 2009) Billboard 200 became the (newly created) Top Current Albums.

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Notes:
--20200101--
First listen. Thriller 25 Super Deluxe Edition.

The first nine tracks are from the original album.
5: "Beat It" (Single Version);
4: "Billie Jean";
3: "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"; "Thriller";
2: "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)";
1: "The Girl is Mine" (with Paul McCartney); "Human Nature";
0: "Baby Be Mine";
-1: "The Lady in my Life";

The next seven tracks are the extra tracks on the standard edition of Thriller 25.
2: "Wanna Be Startin' Something 2008" (with Akon); "Beat It 2008" (with Fergie);
1: "Billie Jean 2008" (with Kanye West); "For All Time";
0: "Vincent Price excerpt from 'Thriller' Voice-Over Session" (Vincent Price);
-1: "P.Y.T. (PRetty Young Thing) 2008" (with will.i.am);
-2: "The Girl is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am);

Haha. "That makes me want to dance." Smart ("Quincy Jones Interview #2")
Take this voiceover for granted. ("Voice-Over Session from Thriller")
This mix is too heavy on bass for me ("Billie Jean" (Underground Mix))

The first 12 of the last 14 tracks were previously released as bonus tracks on the special edition of Thriller. Finally the last 2 of the last 14 tracks are special bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of Thriller 25; they are in bold.
3: "Voice-Over Session from Thriller";
2: "Billie Jean" (Home Demo from 1981); "Rod Temperton Interview #1"; "Quincy Jones Interview #5";
1: "Quincy Jones Interview #1"; "Quincy Jones Interview #2"; "Quincy Jones Interview #3"; "Quincy Jones Interview #4"; "Quincy Jones Interview #6"; "Thriller" (Instrumental);
0: "Someone in the Dark"; "Carousel"; "Billie Jean" (Underground Mix);

Summary:
Overall, the base album has so many hits and so I think 5.0 is a good rating for it - even with the two tracks I'm not familiar with. Next up I would say I don't like most of the 2008 mixes so that's a detriment to the standard release of Thriller 25. Finally, I like the interview material, but I wouldn't want to listen to it all the time, and so that material gets a rating somewhere in between.

Overall Rating (Thriller): 5.0/5
Overall Rating (Thriller: Special Edition): 4.4/5
Overall Rating (Thriller 25 Deluxe): 4.0/5
Overall Rating (Thriller 25): 3.6/5
Favorite Song: "Beat It"

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Thriller 25 album cover

Alternate Thriller 25 album cover