You're going to be hearing a lot about Michael Jackson in the coming months, and for the best possible reasons. Instead of court appearances and accusations of the very worst behavior, the man who once proclaimed himself the King of Pop will be feted and celebrated for his greatest success, Thriller.

It's difficult remembering today what a large shadow the album, which turns 25 in 2008, cast across the musical landscape. A compelling document assembled by a man driven to bridge the gap between R&B and pop and rock, Thriller might have been the last album every household owned, listened to and commented on.

I did not own a copy until much later (it was far too popular to be embraced by the practicing iconoclast that was my 15-year-old self), but I remember it as one of the first records I felt driven to listen to critically.

There was so much going on, so many new sounds and interesting ideas and this prevailing sense of showmanship, that I couldn't help asking questions as Billie Jean unwrapped its funky morality tale or Thriller turned a B-movie organ track into something so infectiously danceable.

I didn't quite understand what was going on, nor did I recognize it as anything that would remain significant for years to come. All I knew was that Thriller was different and daring and that, with a copy in my sister's record collection, I would be hearing a lot of it.

Today, having lived with both Thriller and its aftermath for a full quarter-century, I can better understand the what and why and how of this razor-sharp masterpiece, but I also mourn it as well. Not only do I believe Mr. Jackson's personal problems will forever eclipse his achievement on this one nearly perfect record, I also believe it's a moment he will never replicate.

There are plans to release Thriller with contemporary remixes of the classic pop tunes. On this one, I'm of the leave-well-enough-alone camp. I understand that Mr. Jackson and the record company that wonders why he was never able to shift Thriller numbers again are anxious to cash in on his most successful product, but I believe this record is one of pop's great works and to modify and mess with its innovative tracks is the musical equivalent of drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa.

Leave it alone, and let us remember that moment, before the controversy and odd behavior, when Michael Jackson truly was the King of Pop.