Released
 August 10, 1979
Recorded
 December 4, 1978 – June 3, 1979
Allen Zentz Recording
Westlake Audio
Cherokee Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
 R&B, club/dance, disco, dance-pop, funk, urban, pop/rock[1]
Length
 42:16
Label
 Epic
EK-35745
Producer
 Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones
Professional reviews
Michael Jackson chronology
The Best of Michael Jackson
(1975)
 Off the Wall
(1979)
 One Day in Your Life
(1981)
Singles from Off the Wall
  1. "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"
    Released: July 28, 1979
  2. "Rock with You"
    Released: November 3, 1979
  3. "Off the Wall"
    Released: February 2, 1980
  4. "She's Out of My Life"
    Released: April 19, 1980
  5. "Girlfriend"
    Released: July 1980
























It'is the fifth studio album by Michael Jackson, released August 10, 1979 on Epic Records, after Jackson's critically well received film performance in The Wiz. While working on that project, Jackson and Quincy Jones had become friends, and Jones agreed to work with Jackson on his next studio album. Recording sessions took place between December 1978 and June 1979 at Allen Zentz Recording, Westlake Recording Studios, and Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, California. Jackson collaborated with a number of other writers and performers such as Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Rod Temperton. Jackson wrote several of the songs himself, including the lead single, "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough".
The record was a departure from Jackson's previous work for Motown. Several critics observed that Off the Wall was crafted from funk, disco-pop, soul, soft rock, jazz and pop ballads. Jackson received positive reviews for his vocal performance on the record. The record gained positive reviews and won the singer his first Grammy Award since the early 1970s. With Off the Wall, Jackson became the first solo artist to have four singles from the same album peak inside the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was a commercial success, to date it is certified for 8× Multi-Platinum in the US and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
On October 16, 2001, a special edition reissue of Off the Wall was released by Sony Records. In 2003, the album was ranked number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers listed it at number 80 of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time. In 2008, Off the Wall was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

When Jackson began the Off the Wall project he was not sure what he wanted as the final result. However he did not want another record that sounded like The Jacksons. He wanted more creative freedom, something he had not been allowed on prior albums.[20] Jones and Jackson jointly produced Off the Wall, whose songwriters included Jackson, Heatwave's Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney.[21] All sessions took place at Los Angeles County-based recording studios. Rhythm tracks and vocals were recorded at Allen Zentz Recording, the horn section's contributions took place at Westlake Audio, and string instrumentation was recorded at Cherokee Studios in West Hollywood. Following the initial sessions, audio mixing was handled by Grammy-winning engineer Bruce Swedien at Westlake Audio, after which the original tapes went to the A&M Recording Studio, also located in L.A., for mastering.[22] Swedien would later mix the recording sessions for Jackson's next album and his most well-known work, 1982's Thriller.[22] Jones recalled that, at first, he found Jackson to be very introverted, shy and non-assertive.[23]
"She's Out of My Life" was written for Jones by Tom Bahler three years prior. Jackson heard and enjoyed it, and Jones allowed him to use it on the record.[21] Jones called in Rod Temperton to write three songs. The intention was for Jackson and Jones to select one of his songs, but Jackson, liking them all, included all of them in the final cut.[21] Jackson stayed up all night to learn the lyrics to these songs instead of singing from a sheet. He finished the vocals to these three Temperton songs in two recording sections.[21] Temperton took a different approach to his song writing after spending some time researching the background to Jackson's music style. Temperton mixed his traditional harmony segments with the idea of adding shorter note melodies to suit Jackson's aggressive style.[21] Jackson wrote "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" after humming a melody in his kitchen.[24] After listening to hundreds of songs, Jackson and Jones decided upon a batch to record.[24] In hindsight, Jones believed they took a lot of risks in the production of Off the Wall and the final choice of album tracks.[21]
Attention was also paid to the album cover, which shows Jackson smiling, wearing a tuxedo and trademark socks. His manager stated, "The tuxedo was the overall plan for the Off the Wall[25] project and package. The tuxedo was our idea, the socks were Michael'".

Music and vocals

Music critics Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Stephen Holden observed that Off the Wall was crafted from funk, disco-pop, soul, soft rock, jazz and pop ballads.[6][26] Prominent examples include the ballad "She's Out of My Life", and the two disco tunes "Workin' Day and Night" and "Get on the Floor".[26] "I Can't Help It" is a jazz piece.[25] "She's out of My Life" and "It's the Falling in Love" (a duet with R&B singer Patti Austin) are melodic pop ballads.[24] The end of the former song showed an "emotional" Jackson crying as the track concluded.[25] Of the song R&B writer Nelson George proclaimed, "[It] became a Jackson signature similar to the way "My Life" served Frank Sinatra. The vulnerability, verging on fragility that would become embedded in Michael's persona found, perhaps, it's richest expression in this wistful ballad".[12] "Rock With You" is a romantic, mid-tempo song.[24]
With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Allmusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described him as a "blindingly gifted vocalist".[26] At the time, Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder. Their analysis was also that "Jackson's feathery-timbered tenor is extraordinary beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly".[27]John Randall Taraborrelli expressed the opinion that Jackson sings with "sexy falsetto" vocals in "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough".[24]

Critical reception

Off the Wall was hailed as a major breakthrough for Jackson, while receiving critical recognition, along with praises, from major music publications. In a 1979 review of the album, Rolling StoneStevie Wonder, another Motown performer who began recording at a young age and gained critical acclaim for his transition.[6]Stevie Wonder, another Motown performer who began recording at a young age and gained critical acclaim for his transition.[6] magazine contributor Stephen Holden praised Jackson's maturity and transition from his early Motown material, while calling the album a "slick, sophisticated R&B-pop showcase with a definite disco slant". Holden went on to compare Jackson to Stevie Wonder, another Motown performer who began recording at a young age and gained critical acclaim for his transition.[6]
In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Single (for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough").[28] That year, he also won Billboard Music Awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough").[28] Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release.[28][29] In particular, Jackson was angry that he h
ad won only a single Grammy Award at the 1980 Grammys, a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough".[30] Jackson stated that "It was totally unfair that it didn't get Record of the Year and it can never happen again"!!!.[31]

Grammy Awards[32]

Year
 Nominated work
 Award
 Result
1980
 "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
 Best Disco Recording
 Nominated
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
 Best R&B Vocal Performance - Male
 Won

Release, singles and commercial reception

Writer, journalist and
biographer John Randall Taraborrelli stated, "Fans and industry peers alike were left with their mouths agape when Off the Wall was issued to the public. Fans proclaimed that they hadn't heard him sing with such joy and abandon since the early Jackson 5 days".[25]
On July 28, 1979, Off the Wall's first single, "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", was released. It peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number three in the UK.[28][33] On November 3, 1979 the second single from the album, "Rock with You" was released, again it peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100.[34] In February, the album's title track was released as a single and went to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became a top 10 hit in four countries.[35]She's out of My Life", also reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June.[36] Thus Off the Wall became the first album by a solo artist to generate four US top 10 hits.[28] "
Today, Off the Wall is certified 8× Multi-Platinum in the US for shipments of eight million units and sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[37][38][39] The album's success lead to the start of a 9-year partnership between Jackson and Jones, their next collaboration would be Thriller, which is the world's best selling album of all time.[40]

Contemporary appeal

“
 ...the album that established him as an artist of astonishing talent and a bright star in his own right. This was a visionary album, a record that found a way to break disco wide open into a new world where the beat was undeniable.
 ”
—Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic, [26]
On October 16, 2001, a special edition reissue of Off the WallSony Records.[26] The material found strong praise from critics more than 20 years after the original release. Allmusic gave the record a five star review, praising the record's disco-tinged funk and mainstream pop blend, along with Jackson's songwriting and Jones' crafty production.[26] The publication believed, "[Off the Wall] is an enormously fresh record, one that remains vibrant and giddily exciting years after its release".[26] was released by
In recent years Blender gave the record a full five star review stating that it was, "A blockbuster party LP that looked beyond funk to the future of dance music, and beyond soul ballads to the future of heart-tuggers—in fact, beyond R&B to color-blind pop. Hence, the forgivable Wings cover".[2]
In 2003, the album was ranked number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[41] The National Association of Recording Merchandisers listed it at number 80 of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time.[42] In 2004, Nelson George wrote of Jackson and his music, "the argument for his greatness in the recording studio begins with his arrangements of "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough". The layers of percussion and the stacks of backing vocals, both artfully choreographed to create drama and ecstasy on the dance floor, still rock parties in the 21st century".[12] In 2008, Off the Wall was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
A problem with the 2001 special edition remasters, often pointed out by audiophiles, is the excessive use of compression and/or clipping due to the ongoing loudness war.[43] The original CD release does not suffer from this problem.

Grammy Hall of Fame[44]

Year
 Nominated work
 Award
 Result
2008
 Off the Wall
 Album
 Inducted

Sales

Country
 Certification
 Shipments/sales
Australia
 5× Platinum[45]
 350,000[45]
Brazil
 Gold[46]
 60,000[46]
Canada
 Platinum[47]
 100,000[47]
France
 2× Platinum[48]
 400,000[48]
New Zealand
 6× Platinum[48]
 90,000[49]
UK
 Platinum[50]
 300,000[50]
USA
 8× Multi-Platinum[38]
 8,000,000[38]
Worldwide
 —
 20,000,000[37]

Track listing

#
 Title
 Writer(s)
 Length
1.
 "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"
Michael Jackson
 6:05
2.
 "Rock with You"
Rod Temperton
 3:40
3.
 "Workin' Day and Night"
Jackson
 5:14
4.
 "Get on the Floor"
Jackson, Louis Johnson
 4:39
5.
 "Off the Wall"
Temperton
 4:06
6.
 "Girlfriend"
Paul McCartney
 3:05
7.
 "She's Out of My Life"
Tom Bahler
 3:38
8.
 "I Can't Help It"
Susaye Greene, Stevie Wonder
 4:28
9.
 "It's the Falling in Love" (with Patti Austin)
 David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager
 3:48
10.
 "Burn This Disco Out"
Temperton
 3:40




2001 Special Edition
#
 Title
 Length
11.
 "Quincy Jones Interview #1"
0:37
12.
 "Introduction to Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough demo"
0:13
13.
 "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (original demo from 1978)
 4:48
14.
 "Quincy Jones Interview #2"
0:30
15.
 "Introduction to Workin' Day and Night demo"
0:10
16.
 "Workin' Day and Night" (original demo from 1978)
 4:19
17.
 "Quincy Jones Interview #3"
0:48
18.
 "Rod Temperton Interview"
4:57
19.
 "Quincy Jones Interview #4"
1:32

Personnel

Horn and string arrangements by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns, Ben Wright, Johnny Mandel.


source : wikipedia