Thriller's 25th Anniversary Edition Hits Shelves

1982 was a great year for the entertainment industry. It brought us E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, one of the biggest box office hits in history. It also brought us one of the biggest albums in history, and Michael Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller. Now in 2008, we're treated to the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller, complete with fully remastered versions of the original 9 tracks, 6 previously unreleased tracks, and a bonus track from the original Thriller recordings. Also included is a bonus DVD featuring three videos from the album, and Michael Jackson's performance of Billie Jean on the "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" television special.

Being that this is the second re-mastering of the album in 7 years I was surprised to see just how much new material had been added. While the sound quality is fantastic, the "re-mastered" original tracks sound more or less exactly as they did on 2001Gold Edition. The new bonus tracks feature a number of remixes of Thiller's original songs by some of today's popular Rap and R&B artists.

Kanye West breathes a new sort of life into Billie Jean with a string-laden remix that really draws out the dramatic undertones of the song. Other artists Fergie, will.I.am, and Akon make contributions as well although some fall well short of the quality I had been expecting. A perfect example is will.I.am's rendition of "The Girl is Mine" in which the rapper cuts Paul McCartney's vocals completely and replaces the former Beatle with his own atonal vocals. The final unreleased track on the album, "For All Time" actually comes from the original Thriller sessions and has been newly mixed and mastered by Jackson himself.

Unless you are a die hard fan or a collector, it's difficult for me to recommend purchasing the album. There isn't much here that we haven't heard before and the additional tracks do little to nothing to enhance the experience. In fact, some of the tracks seem to highlight the declining standards of modern pop and R&B rather than spark a comparison to the album's groundbreaking release in 1982. Overall, Thriller is an undeniable classic, that in the best ways transcends boundaries of genre, race or even time; but this 25th anniversary disc less celebrates those facts than highlights the difference between when it was first released and now.