Surprisingly, in the case of Billie Jean, that dash of sonic flavor, a fascinating mix of rhythm meets lead, was captured on a demo. You don't need much of it, but the right amount gets the job done." Williams humbly referred to his playing as a "secret spice. Williams' clean rhythmic grooves informed much of Off The Wall, but it was on 1982's Thriller, and particularly the MTV gate-crasher Billie Jean, that the guitarist established his signature sound. The "secret spice" in Off The Wall and Thriller David WilliamsĪlthough high-profile session pros such as Larry Carlton and Phil Upchurch played on what was to be Jackson's 1979 commercial breakthrough album, Off The Wall, it was David Williams, plucked from obscurity by producer Quincy Jones, who made the music sing and dance with a funky, in-the-pocket jangle that would be much copied through the years.
On the following pages, we take a look at seven axemen - and axewomen - who provided both silky grooves and molten shred to Jackson's music, and who, in their own disparate ways, helped give him the sound by which he became The King Of Pop. The casting was carefully done - and even when steeped in the absurd, the results were, more often than not, glorious moments of rapturous beauty. The alchemy of personality in paring Jackson, as he rose from child superstar (then one of the most natural, least self-conscious performers to ever walk the planet) to troubled icon (by then one of the most calculating, self-conscious ever), with guitarists both world famous and unknown, is one of the more fascinating aspects one encounters when examining the late entertainer's oeuvre.
Michael Jackson died one year ago today, on 25 June 2009, just weeks before he was to begin a series of comeback This Is It concerts at London's O2 Arena.Īmid all of the expected tributes to mark such an anniversary, and they're all certainly warranted in this case, one thing usually goes overlooked: the music itself. (Image credit: GARY HERSHORN/Reuters/Corbis) The world at his feet.and six-string power behind him
0 kommentar(er)
