Another masterpiece from Off the Wall, and what a jam.
Doing a little research for this one, I found out that Off the Wall came out on August 10, 1979. That happens to be my birthday, so now it's even more my favorite album. "Working Day and Night" was written by Michael himself and produced by Quincy Jones. It was never a single. It ended up as the B-side of "Rock with You", and it's one of the fastest songs he ever recorded.
Humberto Gatica and I had the privilege of remixing all these albums in Dolby Atmos: Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, all the way to Invincible. This song is all about rhythm, the same lesson as the Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough breakdown from the same record. Let me show you how the groove is built, piece by piece.
A one-four jam
The harmony is very basic. It's a jam, a one-four, and there are only a couple of little moments where it changes to give it a shift. Everything else is the groove and the repetition of the parts.
Two chords, B minor and E minor, and the note they share, B, doesn't move. That's why it can go on forever without getting tired: there's no destination, only motion. If you want to understand why so little harmony can carry so much, this song is the perfect example.
The piano holds that one-four, and a Rhodes doubles it. Both are credited to Greg Phillinganes, who you'll also find in the Man in the Mirror breakdown.
A train that doesn't stop
How do all these elements work together as one groove? They're all brilliantly placed in the right spot, and it's all about finding the pattern that works. That repetition puts you in a groovy trance, so to speak.
The drums barely move: a little something here and there, and that's it. And on top of the snare there's Michael's clap. Solo it and you can hear how much it adds. You can even hear his foot.
JR Robinson, the king of groove. He doesn't even do a fill in this whole thing. There are no crashes on the downbeats, no toms. It's just consistent yumminess, I don't know how else to put it. Go to the end of the verse into the chorus and watch the drums stay exactly where they were. It's a train that doesn't stop, and that's what's brilliant about J.R. on this whole album. That's the foundation.
Bottles, shaker and space
What creates all the syncopation, all the movement? A couple of elements. One is the very famous bottles, which work together with a shaker on the other side. The percussion on the record is credited to Paulinho da Costa, J.R. and Michael himself.
In Atmos we have, as usual, the foundation in the front wall: the drums, with a little of the center speaker for kick, snare, some of the vocal and the bass, depending on how much you want to bring them in. The percussion, because it's creating all that syncopation, we opened a little and elevated a little. That creates a nice space. Why? Because there's another element of the groove that lives on the shoulder sides: the guitars. Not exactly at shoulder length, a little bit open.
And there's another guitar part that answers the main groove, the one you'll recognize. In Atmos we placed it on the shoulders too, so the two of them talk to each other.
Michael is the groove
We know Michael integrates all these rhythms with his breath, the noises of his body, his stepping. But check out the intro. We already know it starts with the bottles and the shaker, but it's really all based on him: on one track he's doing the whole groove with his voice, and then he goes on a second track.
We all know this about Michael, but hearing it like this is something else. In the Atmos world, Humberto and I always keep his lead vocal in the center when he's singing, and we open the backgrounds a little, so there's that space again.
I love this: there's a moment where he starts singing the guitar part right when the guitar needs to come in. He's calling it in.
We also did a fun thing with the backgrounds, the "ooh" and the "ah": they move around you. On YouTube you're listening to a stereo binaural reduction of the Atmos mix, so there's only so much it can represent. I'm starting to encode the next episodes in immersive, so you'll be able to appreciate the Atmos a little better, depending on your setup.
His lead on the verse is doubled, and he doesn't stop. Then comes the pre-chorus, one of those moments where the harmony changes to break things up. Look at the backgrounds there: until now we've had no vocal harmonies, and that's exactly where they open into harmony.
Jerry Hey's horns
Obviously we have to talk about the horns of Jerry Hey, played by the Seawind horns. What a brilliant section, and how tight they recorded it. And how brilliantly Michael answers them and then goes with them.
After the second chorus we go to the bridge, and there's something quite amazing there. There's the main horn section, the part you'll remember, and I love hearing the bari sax in it. But underneath there's a second layer. Humberto and I were listening and I said, "Is this in the stereo mix?" It is, if you pay close attention.
In Atmos everything is more apparent because we separate them: the main horns are wide, and the second layer we closed a little, so there's a dynamic between the two. Listen to what the second one is doing. So tight. What were these guys having for breakfast?
And Michael isn't just waiting for the horns to pass and then coming back. Look at him. Then come the hits: the piano with the horns, and a crash going with them. That guitar part, which has its own double, so tight. And did you hear that synth? Another fun thing Humberto and I did: we threw it to the back.
The timbale solo and the fade
Michael's scream, and then the band gives way to the horns one more time. And did you remember that timbale solo? We placed it a little in the back and a little on top, so it's talking to the rest of the guys.
Then the fade out. Listen to Michael on it. So much fun. And we've got to give credit to the piano.
What to take from it
This is all about repetition. Every single part is so freaking hooky: whichever one you pick, it just stays in your brain. And they all work together to become one thing, a machine that keeps you going and going and going.
Listen again and follow a different instrument each time: the bottles, the clap, the answering guitar, the second layer of horns. Every time, you'll hear a different song.