http://www.syracuse.com/articles/en...nment-2/120436543496860.xml&coll=1&thispage=1
CNY grad had a hand in Jackson's 'Thriller'
Monday, March 03, 2008 By Mark Bialczak
Staff writer
Yes, Matt Forger says, the core five who worked so long and hard on the album "Thriller" 25 years ago knew they had something special.
Boy, were they right about that.
Of the nine songs on "Thriller," seven made Billboard's Hot 100 Top 10.
And, of course, the album went on to global sales of more than 104 million, the best-selling record of all time.
The memories came back full force for Solvay native Forger as Michael Jackson put together "Thriller 25."
Forger was a consultant for the package, a remastered edition of the record-setting album coupled with seven bonus tracks, including collaborations with Will.i.am, Fergie, Akon and Kanye West that was released on Feb. 12.
"I was contacted whenever people needed information,"
Forger says by telephone from his home in Chatsworth, Calif. "I'm the person who knows where all the little elements are hidden and what the little notes in the files mean."
Back then, Forger was in charge of the technology.
"At that time, all of it was recorded to analog tape with 24 tracks," he says. "The largest of my duties was managing a system that allowed us to use as many 24-track tapes as we could on each song, to develop the layered style of music that Quincy (Jones, the producer) and Mike (Jackson) envisioned."
For example, Forger says, the song "Thriller" used 12 tapes with 24 tracks on each tape.
Forger worked closely with the legendary producer and red-hot musician, as well as mixing master Bruce Swedien and songwriter Rod Temperton.
"Working on the 'Thriller' album was just one of those times in my life that I was thoroughly enjoying myself," he says. "It was a very challenging time. Nothing makes you feel better after you complete hard work as when you see it achieve some degree of success. It's a rewarding feeling."
Forger says the core five's excitement with the work was validated every time Jackson invited another musician to record a track.
"The list of musicians coming in to work would leave saying this is something terrific, something fantastic," Forger says.
His personal favorite song was "Beat It."
"I got to work with Eddie Van Halen," he says. "But all of the songs are so good. Many of them were unique in some fashion."
Forger laughs when asked whether he tasted any of the huge financial stakes.
"I was chief engineer at the studio, so I was a salaried person," he says. "But I also did some of the session work myself, so I was able to make a little bit of money billing as a studio engineer. I did not receive any royalty. In retrospect, it's sad."
Forger continued his working relationship with Jackson on the albums "Bad," "Dangerous" and "HIStory." He also was called in during 1991 to work on rereleases of Jackson's early records, and in 2004 for Jackson's boxed set "The Ultimate Collection."
He says he remains in touch with the mysterious star.
"I speak to him on occasion," Forger says. "A couple of times a year. I never know. Michael isn't a person you ever call. He'll call you."
He says his studio work with Jackson provided him with the moment he still cherishes most in his career.
Forger worked onthe duet between Jackson and Paul McCartney for "The Girl Is Mine."
"That was truly a moment when I felt like I was where it was happening that day," Forger says. "It was a special moment. I got to meet his (McCartney's) wife at that time, Linda, and (producer) George Martin, and Geoff Emerick, the man who engineered most of the most important Beatles moments."
Forger says the "Thriller" sessions taught him the importance of teamwork in the studio. Now, with his own studio, he primarily works with independent artists he thinks deserve to have their music heard. And he still holds that principle dearly.
"I fill the role of facilitator," he says. "They have a vision, and they need some help along the process to fit the product to that vision. There's something special about helping people form a direction."
His current projects include recordings by Simon Lynge, a singer-songwriter who was born in Greenland and then moved to Denmark, and Larry John McNally, an established songwriter who placed a song on the new Eagles album who's decided to put out his own record.
"My belief is, the power of a recording is in the song," Forger says. "It actually starts in the songwriting, the emotional quality that's contained in the writing. If you can capture that emotional quality, that's the thing that jumps out at you and grabs you when you listen on radio or the Internet or a disc."
Mark Bialczak can be reached at
mbialczak@syracuse.com or 470-2175. His blog "Listen Up" is at
http://blog.syracuse.com/listenup/.
