Off The Wall is to Thriller, what Revolver is to Sgt. Peppers Lovely Heartsclub Band. The latter two get all the accolades, but the former two are simply better. The latter two are the greatest moments in each of their career.
You can’t say enough about Off The Wall. This meeting of the already legendary Quincy Jones with the struggling to get his solo career Michael Jackson sold, what, 16 million copies. Not 40 million, true. But cmon…
And the best of the best is “Rock With You” -one of the greatest singles of all time. And the greatest dance record period. A gorgeous synth pop hook, a great vocal performance, a lyric that doesn’t rock but sways and as you all the way to the break and into the verse it never stops delving forward on that “feel the” beat.
Written by Rod Temperton but this is a producers art form, and it is Jones along with the greatest templte of them all, that make this an unbreatable and never beaten triumph.