Culture Shock: Michael Jackson Thriller 40

The anniversary record that proves the biggest name in music doesn’t have an expiration date

This feature appears in V139, Supermodel, Superhero issue, now available for purchase. 

There comes a time when even the greatest artists of our era are topped by chart newcomers in the ongoing battle for creative triumph and notoriety. It’s a game for which many are willing to risk it all—composing anthems with cultural relevance and sonic forethought to climb the ranks of industry records—but not everyone needs to play. Forty years since the release of Michael Jackson’s eight-time Grammy award-winning, 34-time multiplatinum album Thriller, the biggest seller in music history is taking its place on the gameboard with a new anniversary edition, Michael Jackson Thriller 40.

Image credit: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis Historica via Getty Images

Including a re-release of the revolutionary album that redefined music as the world once knew it, the double CD includes a bonus of unreleased demos and rarities accompanied by 15 other digital tracks. Filled with the transformative storytelling and decade-defying pop-rock-funk the singer is so reverently known for, Michael Jackson Thriller 40 is a time-capsuled chronicle of the artist who did more than win the game; he coined it.

Michael Jackson Thriller 40 is available November 18, 2022 via Sony Music.

 

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