Thriller 25 - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Critics reacted positively to the album, much like their review on the original. All reviews noted that the album is still enjoyable, twenty-five years on. Allmusic explains, "... 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' and 'Billie Jean' remain startling in their futuristic funk and 'Baby Be Mine' ... sounds positively incandescent ..." Rolling Stone gave it a full five stars while giving the original only four saying: "Thriller has MJ at his breathiest and most salacious ('PYT'), and his most beautifully fragile ('Human Nature', so open and brave it makes 'She's Out of My Life' seem phony)".

MTV says, "... it's pretty rare to see a reissue loaded with as much contemporary appeal as this one", and reacted positively to the new tracks, calling them "silver bars". The new material received further praise, with the ballad "For All Time" being described as "perfectly fine" by Allmusic. Rolling Stone described the new version of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" as "actually kind of great — he slows it down into a piano ballad, lingering over the easily obscured lyrics." Pop Matters stated that the new version of "The Girl Is Mine" is better than the original, not losing anything with the removal of Paul McCartney. However, most critics agreed that the new versions were not as inspiring as the originals; some even said that the guest artists were the wrong choice. Allmusic notes, "for whatever reason, such Michael-mimicking superstars as Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown did not participate, but Akon, Fergie, and will.i.am did."