This is the only Michael Jackson solo LP that I'm writing a review for since it best encapsulates my favorite genre of music: Pop/R&B. Instead of just talking about how good the music is (just read the rest of the reviews for that), I'll attempt to provide some insight on just what makes 'Off The Wall' so special. Read on:

First of all, MJ wrote three of the songs on this album; two of them are among his greatest, and that says a lot about the sheer talent emerging from the 'Gloved One' at that point in time. They are: "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough", "Working Day and Night", and "Get On The Floor".

Secondly, Rod Temperton wrote two of the other amazing tracks on this album; they are: "Rock With You" and the title track, "Off The Wall". Temperton also wrote the closing track, "Burn This Disco Out" ; but please allow me to give a little background info on this underappreciated songwriter/producer.

Rod Temperton was part of a band called the Heatwave in the late 1970s, and they're best known for the hits "Grooveline" and "Always and Forever". What's more, Rod Temperton also wrote "Thriller", "Baby Be Mine" and the ultimate Michael Jackson quiet storm ballad, "Lady In My Life". Folks, I'm sorry, but this cat Rod Temperton is BAD...and it's about time someone gave him credit where credit was due. Thank you Rod, for blessing this album with your R&B sensibility, and songwriting ability - you're awesome!

Thirdly, this was the first time Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson ever worked together on a full-length album - and at first Quincy didn't even want to do produce it! That's right, Q.J. had apprehensions about producing a "pop" record; but it worked. The pairing of then former child-star Michael Jackson with an accomplished composer like Quincy Jones was an odd one that proved to be the most amazing musical collaboration yet to take place: 1979's 'Off The Wall', 1982's 'Thriller', and 1987's 'Bad'.

Lastly, there's the music that really speaks for itself. Stevie Wonder's contribution, "I Can't Help It" is splendid, and for me it induces visions of a nighttime magic carpet ride through a large city under a full moon. I actually liked "Girlfriend" written by Paul McCartney; it's playful, and I think it could easily be covered by today's pop/R&B stars. The lone ballad on this album, "She's Out Of My Life" was decently covered by current R&B singer Ginuwine in 1999, but the original is, well...better. Minimal filler tracks - if any, on 'Off The Wall'.

Thanks for reading...

Knyte.

With all the headlines about plastic surgeries, melting faces, questionable parenting practices and voodoo contracts on entertainment moguls, it's easy to forget just how talented Michael Jackson was (is?)

I found this in my CD collection and popped it in. As a result, I remembered why I had a crush on Michael all thru my childhood and teenage years. Listening to tracks such as Off the Wall, Don't Stop Til You Get Enuf and Rock With You shows the true scope of a gifted performer who apparently got too caught up in his own publicity.

I've always considered Off the Wall a far superior work to Thriller and all subsequent Michael Jackson productions. The combination of Jackson, Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton provided the 80s with the best R&B. To those who only became aware of Jackson during his Thriller fame, I suggest you buy this CD as well as some Motown Jackson 5 compiliations. It will answer questions of why he became famous in the first place.

folks trip on the most un-important things of an artist. what's most important aside from talent is to deliever the goods. this album is a soul classic and an opus. from a dynamic Singer,song-writer,producer,arranger and multi-media force. 3 decades deep and still matters. Michael Jackson has no peers. this album brought two powerful minds together and created history. aside from Stevie(who co-wrote the jam I can't help it) what other child star has been all that as an adult? Michael that's who. Don't stop till you get enough is still funky and has made percussion that tossed ricky martin ain't heard yet. rock with you still smooth. working day&night thumps even better live and rocks on this album. the title cut a strong pre-curser to thriller. she's out of my life real depth. the grand duet with Patti Austin It's the falling in love.most artist will never make an album of this magnitude. soul music 20 years later and it's still all that. not only rod temperton, Quincy Jones, Louis Johnson, Greg phillighanis but Michael of course put the magic on it. this is a must have.

Yes, this album is better than Thriller. This was music that saw Michael and Quincy Jones team up and when Michael was "black"(literally!). It's hard to believe that this was the first album ever to have 4 top 10 hits by a solo artist. Although it sold 9 million copies, Off the Wall has never got the respect it deserved because of Thriller. However, I feel that Off the Wall is a mandatory selection for any music lover just as Saturday Night Fever, Sgt Pepper's, Thriller, and Pet Sounds.

All the tracks are good--there's no filler here! However, these are the tracks that stand out in my mind:

1) Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough -- His 2nd #1 (after Ben) overall and the first #1 from the album. This is an unbelievable record--it's pure disco with Michael singing about forces (he's actually talking about spiritual things here). I just love the overall sound of this song. Definitely one of the best tracks.

2) Rock With You -- The other #1 from the album. This song is more of a ballad and it has such a smooth feel to it. If there was ever a perfect song, this is it. Another highlight of the album!

3) Working Day and Night -- Strictly an album track, this song has a very frenetic pace with a hook that you can't get out of your head.

5) Off the Wall -- the title track and a song that went to #10, it sorta foreshadows Thriller with its spooky texture.

6) Girlfriend -- a song written by Paul McCartney, it is a very fun song to listen to.

7) She's Out of My Life -- another song that went to #10, this song, IMHO, is Michael's greatest ballad ever. The only song that comes close is Man in the Mirror. It boggles my mind that this song didn't go to #1. If you don't get chills going down your spine when you listen to this song, then you ain't human!

9) It's the Falling in Love -- pretty much a duet with Patti Austin (one of Q's favorite singers along with James Ingram), it has a very funky, dance quality to it.

In summary, this is a must-have album. After 20 years, it still sounds great and fresh. It's not that I hate Thriller, it's just that I love Off the Wall better.

Although I usually reply with an emphatic "NO" when someone asks me if I'm a Michael Jackson fan, I've always liked "Off The Wall". The album came out when I was five years old and I can still remember the excitement engendered by tracks like "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" and "Rock With You". Even after "Thriller" became the most nauseatingly overplayed album ever and all subsequent efforts reduced his claims to "The King Of Pop" as hopelessly shallow, "Off

The Wall" remained the one album I always pointed to whenever somebody slagged him off. I only just recently acquired the album on CD, and there's something still fresh and invigorating about every single track here; there's not a weak one in the bunch, and the split between the "dance" side and the "ballad" side is maintained. This kind of late 70s/early 80s brand of commercial music usually doesn't appeal to me (disco was still king back then), but like The Jacksons' album "Destiny" which preceded it, it's Jackson's intensely high spirits and the loving production touches (courtesy this time of Quincy Jones) which raise this album far above the crowd: the wall-of-sound percussion on "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough", the driving choruses of "Working Day And Night", and the ghostly vocals on the title track bespeak greatness at every turn. The album is unashamedly commercial, but like other exuberant pop moments such as "With The Beatles" and "The Slider", the quality of the music is such that Jackson makes it work to his artistic advantage. Filled with more depth, soul and grace than all of his later albums combined, "Off The Wall" *is* Michael Jackson, pop superstar.