His best album, or at least his most pop-oriented, was The Dude, which introduced the world to James Ingram, spun off several hit singles, and basically didn't have a bad track on it. It came out around the same time as his work with Michael Jackson put him into the big spotlight .........
There was a notable group of pop records produced around and after the time
The Dude was released, with a similar production style--that record was an excellent sampler of his production style during that era. He worked with George Benson (
Give Me The Night), Donna Summer (self-titled), Patti Austin, James Ingram, and even a couple of the Brothers Johnson albums had some production values that predated
The Dude, like the track "Strawberry Letter #23"--there's no mistaking that for anything but Quincy's production. He produced a lot of earlier records stretching back into his jazz days, but back then, his arranging skills were what stood out more, especially with the big bands. (The dude's done
everything.
)
I don't think Quincy got enough credit for his work with MJ -- just listen to how much different his later records sound compared to his work with Jones. I've always wondered how differently his sound would have evolved if he'd kept working with Quincy.
He does get a lot of recognition for those records, and for sure, I think MJ's records would have been better with Quincy or at least another well-known producer at the helm--Quincy provided a "glue" that held those albums together. I remember hearing
Dangerous and nothing grabbed me--it just reminded me of noisy pop funk that didn't stand out from what was on the radio at the time, vs. being something with a distinctive sound.
Steve Lukather, I believe, pointed out Quincy for being someone who was a master at knowing how to pull together the exact talent he wanted to produce the sound he was looking for. That would explain why, unlike many "band" albums of the era, the personnel on each track can be different. I also feel that a composer like Rod Temperton brought something unique to the sound also--he has a composing style that is recognizable, and Quincy used him often. They might not always be the hits, but even if they were filler, they were
darn good filler.
Interesting thought. What if Nile Rodgers had produced MJ's next album after
Thriller? He certainly was versatile enough (David Bowie, B-52s, Madonna, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Thompson Twins, The Vaughan Brothers {Stevie Ray and Jimmie}, and many others), and he had a recognizable style also.