OTW sure would have sold more copies had it had more promotion. Had he made Thriller first and then OTW it would have sold better than Bad. If OTW had been released in 1985 in between thriller and Bad it would have sold unimaginable good!
Sales don't actually mean anything, huge sales are just an aded bonus. The Spice Girls first album sold more than Prince's Purple Rain album, yet Purple Rain is a more famous album because it had a greater impact on music and culture.
It doesn't matter that Bad sold more than Off The Wall. Off The Wall has since sold around 20 million albums. But by 1980 it had sold 8 million worldwide and that was a huge amount of albums back then. No MTV at the time to show the 3 videos Michael made for the album, the promotion would have mainly been on the radio. You can't really compare it to the sales of Michael's albums since Thriller because the music business was different then, and not all about selling 10 million plus album. Even now albums don't sell like the used to in the 1980's and 90's because the business is changing again and becoming more fragmented. Off The Wall is what is, a genius of an album that's made a lasting impact on music.
I can't choose which is my favorite Michael Jackson album between Off The Wall and Bad. Bad is more famous album than Off The Wall, with bigger hit singles. But Off The Wall has had a bigger influence on music than Bad, and has more credibility than Bad. Most people would be surprised that the Off The Wall album made no higher than No.3 in the USA and was never a No.1 album in both the USA and UK. Once again it's the impact an album or song has that a lasting effect not the chart positions or sales. Look at the song Smooth Criminal. It reached not higher than around No.7 and 8 in both the USA and UK, yet it's now one of Michael's most famous and influencial songs. Michael should perform more songs from Off The Wall, he tends to focus mainly on songs from Thriller and Bad, and whatever his current album is when touring.
My 5 favorite songs on Off The Wall are ...................
1. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
2. Workin' Day and Night
3. Get On The Floor
4. Rock With You
5. Burn This Disco Out
I love every song on Off The Wall even the two weaker ones, Girlfriend (I prefer Paul McCartney's version) and It's The Falling In Love.
I'd love to hear the orginal version of Rock With You, which was an uptempo song. Michael said in his autobiography Moonwalk that he slowed the pace of the song down. Which is now the iconic song we all know. The uptempo version of Rock With You was supposed to have appeared on the 2001 Special Edition of Off The Wall.
What do you think of these album covers?
Which is better?
Which one do you own?
And add anything else you'd like to say about it :flowers:
I prefer the original 1979 Off The Wall album cover, Michael looks funky and relaxed on the cover.
I owned the original foldout Off The Wall album on vinyl, that I bought in 1983. I also have it on cassette that I bought in 1983. I have the album with it's original cover on CD that I bought in the early 1990's, and a limited edition foldout card CD of the Off The Wall album that's a replica of the vinyl album with it's original cover. Plus I have the 2001 Off The Wall (Special Edition) album on CD with it's modified album cover. The inside of the booklet for the Off The Wall (Special Edition), has a photo of Michael and Paul McCartney washing plates, that photo is a bit misleading as it was taken in 1983 after the Off The Wall era.