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Bad is Michael Jackson's seventh studio album, released on August 31, 1987 and recorded in 1985-1987. It is Jackson's third and final album co-produced with Quincy Jones. Bad is one of the most iconic and best-selling albums of all time, having sold 35 million copies worldwide.

The record was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year in 1988. Ultimately, it only won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for the works of Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica).

Background[]

Following the success of Thriller, Michael wanted to create the next album with beating all the records set by the previous release in mind. First demos were crafted between 1983 and 1984 at Hayvenhurst. Most notably, Jackson was working on two tracks, "Liberian Girl" and "Dirty Diana", with initial hopes being, that these would end up on the Victory album with the Jacksons.[1][2]

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Michael Jackson in studio during the Bad album sessions

After spending the second half of '84 with his brothers on stage, now as a true solo artist, the King of Pop returned to planning out the future release.[3] From January to mid-1985, Michael recorded what would be initial ideas and beats, creating such gems like "Al Capone" or "Hot Fever". In July, Jackson worked on his science fiction short film, Captain EO. Its soundtrack featured an early incarnation of "Another Part of Me", a song which would later create a divide between the singer and Jones, as the latter wanted the aforementioned track on the album, while Michael insisted on releasing "Streetwalker" in its place instead.[4] Having finished filming, the artist returned to the studio in August. Until polishing the tracks with Jones, Michael crafted the music with what was known as the "B-Team", consisting of such as Bill Bottrell, John Barnes or Matt Forger.

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Michael Jackson in studio during the Bad album sessions

The works continued until July 1987, with a few breaks within between the sessions. Prior to its release, Michael wanted Bad to be a 3-disc album, although Quincy suggested to keep it 1-disc, as it would become too expensive otherwise.[5]

Artwork[]

The first album cover was shot by Gerg Gorman. The big inspiration behind it was a portrait of actress Gloria Swanson from 1924. However, this cover was scrapped after Sony stated it didn't present Michael in a "positive light" enough.[6]

Main article: 1987 Greg Gorman Photoshoot

The final artwork was shot by Sam Emerson and features Jackson in a black jacket and the title being spray painted in red. The cover art was actually slightly edited, making Michael's skin look smoother.

Main article: 1987 Sam Emerson Bad Photoshoot

Track list[]

Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."Bad"4:07
2."The Way You Make Me Feel"4:58
3."Speed Demon"4:02
4."Liberian Girl"3:52
5."Just Good Friends" (featuring Stevie Wonder)4:06
6."Another Part of Me"3:54
7."Man in the Mirror"5:18
8."I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (featuring Siedah Garrett)4:11
9."Dirty Diana"4:40
10."Smooth Criminal"4:17
Total length:43:59
Reissues
No.TitleLength
11."Leave Me Alone"4:40
Total length:48:10
Special Edition
No.TitleLength
12."Voice-over Intro Quincy Jones Interview # 1/Quincy Jones Interview #1"4:03
13."Streetwalker"5:49
14."Voice-over Intro Quincy Jones Interview # 2/Quincy Jones Interview #2"2:53
15."Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu"4:10
16."Quincy Jones Interview #3"2:30
17."Voice-over intro "Fly Away""0:08
18."Fly Away"3:26
Total length:1:10:19
Bad 25
No.TitleLength
12."Don't Be Messin' 'Round"4:19
13."I'm So Blue"4:07
14."Song Groove (a.k.a. Abortion Papers)"4:26
15."Free"4:25
16."Price of Fame"4:33
17."Al Capone"3:34
18."Streetwalker"5:53
19."Fly Away"3:27
20."Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu"4:10
21."Je Ne Veux Pas La Fin De Neous"4:07
22."Bad" (featuring Pitbull)4:24
23."Speed Demon (Remix by Nero)"4:08
24."Bad (Remix by AfroJack - Club Mix)"7:31
Total length:1:47:33

Singles[]

Promotional singles[]

Notes[]

  • The only track to not have been released as a single is "Just Good Friends".
  • Tracks: "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Just Good Friends" and "Smooth Criminal" had to be sped up for the final release, due to the limitations of a 12" LP record at the time.
  • Elements of some of the songs were also removed in pressings released after 1987. Biggest differences being: trumpet removed from Bad.

Re-releases[]

Bad: Special Edition[]

On October 16, 2001, a special edition of the album was released. This included "Streetwalker", "Fly Away" and the spanish version of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". Along with these, interviews with Quincy and Rod Temperton were included.

Bad 25[]

On September 18, 2012, the most recent reissue being Bad 25 was released. This included a much bigger amount of outtakes, in comparison to the previous reissue. Most notably, the release featured "Don't Be Messin' 'Round", "I'm So Blue", "Al Capone" and "Price of Fame".

References[]

Discography
Studio albums
Got to Be ThereBenMusic & MeForever, Michael Off the WallThrillerBadDangerousHIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book IInvincible
Other albums
Farewell My Summer LoveBlood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the MixThe Ultimate CollectionThriller 25MichaelBad 25XscapeScreamThriller 40
Singles
"Got to Be There" • "Rockin' Robin" • "I Wanna Be Where You Are" • "Ain't No Sunshine" • "Ben" • "With a Child's Heart" • "Music & Me" • "We're Almost There" • "Just a Little Bit of You" • "You Can't Win" • "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" • "Rock with You" • "Off the Wall" • "She's Out of My Life" • "Girlfriend" • "One Day in Your Life" • "The Girl is Mine" • "Billie Jean" • "Beat It" • "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" • "Human Nature" • "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" • "Thriller" • "Happy" • "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" • "Bad" • "The Way You Make Me Feel" • "Man in the Mirror" • "Dirty Diana" • "Another Part of Me" • "Smooth Criminal" • "Leave Me Alone" • "Liberian Girl" • "Black or White" • "Remember the Time" • "In the Closet" • "Jam" • "Who Is It" • "Heal the World" • "Give In to Me" • "Will You Be There" • "Gone Too Soon" • "Scream/Childhood" • "You Are Not Alone" • "Earth Song" • "They Don't Care About Us" • "Stranger in Moscow" • "Blood on the Dance Floor" • "HIStory/Ghosts" • "Smile" • "You Rock My World" • "Butterflies" • "Cry" • "What More Can I Give" • "One More Chance" • "The Girl is Mine 2008" • "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" • "Hold My Hand" • "Mind Is the Magic" • "Hollywood Tonight" • "Behind the Mask" • "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" • "Love Never Felt So Good" • "A Place with No Name" • "Blood on the Dance Floor X Dangerous (The White Panda Mash-Up)"
Promotional singles
"Speed Demon" • "Someone Put Your Hand Out" • "This Time Around" • "Is It Scary" • "Speechless" • "Unbreakable" • "Cheater" • "This Is It"
Non-single songs
"Girl Don't Take Your Love from Me" • "In Our Small Way" • "Wings of My Love" • "Maria (You Were the Only One)" • "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" • "You've Got a Friend" • "Greatest Show on Earth" • "People Make the World go Round" • "We've Got a Good Thing Going" • "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" • "My Girl" • "What Goes Around Comes Around" • "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" • "You Can Cry on My Shoulder" • "Up Again" • "All the Things You Are" • "Too Young" • "Doggin' Around" • "Euphoria" • "Morning Glow" • "Johnny Raven" • "Take Me Back" • "Cinderella Stay Awhile" • "We've Got Forever" • "You Are There" • "Dapper Dan" • "Dear Michael" • "I'll Come Home To You" • "Workin' Day and Night" • "Get on the Floor" • "I Can't Help It" • "It's The Falling In Love" • "Burn This Disco Out" • "Someone in the Dark" • "Baby Be Mine" • "The Lady In My Life" • "Just Good Friends" • "Why You Wanna Trip on Me" • "She Drives Me Wild" • "Can't Let Her Get Away" • "Keep the Faith" • "Dangerous" • "D.S." • "Money" • "Come Together" • "Tabloid Junkie" • "2 Bad" • "Little Susie / Pie Jesu" • "On the Line" • "Morphine" • "Superfly Sister" • "Carousel" • "Streetwalker" • "Fly Away" • "Heartbreaker" • "Invincible" • "Break of Dawn" • "Heaven Can Wait" • "2000 Watts" • "You Are My Life" • "Privacy" • "Don't Walk Away" • "The Lost Children" • "Whatever Happens" • "Threatened" • "Shout" • "Sunset Driver" • "Scared of the Moon" • "We Are Here to Change the World" • "Monkey Business" • "Fall Again" • "In the Back" • "Beautiful Girl" • "We've Had Enough" • "For All Time" • "Got the Hots" • "Best of Joy" • "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" • "Much Too Soon" • "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" • "I'm So Blue" • "Abortion Papers" • "Free" • "Price of Fame" • "Al Capone" • "Chicago" • "Loving You" • "Slave to the Rhythm" • "Do You Know Where Your Children Are" • "Blue Gangsta" • "Xscape" • "Starlight" • "Who Do You Know" • "The Toy" • "What a Lovely Way to Go" • "She's Trouble"
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