Beat It

Regardless of what he may, or may not have done, in his personal life, there can be no dispute that Michael Jackson was a very talented person. In my opinion the Thriller album, was one of a very select few albums, which changed the face of music. The production by Quincey Jones was first class. The video for the title song, changed forever the style and quality of music videos. It marked the first major cross over for a black artist from a select few type audience, to a global market. The musical content of the album was also diverse, from soulful ballads to the power numbers such as Beat It and Thriller. I am proud to say that despite being a rocker at heart, I do have a copy of this album in my collection. A man who has performed with Slash and Eddie Van Halen, to name but two, must have some rock credentials. Also I think the bass playing on quite a few of his records would not be out of place on any rock album.

As a tribute to Michael, I am featuring a clip of Beat It recorded in October 1987 in Japan. Not sure who plays guitar on this version, but Eddie Van Halen played the solo on the album version.