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Bad

Michael Jackson - Bad Audio CD

A fair review of the Michael Jackson "Bad" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Michael Jackson reviews here, or go back to the Michael Jackson tabs.

Band: Michael Jackson
Title: Bad
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Bad 2: Way You Make Me Feel 3: Speed Demon 4: Liberian Girl 5: Just Good Friends - Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder 6: Another Part of Me 7: Man in the Mirror - Siedah Garrett, Michael Jackson, The Winans 8: I Just Can't Stop Loving You - Siedah Garrett, Michael Jackson 9: Dirty Diana 10: Smooth Criminal 11: Leave Me Alone [*]

Great follow up to Thriller
I did not expect it to be as good as "Thriller" and I was too young to realize MJ was one of the most talented song writers around-how could I under-estimate this album?? Of course, his physical appearance started changing a bit more and a rougher, edgier MJ was progressing. I bought this album as soon as it came out when I was in the 10th grade. "Bad" produced five number one singles and was the first album to do this so here we go again with MJ making the record books and it is during this time that Michael was dubbed the "King of Pop. " The title track, created the new use of the word "BAD" and I found this song to be a little overbearing, though it is catchy with a strong synthesizer being used, and the video, directed by Martin Scorsese, is a classic. I know, it's almost a sin not to love "BAD" but this is not my favorite song on the album. Great pop tunes such as "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Another Part of Me" were both written by MJ himself, and are full of energy and great pop. "Another Part of Me" was also used in the Disneyland attraction starring MJ "Captain EO". Beautiful signature ballad "Man in the Mirror" (written by Siedah Garrett) takes on humanity and asks us to make a change and help others. "Dirty Diana" is about a seductive groupie, which we all know MJ dislikes, and this song has terrific lyrics written by MJ himself. . . "She Likes The Boys In The Band,she knows when they come to town, every musician's fan after the curtain comes down, she waits At backstage doors,for those who have prestige, who promise fortune and fame, a life that's so carefree. . . "

"Smooth Criminal" is absolutely addicting and funky and the video is even better. . one of the most unique and best songs on the album and Michael keeps us asking "Annie are you ok"? Alien Ant Farm covered this in the late 90's too. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is by most accounts, a beautiful song except it was way over-played when it first came out and this ruined its essence for me. Just like every album out there by even the best, there is always a song or two that don't bring the album justice: "Leave Me Alone" has a good fast beat but the lyrics consist of an angry Jackson lashing out at the media for picking on him. "Just Good Friends" is sang with Stevie Wonder, forgettable. . "Liberian Girl" I am undecided on,, though alot of people seem to really like this song. "Speed Demon" doesn't do anything for me either. Another great album by MJ in his younger days and this is a truly must-have for all Michael Jackson fans.

It's Bad, But Not As Bad As "Thriller"...
To tell you the truth, I only recently rebought this CD because of the untimely death of Michael Jackson. I have a large CD collection and I figured this CD should be a part of it.
I had purchased it when it first came out. . . the follow up to the monster smash, "Thriller". It got lost during one of my moves.
I received it and I listened to it again and I was still impressed by "The Way You Make Me Feel", and "Smooth Criminal. " The title cut never did that much for me when I discovered that originally it was to include Prince. He later turned down the offer. Prince apparently didn't think the tune was "bad" enough. (ahem).
It still rates 4 stars, however.

could be better
leave me alone would b 3rd but isnt on the tape as listed. the best songs inpriority r: smooth criminal, dirty diana, bad, liberian goyle, the way u mke me feel, mn in mirror, nother pt of me. .

You Just Can't Stop Loving It!!!!
I actually thought I had early in my years on Amazon but this is as good a time as any to start. Crass as this may seem MJ's recent passing has lead me to review some of his albums on here. This album was critical for Michael in a lot of different ways. First off obviously it had to follow up Thriller,a really good album made that due to it's record breaking sales was made to seem inhumanely perfect. In short,the standards for this album were'nt set very high-not even by the artist himself so it seems. He was convinced afront that if he didn't change,he wouldn't be able to outdo his earlier feat. So he set about with Quincy Jones on making what basically amounted to music that was generally tougher minded. It has all the basic elements of the previous album but everything is a lot more dramatic and diliberate. Does it work in the end?You bet!! The heavy funk of the title track alone,with an excellent solo by jazz organist Jimmy Smith of course grabbed the most attention right off. Being how his commerciality is a huge part of Michaels artistry he really puts a huge amount of energy into what ended up being the hits here. "The Way You Make Me Feel",with it's edgy sexual shuffle is the prime example of that,with some unusually swaggering singing from MJ. The other hits were "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". . . more or less a latinish pop ballad that Michael and Siedah Garrett sang the pants off of. It has recently been pointed out to me that there's an unexpected mix of funk and. . . . . operatic classical chordal patterns to the edgy "Smooth Criminal",another of the tougher hits from this collection. "Man In The Mirror". . . . is a song I've always loved and respected. As I've grown older I have to admit it's been one of the more imitated styles of message songs and that can make it sound slightly corny musically by todays standards. But whatever you think about the arrangment the yearning,consciencious song more than makes up for what energy it may lack in the musical department for some. "Another Part Of Me" is one of the better uptempo songs on here,even if it was a minor hit only for him (who know MJ in the 80's would ever have a MINOR hit) and wasn't actually recorded spesifically for this album but rather for the Disney World based 3-D film 'Captain Eo',starring Michael and which few people who never visited Disney World have ever seen say for that MTV airing of it in 1995 or so. It's on some of the non hit material that you really hear the toughness in sound Mike was going for. "Speed Demon" sadly tends to serve as this albums whipping boy. It's aggresive funk-rock approch is not as hit worthy as most of his music in terms of how the pop world approches this kind of music but it was definately something that seemed to be written based on his dancing style than for the purposes of getting on the radio. "Liberian Girl" was never officially a hit but was such a great,sexy groove that it became very popular and even got it's own music video as well. It's definately a highlite of this album,for me anyway. "Just Good Friends" is the "forgotton" song here,a duet with Stevie Wonder that. . . . . . . well lets just say little screams "late 80's urban contemporary/R&B/funk dance crossover song" louder than this. But again the toughness of Quincy's production and Bruce Swediens excellent Acousonic recording process keeps it from being what I once heard referred to as "tinky tinky dance",someones description of a very dated and poppy style of 80's electro funk-disco. "Dirty Diana" is a good tune and an okay hit. I admit it's not my favorite on the album;Michael drove a rock kind of tune home more directly with "Beat It" from the previous album but this was okay in a big arena kind of way;the addition of audience noise was a good effect. On the CD of this album you also get "Leave Me Alone",a tense dancey-funk tune that introduced itself as one of his first direct rantings about his own negative press. Overall this album puts Michael in a possition where being commercial and an artist of some not musically and otherwise began to become a complication rather than a clear career choice. But no matter how you look at it the album was good enough and successful enough to end up becomming a success even at this point. And how many obvious pop albums of recent years can you say that about?.

Michael Jackson ... BAD (1987)
I don't know about anybody else, but this album is a big favorite of mine. In 1987, two years after Michael's involvement with USA For Africa's "We Are The World", Michael released his eighth album entitled, BAD. I mean. . . besides THRILLER, of course. Pretty much every song on here rocks my world . . . no pun intended.

"BAD"
The second single from the album. Always a great song to listen to. The music video to this song is one of my favorites. I always loved how Michael turned his songs into short films. This video features Michael as a young man named, Daryl, coming home from school, after a successful term, for a Winter Break. He is greeted by his three best friends, one of which, is played by an up-and-coming Wesley Snipes. At first, the reunion is a happy one. But as the night wears on, the guys see a major change in Daryl, as he is trying to clean up his life and break free of his bad habits. He swears them off by saying he's still down and bad, where he tries to show them by robbing an elderly man, but Daryl backs out and lets the old man go. His three friends confront him angrily, where the song finally kicks in.

"THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL"
The third single from the album. Another a great song. The harmony vocals are just awesome. The song is accompanied by a great music video, as well.

"SPEED DEMON"
Though, never released as a single, this great tune was accompanied by a music video featured on Michael Jackson's, "Moonwalker" video, where Michael is dressed as a clay-mation rabbit to escape a crazy mob of clay-mation fans and paparazzi.

"LIBERIAN GIRL"
The ninth single from the album, though, released as a single in Europe and Australia only. Great song.

"JUST GOOD FRIENDS" (performed by Michael Jackson & Stevie Wonder)
Great song. Not a fan of Stevie Wonder's, but still a great duet.

"ANOTHER PART OF ME"
The sixth single from the album. Great song.

"MAN IN THE MIRROR"
The fourth single from the album. This song is so powerful, lyrically and musically. And Michael's vocals sound just as powerful. What an awesome song. This song will always be in my heart, in dedication to Michael.

"I JUST CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU" (performed by Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett)
The first single from the album. What a beautiful ballad. Siedah's vocals are incredible.

"DIRTY DIANA"
The fifth single from the album. Damn! Listen to Michael rockin' it out. What an awesome, kick-a** song.

"SMOOTH CRIMINAL"
The seventh single from the album. Another one MJ's greatest songs. The video features Michael in his infamous forward-lean dance move.

"LEAVE ME ALONE" (Bonus Track featured on CD release)
The eighth single from the album. Been a favorite of mine ever since MJ's "Moonwalker" video was released.

With this album, Michael shows how down and bad he really is. Michael, with this album, proves to us that he'll always be the King of Pop.

You can see a complete list of all Michael Jackson discography, or go back to the Michael Jackson tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.