TITLE: Michael Jackson’s Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition (Legacy)

ARTIST: Michael Jackson

STARS: 5 out of 5 stars

SOUNDS LIKE: Still highly entertaining. Doesn’t sound dated even after 25 years.

Right after Michael Jackson did his now famous moonwalk on the Motown 25th anniversary TV special my phone rang.

“You see that? What was that?” asked a friend, all out of breath.

And that’s just how Michael Jackson was in the early 1980s with the release of “Thriller.” Simply breathtaking. His dance moves were otherworldly. His music thrilled adults and youths alike. And his music videos or short films were like pop culture mini-operas.

Michael Jackson was on his way to becoming one of the world’s greatest entertainers and “Thriller” was on its way to becoming the biggest selling album of all time. And sales of copies of his white sequined glove and Thriller jacket skyrocketed.

That might be hard for some to imagine today. All the sex scandals, lawsuits, Elephant Man bones, plastic surgeries and other weird stuff has made Michael somewhat of an aberrant oddity.

But this 25th anniversary Thriller CD with companion DVD recaptures the magic that was Michaelmania.

There is the not only the a remastered version of the original nine-song album but six previously unreleased tracks with today’s artists like will i. am and Kanye West in new remixes of “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.” There’s also the tune “For All Time” which was left off the original album.

The DVD has restored versions of Michael’s short films “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” “Thriller” and the Billie Jean dance performance from Motown’s 25th anniversary.

This release reminds you again of the greatness Michael once had as an entertainer.