I love this album. I really didn't start listening to it until right after Bad came out though because I used to see it at the store with a "value price" sticker on it and as a kid I guess I assumed it wasn't that good because it was so cheap.
But finally, one day in the late 80's I decided to buy it on cassette and when I did, I was very happily surprised with how much I liked it. For one, it featured Rock With You, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, and She's Out Of My Life like I'd seen for years in music videos and concert footage (esp. the new Bad tour concert footage), and then it also had a slew of other great songs I instantly got hooked to.
For awhile there, in the late 80's, I was addicted to Off The Wall along with the new album Bad. I'd listen to some of Bad on vinyl, then switch over to my Off The Wall cassette tape. It was great.
Now, when I listen to it, the only song I really don't enjoy is Girlfriend. The reason is just because I don't like hearing songs glorifying infidelity in any form. Sorry, that's just me. I didn't like Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me" either for the same reason. That's just me. I'm a married man of 10 years and my wife an I...we have personally seen what happens and the emotional damage infidelity can do. So....yeah.
Anyway, the whole album (besides that song) is friggin great. One of the best albums ever put out. But just to clarify, it's not Michael's first solo album. He had others under the Motown label. But it is Michael's first BIG solo album (and it was with Epic btw).
One last thing I want to add here is that I never skip The Girl Is Mine when listening to Thriller. It's part of the whole Thriller experience for me. It's one of the songs I listened to when I was a little kid back then and it is Thriller. Without the song, the Thriller album is not the Thriller album. I guess it's one of those "you had to be there" type situations...lol I love it.
