MOG

Nice call.. I had a post about a month ago about buying "What's Going On" on impulse at a supermarket line.. that album truly transcends it's time, and in some respects, puts Michael to shame.

You said not further comment was necessary and I'm assuming by that you mean that Marvin Gaye's performance and abilities dwarf those of Michael Jackson's.

While I don't disagree that Marvin Gaye is one of the greatest singer/songwriters and voices of a generation, Michael Jackson's influence as entertainer and songwriter should not be discounted either.

These men are 2 totally different performers and while I don't particularly count myself a fan of either (while these performances were being aired I'm pretty sure I was in my room listening to Motley Crue, Ozzy, AC/DC and Iron Maiden) I think both have left an indelible mark on the music industry.

It's easy to take shots at Michael Jackson these days but from the late-70's through the early 90's, he was the voice of Pop music that influenced an entire generation and basically created a genre.

Just some thoughts from a metal-head that grew-up in the Michael Jackson era of the 80's.

Later Phil

..no question that Michael influenced a generation, and sold a gazillion albums however, (and I'm back on my soapbox) his music didn't really, "matter". It didn't, imho, lift up our eyes.. in the way that songs like "Mercy, Mercy Me" did, and still do..

Phil,

There are quite a few comments that can be made about these two performances. Did you, for example, notice any differences in the reactions of the audience? What do those differences say about us, collectively?

Michael Jackson performed a song that was released through Epic records on a show that marked Motown's 25th anniversary. What does that fact say about Michael Jackson's star power at the time?

My objective, here, is to provoke thought. Why was Michael Jackson such a big star at the time? For those of us who remember the show when it first aired (I was in college at the time), it's not a bad exercise to recall our reactions at the time and compare those reactions to how we now feel after a quarter century of listening to and learning about music.

And, if my post has inspired a head banger like you to talk about Michael Jackson, I think I've achieved my objective, no? :-)

..the thing I love about music, is that I wouldn't have been caught dead with "Thriller" in my hands when it came out.. or, actually, even Marvin Gaye - I was too busy listening to Judas Priest or Budgie.. but as I have aged (like a fine wine?).. I'm finding that I can plug all sorts of music into my stereo and enjoy it, including Michael.. and the discovery I have made in the last decade of things like "Pet Sounds" and "Highway 61 Revisited" is truly amazing.. including the discovery of this website.. ..so, I don't mean to suggest for a moment that I'm somehow about listening to "Billy Jean" in the right mood :)

When that show originally aired, a number of people I knew raved about Michael Jackson's performance, especially his "moonwalk," meaning his ability to walk forward while moving backwards, and I really regretted not having seen the show, and ever since I have wished I could see what they raved about, so this post is a treat. What's surprising is how his moonwalk only takes up a second or two of the performance, elicits instant excitement from the audience, so instant that I suspect that their excitement came from having seen it before. Is there footage somewhere of someone else fusing song and dance at such a level of brilliance? The way the "Billie Jean" musical accompaniment faded out at the end made suspect that it was playback, but his singing seemed live.

It's a revelation to me to see how well Marvin Gaye could play piano, and his spoken words, because they sounded spontaneous, threatened to become maudlin or muddled but instead ended up being eloquent. I've never heard a voice more musical than his, and part of that is his ability to bring us into his soul. Anyone interested in a filler-free album by him (unlike the "What's Going On" album) should check out "M.P.G." from 1969, which features this gem, "It Don't Take Much to Keep Me."

Spike,

We'd all seen that move, the moonwalk, before, just in a different context. Marcel Marceau had perfect the mechanics of it, and it had been a mime staple for some time. Michael's brilliance was to take that move, alter it slightly, and use it in a completely different context. I remember seeing it, and thinking, "Hey! Do that again!"

Thanks for the pointer to M. P. G.. Those are Marvin's initials (the "P" stands for "Pentz"). That was his best selling album from the 60's, and, you're right, it's a solid album. It's unfortunate that many of his later albums were uneven, yet they contain some of his best work. In that sense, #1's, released last year, is a fine substitute. I don't usually go for compilations, but, in this case, I'd make an exception to the rule.