Michael Jackson's Off the Wall Album and Documentary Out February 26

Very exciting news for fans of the King of Pop!

OFF THE WALL:  MICHAEL JACKSON’S ORIGINAL ALBUM AND THE DOCUMENTARY “MICHAEL JACKSON’S JOURNEY FROM MOTOWN TO OFF THE WALL” SET FOR RELEASE AS A CD/DVD BUNDLE ON FEBRUARY 26, 2016

JACKSON’S OFF THE WALL “INVENTED MODERN POP AS WE KNOW IT”

On February 26, during Black History Month, the Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings will release exclusive CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray editions of Michael Jackson’s revolutionary 1979 recording, Off The Wall. The package will include the original version of the album bundled with the new documentary Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, directed by Spike Lee. The documentary make its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2016, and its broadcast premiere on SHOWTIME® on Friday, February 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on-air, on demand and over the Internet. After its first SHOWTIME airing, it will be broadcast in territories around the world.     

 

THE ALBUM – The importance of Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall cannot be overstated. Recorded when he was just 20-years-old, the album heralded Michael’s stunning emancipation as a singular musical force and creative visionary. It smashed the ceiling on record sales for black artists, ushering in an exciting new era of R&B-to-pop crossover airplay, chart, marketing and sales trends not seen before in modern pop music. It’s the record that “invented modern pop as we know it,” wrote Rolling Stone. For fellow black artists of the day, Michael served as an illuminating inspiration.  

To Black America, Off The Wall transcended music and entertainment altogether. The success of the album marked a level of national and international achievement that conjured pride in a culture that as late as the end of the 1970s was still fighting for the kind of social acceptance that Michael’s album received. Because of Off the Wall’s indelible influence, 21^st century artists as disparate as Beyoncé, Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd all have a blueprint they turned to for creating their superstardom.

Written by Michael Jackson, the first single from Off The Wall, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” was Michael’s first Grammy and first single to hit No. 1 in the U.S. and internationally as a solo artist. With the singles “Rock With You,” “Off the Wall” and “She’s Out of My Life,” Jackson became the first solo artist in history to have four singles from the same album peak inside the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was an enormous commercial success; as of 2014 it is certified eight times platinum in the United States and has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.

The Music:  “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”; “Rock With You”; “Workin’ Day and Night”; “Get on the Floor”; “Off the Wall”; “Girlfriend”; “She’s Out of My Life”;  “I Can’t Help It”; “ It’s the Falling in Love”; “Burn This Disco Out.”

THE DOCUMENTARY – Produced by Spike Lee, John Branca and John McClain. For Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, director Spike Lee assembles a wealth of archival footage, including material from Michael’s personal archive, interviews with contemporary talents and family members, and Michael’s own words and image to create this insightful chronicle from the star’s early rise to fame through the release of this seminal album. A look at a chapter of his career that is rarely examined, Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall allows audiences to travel with Michael as he gets his start at Motown, strikes a new path with CBS Records, and forges a relationship with legendary producer Quincy Jones. An illuminated portrait emerges of how an earnest, passionate, hard-working boy would become the “King of Pop.”

Partial list of interviews: Lee Daniels; The Weeknd; Pharrell Williams; Misty Copeland; Kobe Bryant; Mark Ronson; John Legend; Questlove; Katherine Jackson; Joe Jackson; Marlon Jackson; Jackie Jackie; L.A. Reid and more.

Florence + the Machine producing magic as Hollywood Bowl debut approaches

My review was originally posted on The Orange County Register's Soundcheck blog on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012. My review and the photo scanned from the cover of the Show section below ran in the print edition today, Saturday, Oct. 6.

Florence + the Machine’s dazzling performance Thursday night (Oct. 4, 2012) at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista provided plenty of evidence that originality still matters.


Singer Florence Welch and her band of Brits served up 90 magnetizing minutes, playing a set weighted in favor of their second album, last year’s Ceremonials. From the incidental music that led into the soulful “Only If for a Night” and everything that followed, the ensemble truly captivated the crowd with its mix of indie chime, symphonic pop, soulful vocals and progressive rock in ways that worked their magic on a cool autumn night just as compellingly as they did at Coachella in April. (They make their Hollywood Bowl debut Sunday night, with an encore performance slated for Monday.)

Welch, in a beautiful long dress that suggested a distant time in her native England, performed on a mostly sparse stage bathed in sumptuous lights and enhanced via a rear-projection screen that always seemed to evoke just the right spirit for the songstress. Like a gifted actress, she could draw the rapt crowd in while positioned tightly against her microphone on “Cosmic Love” or dash around the stage gleefully, as she did amid a garden scene in the powerful “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up).”

A gifted and intense singer, Welch, 26, was still quick to smile and radiate the warmth that has built her a zealous following since arriving internationally a mere three years ago. “So much love … we love you,” she said before launching the ’80s-tinged synth-rocker “Breaking Down.”

After that song, as artful as it was straightforward, she discussed spending a few days in the city before this Southern California run, including a trip to the beach, catching a punk band at the Casbah and a visit earlier Thursday to one of the region’s most famous spots: “You guys have a brilliant zoo,” she said to cheers.

She then led the Machine through “Heartlines,” an otherworldly piece further spotlighting her soaring soprano with a richly melodic chorus.

The group ended its regular dozen-song set with “No Light, No Light,” once again immersing the audience in a fusion of light, music and theater. As the song grew in volume and power, Welch’s approach as bandleader grew more zealous, until heavy bass and robust backing singers helped bring the piece to an epic finish. Her encore included a dramatic reading of “Breath of Life,” a heroic song from the film Snow White & the Huntsman.

It doesn’t matter that the Weeknd, the moniker for Canadian singer Abel Tesfaye, got the prime opening spot. Further, it didn’t matter that he was provided a full 45 minutes to perform. His set was decidedly flat, and his overall approach as well as individual songs didn’t distinguish themselves in a way that excited the crowd.

On the other hand, the Maccabees kicked off the open-air evening with an exciting blend of alternative and experimental rock. Over the course of 30 fast-paced minutes, the South London outfit showcased a sound clearly influenced by Radiohead, Travis, the Cure and others in a rewarding romp that definitely drew notice with those who arrived for the 7 p.m. start time.

The highlight of the group’s very strong set was “No Kind Words,” drawing on inherent strengths with blasts of guitar (especially well-constructed leads), a propulsive rhythm section and loads of dynamics. Their songs are potent, but it’s the vibrant band’s style that left everybody wanting more. Those headed to the Bowl had best get there early to catch ’em.


Setlist: Florence + the Machine at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, Oct. 4, 2012

Main set: Only If for a Night / What the Water Gave Me / Drumming Song / Cosmic Love / All This and Heaven Too / Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) / Spectrum / Breaking Down / Heartlines (acoustic) / Leave My Body (acoustic with piano) / Shake It Out / No Light, No Light

Encore: Breath of Life / Dog Days Are Over


Florence + the Machine plays twice at the Hollywood Bowl, Oct. 7-8, with the Weeknd and the Maccabees opening at 6:30. Tickets are $28.50-$95. The venue is at 2301 N. Highland Ave.