No artist has ever faced greater expectations than those Michael Jackson carried into the studio to follow up Thriller — the biggest-selling album of all time. That the resulting record didn’t simply implode under that weight is itself remarkable. Bad was bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than its predecessor in almost every sense, opening in dizzying dancefloor fashion with the crotch-grabbing title track and the joyful, irresistible “The Way You Make Me Feel” — two songs that rank among Jackson’s very finest.
The album kicks through gear after gear — “Smooth Criminal” is a genuine oddity delivered with panache and boundless energy, “Man In The Mirror” is a soaring gospel-tinged call to action, and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” is a gorgeous ballad that showcases Jackson’s vocal range at its most believable and tender. The closer “Leave Me Alone” meanwhile offers a candid, paranoid peek behind the megastar facade. Bad may have fallen short of Thriller at the box office, but selling four million copies by year’s end was pretty good for being bad.
“I’m never pleased with anything. I’m a perfectionist. It’s part of who I am.”
— Michael Jackson, 1993
Michael Jackson – Bad (1987)
| # | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bad | 4:06 |
| 02 | The Way You Make Me Feel | 4:59 |
| 03 | Speed Demon | 4:01 |
| 04 | Liberian Girl | 3:53 |
| 05 | Just Good Friends | 4:05 |
| 06 | Another Part Of Me | 3:53 |
| 07 | Man In The Mirror | 5:18 |
| 08 | I Just Can’t Stop Loving You | 4:10 |
| 09 | Dirty Diana | 4:52 |
| 10 | Smooth Criminal | 4:16 |
| 11 | Leave Me Alone | 4:37 |