Okay. By now, you know what we do. But let’s review quickly: We hand-select the finest albums, match the songs with the best of local acts who collectively cover the record head to toe. We pair all that with a thematic food or beverage and, in short, put on a show that is always memorable. It’s a top shelf operation, our tastes are refined, our standards are sky high, our hearts are in the right place. But we’ve never yet been able to say that this month’s album is the best-selling album of all time. Yes, you read that right, assuming you didn’t stutter over the phrase: “best-selling album of all time,” This month’s album has sold more than any other. And on Wednesday the 31st of October, known by pagans as Halloween, you’ll see why.

Michael Jackson’s epic Thriller. Oh yes. The name itself sends a little tingle up and down the spine. Released in 1982 won 8 Grammies and had 7 singles that hit top 10. Most consider it to be the best album of the 80s, and well, if it’s the best album of the 80s…

Oddly, the first single released was “The Girl is Mine,” which didn’t hit as hard as most expected. But that was followed up with a little song called “Billie Jean,” and more than a handful of kids dug that one. After that, they released a tune some of you may know called “Beat it,” which actually features Eddie Van Halen on guitar. “Thriller” was the third single, and once you toss in “Wanna be Startin’ Something,” it’s hard to deny that Thriller can hold its own against nearly any record ever released.

Of course it’s hard to hear the song “Thriller,” without picturing the masterpiece video (or rather short film) that accompanied it. Its hilarious yet oh-so-cool group choreography has been mimicked all over the globe, from Bollywood to that proposal video that went viral recently. Demand was so high for that video when it was first released that MTV was playing it twice an hour. Clocking in at 14 minutes, you can do the math, it basically means that “Thriller” was virtually all they aired for a while.

We can’t promise Jackson’s dance moves. But we can promise an unforgettable evening as Ben Deignan, Sye Spence, Jeremy Ezell of the Well Reds and featured act Shook Foil conjure up the magic, the mystery, the mayhem that made Thriller the King of Pop’s crown jewel.

-David Berkeley
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