Off The Wall was Michael Jackson's first solo album as an adult, and also his first solo album on the Epic record label, as well as his first musical collaboration with producing legend Quincy Jones. Not coincidentally, it is arguably his best album to date. Off The Wall blends sweet, soulful melodies (I Can't Help It, She's Out Of My Life) with R&B-rooted up-tempo pop tunes (Burn This Disco Out, Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough). To sum it up, Off The Wall is definitely "Off The Hook".

The first track on the album is the song made famous by Chris Tucker with his karaoke performance in Rush Hour 2 of it, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Aside from background vocals, the song is entirely sung in Michael's falsetto. It was written and composed by Michael, and is one of my personal favorites from the album. The song is jam-packed with instrumentals, and Quincy executes smooth production on this one. "Don't Stop" hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and won Michael a Grammy award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

"Off The Wall", "Rock With You", and "Burn This Disco Out" were all written by songwriter Rod Temperton, who also penned three of the tunes on Michael's second album, Thriller. The title track, "Off The Wall", is an up-tempo song about living crazy and partying, where Michael delivers an excellent vocal performance. "Burn This Disco Out" is an amazing up-tempo pop/disco tune, once again, about partying. Michael takes some chances with his vocal style, but I think it worked out nicely. "Burn This Disco Out" is the last song on Off The Wall, and a nice way to end the album. "Rock With You" is probably the most popular single from the Off The Wall disc, floating at #1 for 4 weeks in 1979. It's a mid-tempo R&B jam with funky synthesizers and a solid beat. This is a great song to just sit back and groove to.

Maybe my favorite song on Off The Wall is "Workin' Day And Night", written by Michael himself. The intro has Michael panting frantically, followed by Michael's squeal, (Ow!)which gives way to a smooth beat blended with Michael's rhythmic-staccato vocals and squeaky-clean horns from Jerry Hey and the Seawind Horns (who are featured in every song on the album but "She's Out Of My Life" and "I Can't Help It"). I love the ad-libs at the end; "Yeah, how can I get to you, yeah, by doin' what ya do, yeah". I have no clue why, maybe it's the way he says it, but that part at the end is my favorite part of the song.

In almost every album review I have read in the past on Off The Wall, people have said that the worst track on the album, by far, is "Girlfriend", written by Paul McCartney. In my opinion, it' one of the catchiest tunes on the disc. I especially like the "doo do doo do doo" harmonies after the chorus, as well as the little alto-sax solo. The lyrics may be somewhat abstract, but the laid-back mid-tempo catchiness of it makes up for that. Being placed right before the painful "She's Out Of My Life", it's kind of like the calm before the storm.

"She's Out Of My Life" is probably the most emotional song that Michael has recorded to date. It has virtually no rhythmic instruments, and is carried by Michael's crooning voice, which actually breaks at the end as Michael begins to cry. According to Quincy Jones, they recorded about 10 or so takes of the song, and Michael cried at the end of every one. Eventually they decided to leave it on the record. Again, one of my favorites.

"I Can't Help It" is the most soul-influenced track on the album, which is fitting, being written by Stevie Wonder. Once again, Michael displays his amazing vocal talent, as well as the incredible range of his voice. "It's The Falling In Love" is a song written by Carole Bayer Sager, (who Michael dedicates his new album to) and co-sung by Patti Austin. It's a catchy, mid-tempo Pop/R&B tune that talks about how they're trying not to fall in love because they don't want to get their hearts broken. The lyrics are interesting, and it's a nice way to bridge the gap between "I Can't Help It" and "Burn This Disco Out", being positioned in between the two.

"Get On The Floor" is a song that Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson and Michael co-wrote and composed. It's an up-tempo dancefloor jam that, unsurprisingly, makes you wanna get up and dance. The chant at the break-down really adds flavour to the tune. (Get up, won't ya go'on get down, shake ya body won't ya go'on get down!) You'd have to hear the song to know what I mean. As usual, Quincy does a great job of production on the song.

Off The Wall was generally a very successful album, peaking at #3 on the Billboard albums chart, and sold around 8 million copies worldwide. To date, it has sold over 15 million copies. Though its success pales in comparison to Thriller, ironically, i don't think Thriller would have been nearly as successful if it weren't for the solidifying foundation that Off The Wall built. It was a great way to begin a legendary career.

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