Reviews (page 11 of 14)
so many bangers, way too long. esp the late 80s slow anthems
Huh. This is no thriller. In my head it was part of his glory years, in terms of being good, and it clearly was sales and popularity wise, but listening with some distance - this is where he fell off. Apparently he produced a lot along with Quincy Jones, and it just sounds like polished boring funky pop of its time. His vocal affectations become more dumb and annoying than dumb and fun. The lyrics are corny and sappy and annoying rather than corny and fun. Your butt is mine. Hm. Smooth criminal is a great song. "Dirty Diana" and "The way you make me feel" are good. The rest of it not so much.
Dated.
This isn’t my favorite type of music in the world, but there’s a lot to like about Bad. Great energy, great beats, great bass lines, and lots of attitude. It’s not one I’d put on regularly, but if someone else played it, I’d listen happily.
A couple really great songs - specifically Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal, and a lot that just isn't that memorable.
I just can't separate art from the artist
No 3 best albums of MJ! 3,5 stars
Lots of hits on this album. Polarizing now but talented no matter where you stand. 3.5-4
Not even his best albun
3.5
Made for the CLUB. every song is 90s too long. Seinfeld bass and a percussion track that sounds like an 8ft 2x4 falling on a concrete floor. 3.41
Great album. No stinkers. Not a huge fan of 80s pop production so that’s the only real draw back for me
Buen disco, con algunas facetas que no se conocen de Michael... no, esas no. En fin, me gustó. Nota: 3.6
The more well known songs are good, like the title track and Smooth Criminal, but the rest don't really live up to the same heights. His vocals don't do the backing track justice. Some of these basslines are amazing. If his voice was better it could be a 5 star album
Several big hits but also some misses. Great production
The hits are massive but the middle third of this record is forgettable. Also, it's pop. So there is a limit to how high I can rate this thing.
Mid
It's MJ's 2nd biggest album...this was designed to be a blockbuster. It's surprisingly "back-loaded" with hits. Highlights: "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Dirty Diana", "Smooth Criminal"
I don't enjoy most of this album. I hate MJ's voice. Most of the production is the purest and stinkiest '80s cheese. Its influence is responsible for an onslaught of falsetto'd bad boys (e.g. Timberlake, Chris Brown, The Weeknd) who've never bested Michael's appeal. But "Smooth Criminal" is an all-time heater and, for better or worse, Bad is his magnum opus. It's the first record of Michael's to feel like it's coming from the perspective of a living person with problems as opposed to several micromanagers in a trenchcoat, which adds a layer of interest on top of the raw talent and earworms that've always been there.
Some excellent singles and a few hidden gems, but ultimately fairly straightforward. Great singing, but the musicianship was over produced
Very 80s. I struggle with that. The dated production. Lots of great songs to sweeten the deal. It's not as good as Thriller (not a lot is). But then Jackson's charisma is off the scale throughout. It's giving me mixed emotions.
Over produced, and many of the songs are pretty basic.
not one of my fav michael jackson albums. it's the first time i listen to this entire thing in order & i rly can't say any of the tracks on this stick with me... which i am a bit disappointed by. definitely not one i'll return to voluntarily i think
I've never heard the album before. Lots of big hits, this album was hugely successful. For me this album doesn't touch Thriller's greatness, and just seems like a guy copying past success.
The singles are familiar and of a fairly high quality but the album tracks don't really do much for me.
you've been hit by you've been struck by truck
Its not bad its good, kinda weird how songs sound on the album compared to their single versions. Anyway smooth criminal is the best song ever
Heard this so many times when it came out, I even know what the sound the next song will start with. Dirty Diana has always been my favourite MJ tune.
Bad 3.8 The Way You Make Me Feel 3.4 Speed Demon 2.8 Liberian Girl 3 Just Good Friends 2.9 Another Part of Me 3 Man in the Mirror 3 I Just Can't Stop Loving You 3.1 Dirty Diana 3.2 Smooth Criminal 4 Leave Me Alone 2.8 Score: 3.181818182
Smooth Criminal is such a good song
Classic. I like the popular hits but the other songs sound a bit repetive but thats just me. No wonder he was so popular.
jam packed pop album. Of the two albums I've listened to by Michael Jackson for this project (Bad and Off The Wall), this one had more schmoopy, wholly unbelievable ballads.
Well, it's not Thriller. I like the Stevie Wonder song. It's a good counterpoise to the tough guy songs that follow the overall theme of the record.
Good but prefer Thriller
I get it. This is M effing J. Retrospectively, eminently talented and prolific in the realm of joy affirming mainstream music. His whole life he was awash in intrinsic talent and fortuitous songwriting and production partnerships. However, this record seems like it took a detour down a slightly less brilliant alleyway. Yet another record I never actually listened to, although already familiar with most of it from MTV and such. Oh, and thanks to Weird Al. The songs aren't cohesive and lack some of the electrical charge. Just speculating that the ascent to King of Pop went to his head.
There are truly some bangers on this album - Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal. But for me as an album, I think it’s alright.
Please see Facebook review
This album wasn't bad, but besides the hits I couldn't keep myself very interested.
I can totally see how MJ took the world by storm when these albums first came out. They're still good today but back then they must have been absolutely incredible to hear the first time.
Качает
I know he’s MJ and I know he’s good but this album wasn’t my favorite. The lead songs are good and Mj is such a fantastic singer that it almost doesn’t matter.
I like his older records better. This one sounds like cheap keyboards. Too robotic. The best songs are towards the end. I thought maybe it took some time to get into it, so I started over. Same. I remember it was huge when it was new. I didn't like it then. I'm still not a fan. Favorite song: man in the mirror.
Even more of a singles compilation than Thriller is. I prefer it over Thriller, even though it doesn't have anything to top the fantastic trio of songs on there. Bad is good, The way you make me feel is bad. Speed Demon has one of the coolest baselines known to man. Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal and Leave Me Alone are all classic tracks, the rest in between could be stolen. Overall somewhere in the middle.
Very good album, knocked off a star because he's a diddler.
Another classic.
It has the tunes, the voice, the synth but like before I refuse to give any musical nonces more than 3* with the exception of Townshend... And possibly glitter
Still not a huge Michael Jackson fan, though this wasn't "bad".
Good
Lots of hits, but not really my favourite artist
Fine album. Some hits that have stood the test of time but overall I thought the album was decent.
So. Goddamn. Cheesy. If were to distil the essence of the 80s, you'd get this album and a jar of hair gel. There are only (hehe) a couple of standout songs that (da) you'd remember. The others aren't (ow) terrible, mostly, but I'm (ah) so sick of drum machines (shamwow) 2.5/5
Aged worse than I thought it did. Still a fair amount of bangers though. 3.5/5
Decent album. Some really good songs but not totally my vibe.
Had a lot of the singles, and they were good. The rest kind of seemed like dated, low quality sample, pop music.
Michael Jackson, Like Madonna, is a consummate performer. But his works are also chronically overproduced and stylized in ways that to me make them seriously flawed. The music of this album covers a range of pop, rock, funk, and R&B. Michael is definitely presenting himself more aggressively and trying to make his voice more textured, but the end result is still just a kind of tin foil. It glistens but lacks depth and authenticity. Note that this is the same problem Mr. Rogers had when he recorded an album of covers of the Ramones.
Great beats and production, pure pop songs and a silk voice. There's not quite the stardust magic of Thriller, but it comes close. Less mechanics, and a little more soul would have helped. It's hard to listen to this now though, knowing what we know.
Not as good overall as Thriller but there are still some classic songs on here. Main issue is the overuse of his vocal ticks Shamone-heHeeeee etc Worth a 3.5
It’s obviously impossible to triumph over Thriller. But I also think Off The Wall is a better record than Bad. Bad has too much of that late 80’s tech pop sugar coated sound on the tracks.
every hero becomes infallible eventually.
its ok
Back in the day we just couldn't wait for the next video by this guy and there are a few very good ones off this album. It's kinda funny seeing this guy to and be "bad", but everything he put on MTV was gold. There was a rumor that Bad was suppose to be a duet with Prince. Prince declined because Michael would not remove the opening line, "Your butt is mine." Atta boy, Prince. This is a solid album with some very good tunes. Can't say this is Thriller, but what album is? Good tunes include Bad, The Way You Make Feel and I Can't Stop Loving You. My personal favorites are Man in the Mirror and Dirty Diana. Man in the Mirror is right up there with all time favorites. Great song. Something about Smooth Criminal annoys the shit out of me and pretty much the rest of the album was just OK. I can't wait to see the reviews as I'm guessing there's not going to be much of a middle ground for this guy. Musically, always been a fan and enjoy a lot of his music. Outside of music.....well, that's why I'm really curious to read some of the the reviews. This album doesn't quite get there like a few others, but this guy can sing. 3.5
3 Probably Michael Jackson’s most overrated album. After two very strong dance pop albums, this is the point where I feel MJ’s music starts to get a bit cheesy. With the success of Beat It, it seems the guy wanted to continue in that general direction and rebrand himself as a bit of a bad boy, and I find the whole attempt at it incredibly corny. Are we really supposed to believe the little kid responsible for ABC is some kind of edgy tough guy now? (Well, I guess he was doing some pretty unspeakable, illegal things, but not really what I’m referring to). Whether it was his goal or not, nothing here really seems to match the energy of Beat It or has any sort of real edge to it, with the title track in particular having some of the most run-of-the-mill pop production and on the nose lyrics I’ve heard. Who’s bad? Show us, don’t just tell us, Michael. While not quite as egregious, songs like Speed Demon and Dirty Diana just feel like further attempts at proving his batitude that also fall mostly flat. And betwixt all of that, the album’s most wholesome song, Man in the Mirror, manages to come off equally as corny in the sense that it feels like too hard of an attempt to be a “change the world” type anthem. Especially knowing what we know about the guy now, the song seems incredibly ham-fisted. However, I realize that, at its core, MJ was just after another successful pop album, and he mostly succeeds in that regard. While it certainly pales in comparison to Thriller and Off the Wall, I have to admit that the production here is about as clean and catchy as this era of pop gets. And contained within all the layers of nacho cheese are actually two of the best songs MJ’s career - The Way You Make Me Feel and Smooth Criminal. The Way You Make Me Feel has a really enjoyable, groovy beat to it, one that reminds me of lot of Michael’s earlier work and serves as a reminder of what the guy does best. As for Smooth Criminal - look, for as much shit as I gave the whole “bad boy” schtick, he actually kind of pulls it off here. Despite having no guitar on the track, it’s about as close as we get to matching the badass energy of Beat It, and the “Annie, are you okay?” chorus is nothing short of iconic. However, at the risk of damaging the entire credibility of this review and possibly my musical opinions as a whole, I have to say I prefer the Alien Ant Farm cover - the song just works so well with a heavier, faster energy. This album certainly has its moments - enough for me to still rate decently - but in the grand cope of MJ’s catalog, this is an album I’m more likely to skip over than not.
Idk Michael Jackson kinda makes me cringe is that rude..
I actually like this album well like one song still not a big fan of MJ he tried to diss my boy em but it just backfired on himself so... 4/10
Packed with well known classics though the few songs I hadn't heard were nothing to write home about. Overall a good album, middle 3.
It's a decent album, if you can ignore everything else
Sure.
I'm torn on this one. It really isn't music I'd be interested in listening to, but much of this album has a certain life to it that lifts it beyond the generic. So even though it's not my style, and I'd never choose to listen to it, I somehow admire it enough to give it 3 stars.
Interesting album! Definitely a time period piece not necessarily with the times on some of these songs. Questionable lyricism but still a bop of an album!
80s coke party dance tunes.... good in the sense of influential. I don't care for the dated production sound. Not the worst album to listen to and I see why people like it. Favorites - the way you make me feel, Liberian girl, dirty Diana
3 out of 5. Just as fun as Thriller but with maybe a slightly weaker first half.
Notable tracks: Smooth Criminal, Bad, Man in the Mirror, Dirty Diana, The Way You Make Me Feel, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Leave Me Alone
Okay. While there are few fun hits on here. The lyrical storytelling and musical experimentation didn't feel super astounding to me. Pretty average, some good pop, but not one that I will likely find myself returning to regularly.
Lots of fun stuff on here, but honestly it's the beginning of Michael Jackson jumping the shark, so it's just hard to feel good about it. He already is starting to look like a white woman on the cover 😒
When I was in 5th grade, I had this album on cassette and listened to it non-stop. Obviously tastes change in 30+ years so it should not have surprised me that I didn't love it nearly as much this time around but I didn't really feel it now. Bad is a good song fundamentally but the production sounds pretty dated now. The Way You Make Me Feel still brings it but the rest of what was the A side are duds. Man in the Mirror is a classic but I could and did stop I Just Can't Stop Loving You. So, like, half bangers, half duds, I still get why it's heralded as an all-timer but just didn't do it for me.
Better produced than his earlier solo albums. There are some great songs on here, but maybe I just don't love MJ all that much.
Favourites: Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal
This wasn't great, but it wasn't Bad...
Some MJ super hits here. But I was actually surpised that there a handful of tracks I'd never heard before. There's more nostalgia in these songs than any real love of the music. But still fun to listen to.
It's got a couple jams you've heard about twenty million times before. The rest is whatever.
MJ doesn’t really make albums, just collections of singles that range from greatest pop song of all time to completely irrelevant unlistenable. For me this album has a couple of the former (the way you make me feel, bad) and at least one of the latter (Liberian girl) and a lot in between. When he hits, there’s no one in pop history that hits like Mike but there were more skips than I expected. 3.4
3.0 Couple of MJ bangers, and a few more shitty fillers. As time passes the weirder the stuff gets
Feels like giving this 4 stars would be just for name recognition. The way you make me feel is a great dance song...smooth criminal makes you move as well. But Dirty Diana? Never need to hear this again. Just a strange album for the most part of you remove the few great songs. Lacked the passion and grooves of the songs I already mentioned. The album as a whole was just ok.
#332. There's three quite good songs on here, but the rest of it is pretty meh, honestly. Just generic 'we have to make enough to fill a whole album' kind of stuff. 3/5: acceptable
Michael's got a great voice. And the hits are great. But I otherwise thought it was pretty forgettable. Maybe my expectations were too high
It has moments of greatness, but isn't great. Certainly it's no "Thriller" and not even an "Off The Wall".
Don’t know if I’ll revisit but really well produced album. The instruments were way too loud though and Michael’s voice was a lil low. Content wise: great album. Favorite song: Dirty Diana
One of the first records I bought as a kid. Haven't heard it in years. Not as cheesy as I thought it would be even though title track is cringe. So be good songs sounds very 80s. 6/10
Such a mix... greats like Smooth Criminal, Way You Make Me Feel, & Leave Me Alone... and then some awful awful tunes... Speed Demon?? Ugh...
When I see the album cover for Bad, I always think of the album cover for Weird Al's "Even Worse." Gives me a chuckle. For years I thought "Liberian Girl" was "Librarian Girl," which probably makes very little sense to me now. There were quite a few hits on this album, which is to be expected since Michael Jackson did nothing but write/sing hit songs. I have always been a Michael Jackson casual more than anything else, so the less ubiquitous tracks like Liberian Girl and Just Good Friends aren't necessarily my cup of tea. In fact, (hot take here) the album is very backloaded with tracks 7-11 all being really good songs...or at least tolerable songs. Take Michael Jackson's name off the album and tracks 3-6 are all fairly mediocre pop songs. Speed Demon is a stupid song. There is no way around that. Just Good Friends is notable because Stevie Wonder is on the track. Even on the good songs on the album suffer from Jackson's need to make the vocal grunts that make it sound like he is choking. It's pretty overused. I have always appreciated Jackson's work but never totally enjoyed it because it always felt hollow in some ways to me. Thriller was an album by Michael Jackson and this just seems like a Michael Jackson album where he is playing the role. This album deserves a place on the list because The Way You Make Me Feel, Dirty Diana, Leave Me Alone and Smooth Criminal are really great songs.
Some Iconic tunes but honestly most of the album felt like filler.
There are a handful of great, classic songs on here. It’s hard to follow up Thriller, though. But that’s not this album’s fault.
This has some classics on it, but they aren't what I was remembering them to be. Sounds really dated and some are just /// Bad.
So the hits are A+ killer pop tunes. It’s no wonder that Bad and Smooth Criminal are *still* jams to this day. The rest of the album though. It sounds like they recorded a the world's most incredible EP and then stuffed it with enough filler to charge full LP price. Some outstanding bass synths but also a lot of very 1987 synths. Crazy that it’s only two years out from Pretty Hate Machine and three years from Violator completely upending what everyone thought synth/sampler based music could sound like.
I was very excited for another BANGER from little Michael but I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed with this one after hearing thriller first. The highs of this one like Bad, Way you make me feel, and smooth criminal still stick out as absolute slappers, but some of the tracks that fill out this album range from forgettable to bad, with the highlight of what the fuck is this being “Liberian Girl”, or as I like to call it, “How to contract new and interesting diseases”. It would be interesting to plot how insane Michael was, and how fucked up he looked against the quality of his albums. Should have stopped with the surgeries after thriller.
I'm bad, I'm bad. Oh fuck I'm bad, so fucking bad. I'm bad bad. I'm a baddy little bad bad, bad boy. Ooh I'm a fucking bad boy who's so naughty bad. Bad bad bad. Mmm little baddy bad naughty bad boy. Fucking bad as fucking shit bad boy. Stinking fucking bad boy ughh, so fucking bad. Bad bad bad. I'm bad.
Didn't click for me nearly as much as Thriller, still a good album with some bangers Didn't really like some of the mixing felt that his voice was way too quiet on some tracks but that might be the version I listened too. Took a few listens for some tracks like Dirty Diana and the way you make me feel, to click and even after having it click, still weren't great imo. Not really a single bad track per se, just lots of alright to good tracks and only a couple which stuck out as great. 7/10
Some bangers obviously but some very 80s production value. Not ahead of its time but very good. 3.5
I'll always like Smooth Criminal, but the rest of Jackson's stuff has never really hooked me. It's a fine listen, but it never really drew me in.
Hmm. I like Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, and Smooth Criminal, but most of the other songs on this album are quite weak (and I've always hated Man in the Mirror). Michael can do better (well, not anymore).
I feel like this has not aged as well as Off the Wall and Thriller. Some good songs but a lot of it lacks the feeling of earlier albums.
i was 9 years old when this came out and we used to watch mtv pretty regularly so the hits on this one i've heard a million times i don't remember ever connecting much to the songs on this one except for man in the mirror that one reminds me of the optimism that i felt as a kid and the desire to help the less fortunate in the world.
Here’s the deal. I decided NOT to listen to this. Sure when some of the hits come on in a bar or background they feel good. But I remember this album is also full of nonsense filler. So subtracting one star for the fact I didn’t feel like actually listening to the album.
I was pretty excited when I saw this was today’s album and then I listened and was disappointed. Added a couple of the big hits to my faves list and the rest of the tracks really didn’t do it for me.
Some songs I did not know!?
Has some big hits as high points but not going to praise this or anything, it's fine.
Has some well known songs, but overall found the album a little stale. Not as fun as other MJ albums. 3/5 Probably won’t listen again
Not a bad listen but definitely some questionable tracks that have aged badly. Thriller is just better tbh. Although PYT from that one also aged badly.. (cough cough Leaving Neverland) Maybe MJ has just aged badly in general 😬 That aside I did really enjoy some tracks so he’s managed to snatch a 3. Favourites: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man In The Mirror, Smooth Criminal
Shamone! Some bangers in here and some filler. Thought the drums and guitar work was solid, particularly on the faster tracks. I don’t have very strong feelings about this album, it’s just ‘good’.
It's a classic album that I'm really surprised to realize that I hadn't listened all the way through before today....
Better than expected, but I prefer the other two Quincy produced albums.
Pretty sick beats. Probably worth 4 or 5 stars. But I couldn't stop wondering whether the dude was a kiddy diddler.
Two outstanding tracks, two pretty good ones and the rest felt like filler or at least really underwhelming to me. By this point Jackson was more of a cultural phenomenon than a musical one, maybe.
Is it just me or MJ just isn't as good as people say? I mean, I like a couple of songs, but this album, except a few hits, is quite bad (pun intended).
I feel like this album progressed the opposite way Thriller did. On Thriller, a great majority of the tracks were so great, so iconic, so timeless, the one or two skippable tracks were completely overshadowed. A majority of great with a minority of "meh". But with Bad, I feel like it's the opposite. There definitely are a small amount of songs that are Michael Jackson's best work on here (Smooth Criminal, Bad, and I've always loved Dirty Diana). But the majority of the songs here are the skips, rather than the icons. Still some good times on here and in no way a bad album. But when you're following up one of the most impactful albums in popular music history, and you'd rather just skip a majority of the tracks, it's hard to want to come back to most of them.
mj
3.27
Mixed bag. 4 winners, 2 more strong, 5 mediocre songs filled in. That it was a big album for its day makes me want to give it a 4, and I would have if there were 2-3 fewer of the fillers which just dilute its overall strength too much.
this is good but kinda boring to me
Mixed feelings about this album. You have some great tracks like "Bad", "Man in the Mirror", "Dirty Diana", and the massive "Smooth Criminal", but the rest of the album I can live without.
There are some incredible highs on this album, with the opening two tracks and Smooth Criminal being the obvious standouts, although do I think that about the latter because of the video? Maybe that is baked into the MJ experience, though. However, the ballads don’t do much for me and I think this is not on the level of Thriller.
Overproduced decent pop album. By this time I find his vocal tics/clichés a bit annoying. Som filled bit plenty of hits. Not got me.
It's getting 3 stars bc I know it's realistically good, I like what I'm hearing. I am also, however, on the second day of a hangover and Spotify will only supply me with the hour and seven minute version of this album. I just want the original, why is Spotify so shit? Deeply, deeply shit. Anyway, I only listened to the first half. Sorry, Michael, maybe I'll come back and reassess. Also, the whole pedophilia thing, yk.
I think he made some iconic tracks
I like Thriller better.
This was really cheesy and not in a good way. I'm only familiar with the singles on this one, and even of those, Smooth Criminal is the only one I'd say is any good.
Bad is worse than Thriller. There's like two songs I like. Smooth Criminal is a bop.
I remember back when this came out, it was so big as to be inescapable. I also remember most of us thinking of it as a joke - this effeminate man trying to act hard. With that said it's time to put old preconceived notions, and the knowledge of what Michael would later become behind, and listen to the album on its own merits. So, although horribly dated, this is a good pop album. The whole "Bad" character still comes off as disingenuous and silly though.
Say what you will about the man himself, but Michael Jackson could write some songs! The album as whole doesn't really feel like a cohesive piece though, more like a collection of singles, even if they are awesome singles. Bad, Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal are amazing but there is too much filler and not really a theme or feeling like the songs weren't just put on an album in the order in which they were written.
30% great; 30% meh; 40% uncomfortable
There are some standout tracks but it's even more banal, overproduced and disappointing than when it first came out.
It's Michael Jackson. What else needs to be said. I don't think that it has aged particularly well. 80's pop, with all the electronics and Jacksonisms that you would expect. The singles from the albums are still really good (Bad, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal), but the rest just don't seem to do much for me.
Fun
Fine
Tras el exitazo de Thriller Jackson decidió seguir por el mismo camino, dotando ahora a sus canciones de algo más de rock duro y AOR de calidad. Es el caso de tres de los grandes temas incluidos en el disco y extraídos como sencillos: "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel"(mi tema favorito de este disco) y "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". También me gusta "Smooth Criminal" (seguramente influido por el videoclip que acompañó a su lanzamiento). Para mi gusto, el resto del disco no llega a la altura de sus predecesores.
Cancelled king
Sadly, I've never been much of a Michael Jackson fan, so I fear this album is largely wasted on me. But it's hard to deny the reign of the undisputed King of Pop, and it's also hard to imagine that there are many of his albums other than Thriller as classic and complete as this one. I just wish he hadn't spent so much of his amazing career trying to sound and act like a manly man (on stage and in front of the camera, at least). But what an amazing performer and dancer!
I wanted to like this so much more than I did--I'm not a big Michael Jackson fan though I love a few of songs, just not the ones on this album (though Man in the Mirror is great)
Nah, I know it was massive but it’s far from his best. Speed Demon and Liberian Girl are kind of embarrassing tbh
2,5
Oh SHIT. I’ve never listened to this start to finish so let’s fuckin goooo! They call this guy the King Of Pop and I can see why. The album has tons of hits but it’s not an “all killer no filler” record. The real stars of this album were the music videos since MTV was at its peak in the lateish 80’s. The first two tracks were gigantic hits (Bad and The Way You Make Me Feel) but I am less familiar with the next couple tracks, Speed Demon and Liberian Girl. If they didn’t have videos, I definitely never heard them. My initial reaction is ok kinda funky, kinda silly, danceable but kinda meh. Liberian Girl is a corny love song that I didn’t love but it’s cute. Just Good Friends is another dance song which is kind of forgettable. Same with Another Part of Me. Like… it was 1987, so the pop sound makes sense but it’s really nothing particularly great. There’s a reason some of these were singles but most weren’t. If I was older when this came out I’d probably have more nostalgia about it but so far it’s not that impressive. The B side of this is actually WAY more impressive with gigantic hits like Man In The Mirror and Smooth Criminal- its a huge upswing. These songs are just better than the other ones lol. They are less pop nonsense and have a bit more meat? I dunno they just sound like they put more effort in. The last few tracks (minus the slog Can’t Stop Loving You) are MJ at his best IMO. The guy was under pressure to top Thriller and while as a whole the record is meh, the hits were what carries it into the Best Albums of All Time category. And Leave Me Alone is one of the best FUCK YOU songs ever haha. I think this record was definitely meant to appease the fans who waited 5 years after Thriller but it’s a bit boring. The videos were far more memorable than the songs.
More '80s pop I remember hating... great. Going to try to ignore that and give this an honest listen. One thing I did to stay interested was seek out an original mix version of this, learning that many of the songs on it were later remixed and/or replaced by their singles version. Glad I did. They sound like they are more stripped down, with flashier production elements either not yet inserted or left further back in the mix. Vocals also feel more balanced that own their singles where they are much too forward. It has much more of an electro vibe than I remember and I do have a better appreciation for that now vs. when this first came out. Musically I'm digging a lot of what sounds like nods to the original Motown sound. Not sure if that's all Michael or if it's Quincy's influence. Did I just hear Stevie Wonder? OK, I like that too. All in all I can say I have certainly more respect for this album than I previously did, but it's still not something that will ever be in regular rotation for my listening.
I love how you can tell which songs were singles by looking at the spotify play counts. Tracks 3-6 all have "only" double digit million plays vs the triple digit million for everything else. Once you listen to them you know why...they're not very radio friendly or, you know, good. There isn't much to say about this album that hasn't already been said. It's a pop music classic, if you were growing up or an adult in the 80's or 90's you've heard it whether you wanted to or not. I honestly don't know if this sound was invented or perfected by this album or rather, Jackson's army of producers. It does sound pretty dated though, either way. Like a really good midi file, intentionally or not. The computerized sounding basslines which were ultimately played by real bassists are impressive though. The triple slap runs in "Speed Demon" are sick. This didn't pull in the nostalgia like other radio music albums did for me. It's not bad it's just that I've heard most of this before and I don't really need to revisit it.
There are some songs on this album that warrant 5 stars but the rest is just meh.
Bad indeed Mr. Jackson, very bad indeed. Is this an overall better album than Thriller? Yeah, probably. Is Michael Jackson a disgusting and horrifying child predator who never faced true justice while he was still alive? Also yeah probably. He can fuck off. His music is good. I don't have a problem separating the art from the artist, but I've always been lukewarm when it comes to Jackson's music.
I will not be intimidated by the likes of this creep and his legacy; Bad is not Good, it’s Fine.
It's pop
Its not bad (although it is Bad), but a bit of a disappointment overall. Slickly produced and some big singles, but comes across as calculated and artistically lacking. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: The Way You Make Me Feel Date listened: 08/04/24
Good album, could see he had fun making this album.
It’s not bad it’s good!
I voted that Hookworms album one star cos the guy was a beast but this album is actually good
Not as good, throughout, as I expected.
I thought this would be Bad but it wasn't as Bad as I thought. One or two tracks on here are cool, never heard the Stevie feature before. But Man In The Mirror is pretty painful for me.
Michael Jackson was a very talented songwriter who could write music that appealed to all types of music fans, but Thriller this ain’t. While there are some strong tracks, particularly on the second half, much of it is forgettable pop filler.
very catchy pop album with some surprisingly complex percussive and bass elements mixed in.
Cha’mon
When I think back glorious singles like Billie Jean and Thriller, and the albums of the time, I think Bad is just not up there. It really suffers from the production values of the time, making it all sound rather samey and bland to my ears. It was a massive seller at the time, so I guess popularity counts for something.
The hits are great. But a few of the other tracks felt like boring filler.
A fun pop album, with so many enduringly well-known songs. Sometimes the album felt a little too earnest, dramatic, and cheesy, especially with songs like "Man in the Mirror". It's still damn catchy and I was 100% bopping along to it, but probably not an album I'll gravitate towards very often.
Still some bangers on there..
Is my favorite MJ song on this album? Yes. Is this the best MJ album I've listened to? Definitely not
A few classics but he is a tough hang for an album that isn’t thriller
If this was like 6 songs instead of 11 it would be 5 stars
Great album , really Nice singles from this one !
King of pop is bad Killer voice, solid hit tracks But uninspired hype
A pop icone.
decent enough record, overshadowed by his legacy.
Dirty Diana stendur upp úr. Restin er slök upp upp í ágæt.
Is it blasphemous to say that 'Bad' is just alright? Or is it a relief? It could be that the production sounds dated to my ears, or maybe that the hooks aren't as bulletproof as I'd expected. MJ's vocal tricks and runs get old by the middle of the album. But the hits are Hits, and undeniable ones. I'm sure there are other MJ albums on this list. Maybe those will stick. Highlights: The Way You Make Me Feel (a perfect pop song, lukewarm review aside), Man in the Mirror, Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal
grew up with this so i could probably still remember it note by note, don't like it as much as i once did but still iconic
Wimp rocker Christopher Cross released one song trying to convince us he was a true bad-arse. Here, MJ sweats for about three or four tracks with the same aim - and, alas, with much the same outcome. What a peculiar album Bad is. Two stunners, a couple of good songs and a chunk of filler that seems to occupy much of the middle of the run time. The production is horribly dated - it sounds very plastic but also very soft, so the overall sonic mouthfeel is something akin to packaging peanuts. The great songs are 'Smooth Criminal' (elite stuff here, from the overlapping whispers in the bridge to the vocal surges as the chorus approaches) and 'The Way You Make Me Feel', which trips along with a lovely light swing to proceedings. Good - the slightly overheated 'Bad', its killer chorus giving the track buoyancy, and 'Dirty Diana'. I was once in a band that did a metal version (an original concept, eh?!) of 'Dirty Diana' and playing the chorus half-time with the drummer going nuts on the double bass pedal was a lot of fun. I guess all the Jacko vocal tics are present, and you can moonwalk in your bedroom to half these songs, so it's no disaster. It's just a little disappointing.
Iconic for it's time and it would be a crime not to enjoy Michael Jackson. It's classic and timeless. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to him but I acknowledge what an icon he was at the time.
Haven’t listened to this album in about 20 years. Surprised by how many of the rifs I now recognise from being sampled or otherwise ripped off by more contemporary artists - and this wasn’t a good thing because it showed how boring a lot of this album is (I’d rather be listening to the newer songs the album tracks remind me of, than the original). A few stand out tracks tho - Dirty Diana is a boo even if it is misogynist af, Leave Me Alone is excellent, and Smooth Criminal is classic MJ. Even Stevie Wonder can’t save the mid portion tho. Jeez.
Can't deny his talent and influence. 8 year old me would have given this a 5
The hits are awesome but the rest is meh Also sounds a bit samey
Some killer, but no Thriller.
It was fine. No thriller, but fine
Bad (not)
Following up albums like Off the Wall and Thriller is an impossible task. Maybe I just don’t know these songs as well but I just don’t think this record reaches the same heights.
Eh. Surprised how many songs I knew Sounds dated.
I tried and had to skip through. The classics are solid. But don't like having the ear worm. The super hype synth sound is cool but doesn't resonate with me. MJ still the fucking man though
Good, solid album from MJ.
Not my favourite of his, but an important piece of music history
It's ok. Can be an enjoyable listen, pop album. Nothing I go crazy for or I'd listen on my own
could i write poetry to this? n
I really want to give this a 4, but it is more like a 3.5. Some awesome tracks on this album.
A lot more filler than I remember, but the best songs hit hard.
Ok so this album sounds about what I would expect Michael Jackson at peak fame would sound like. There are good grooves and head bops in here but it was kind of boring to get through. Like we get it you have a great voice HEE HEE. Wieners: Dirty Diana will always be a 10/10 for me. It's such a great song. Losers: Most were just...? Kind of boring. Liberian Girl was such a drag.
God pop-plade! Meget lidt filler selvom det ikke alt sammen lige er min stil. Smooth Criminal stadig en kæmpe banger.
Only a few songs I really like
They don’t call him the king of pop for nothing. Too bad he turned out to be awful human being. 3 stars
The quality of production is outstanding but overall I didn't like this album half as much as Thriller or Off the Wall. Bad, Smooth Criminal and Dirty Diana are great hits, but the rest of them are just average.
3/5
Some classics but overall an average album.
The singles/standout tracks are fantastic, the rest of the album is just fine. Highlights: The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal.
Never found out if Annie was okay 3/5
Banging singles. The rest not so much.
Best Songs: The Way You Make Me Feel, Just Good Friends Listen Again: Maybe
Disappointing, to be honest. A lot of this era of Jackson seems to sum up the very worst of the 80s (musically, I'm glossing over the fact that he summed up the very worst of any generation away from the microphone). Over-produced, style-over-substance and far too slick. The singles are great in a way, because they take you to classic discos and it's hard not to enjoy that, but it's only really on songs like Dirty Diana and Leave Me Alone that he gets any kind of true feeling or grit into what's basically the pinnacle of corporate muzak.
It’s not bad (lol), but aside from a few standouts, I found the album kind of boring and repetitive. Kind of a tough one to rate - I enjoyed it more than several other albums I’ve given 3s to, but not quite enough to give it a 4… 3.5. Highlights: Smooth Criminal, Bad
I had this tape as a kid. Plus, I had "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" on vinyl. I loved this shit when I first got into music. But it's a bit bizarre listening to this album now. Obviously, the well known tracks are bangers. "Man in the Mirror" is a classic. "Bad" has a great beat. "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a cheesy 80s fun. And "Smooth Criminal" fucking slaps. But the rest of this record is almost embarrassingly shite. How can anybody listen to "Speed Demon" and not question the mental health of everybody involved? How did the creepiness of "Liberian Girl" not land MJ on the sex offenders register? How can anybody listen to the vocals in "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" and wonder if music might just be a net negative to society? Clearly, Michael Jackson's hits are worthy of recognition, even if they've all been played to death. But the tracks that fill out his albums are mostly bottom-of-the-barrel sludge. Plus, his trademark grunts & hiccups have aged like old milk.....mixed with cat piss. Does 4 great songs out of 11 give an album "classic" status? I'm not sure it does in my book. 🤔 ✌️❤️
Пчоу! Айу! Шамоуна! Апчехш! Уфф! Ау!! Хууу! Дах!
It's no Thriller
Pois un disco de Michael Jackson, a verdade gustoume máis do que esperaba
This album has a bunch of Michael’s Jackson’s staples. Besides that a lot of the other songs don’t really make the same impact even though they stick with the flow of the album. 3.33
inconsistant - some classic songs surrounded by filler
Smooth criminal is great. Speed demon was actually pretty cool - never heard that one. Not the best MJ record but has some classics.
The hits are hits for a reason. Others are just boring filler.
That was good, good enough for 4* ? Nope, high 3*
This has to be one of the most 80s sounding records ever -- every single noise on "The Way You Make Me Feel" is almost parody level. The drum machines, synthesizer sounds, bass tones, it's honestly pretty incredible how dated this sounds. Obviously knew the first two tracks pretty well -- absolutely massive hits. "Speed Demon" was kinda fun, kinda almost a novelty song. Don't know what to think about Liberian girl -- had an interesting groove to it. "Man in the Mirror" -- I vividly remember watching this music video in like a middle school gymnasium anti-bullying assembly. Song is fine. "Smooth Criminal" is the best song on the album. Annie are you ok? I admittedly don't know much about like Michael Jackson chronology, if you would have asked me I think I would have thought "Smooth Criminal" was an earlier song and "Man in the Mirror" was a later stage almost sympathy #1 hit like "oh yea, michael's still got it!" The amount of hits that I know every word to, without being particularly a Michael Jackson fan, is no doubt impressive. (And I don't really want to get into All That Other Stuff). And this album without a doubt deserves to be one of the 1001 Albums to listen to before you shed this mortal coil. But I don't think it has quite the timeless quality that "Thriller" has, of course a high bar. Can't really see myself throwing this one too often.
Some fun ones. Very Motown.
I don’t think I ever listened to this all the way through. Loved man in the mirror and thought Liberian girl was groovy. What a good voice and just great grooves.
What a classic album. I loved the songs; the way you make me feel and bad. I REALLY love man in the mirror. Such a good message and it always gets stuck in my head. I see why so many people like him but he isn’t a top artist for me. I’d go back to listen to those individual songs but I probably won’t ever listen to the album as a whole again
hard to record an album after Thriller. Not bad, ahah.
Bad is obviously iconic, it has some great beats. It’s more 80s synthy than I remembered. The middle of the album is weak but it picks up at the end. Jackson’s 2 best songs are Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal. Leave Me Alone is a good closer 6.7/10
How do you follow up an album like Thriller? Regardless of his musical ambitions, it's so hard to step out of the shadow of the cultural impact of an album like that (which I also feel is far from perfect despite having quite a few perfect songs). Bad is serviceable, but frequently kind of boring? I love the title track, The Way You Make Me Feel, and Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal, but a lot of the rest is underwhelming and kind of kitschy somehow (MITM works despite this fwiw). Influential sure, but a little light on the substance for me. Maybe MJ is a singles artist after all? Favourite tracks: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal
listened 2x for first time for me. first couple of tracks are good, along with smooth criminal. besides that, not really a fan. 2.6/5 only because of smooth criminal
Some good tracks
It's still Michael Jackson, which means that it's impossible to be a bad album (yeah...yeah), but it's far from his best, and it's still a bit repetitive for my 2023 ears.
Lots of songs I'm familiar with, but it's not singing to me. I actually prefer the covers of songs like Smooth Criminal and Man in the Mirror than the originals on this LP.
the hits hit but the others feel a little dated :/
There’s three absolute bangers on this. But like other Michael Jackson albums there’s at least one that’s godawful. (For me that’s Liberian Girl.) The rest of the album is fun. But those great songs are phenomenal. 3.5/5
If “Thriller” felt inevitable, then “Bad” had to prove itself. How would/could Michael Jackson follow up what was already fast becoming not only a bestseller but THE bestseller? Jackson doubled down on the formula that made him a star since childhood—bright, danceable pop music with hooks for days. He sold us on his brand of mainstream pop music even while hinting at danger from the opening bars of the title track, a signature smash from first listen: “Your butt is mine…” Other flashes of darkness were also wrapped in expert R&B/Rock/Dance arrangements, namely soon-to-be-classics “Dirty Diana” and “Smooth Criminal.” Jackson remains a globally-embraced artist because, for all his ambition, he manages to succeed in delivering the goods. His career-defining philosophical statement, “Man in the Mirror,” is as sincerely moving 37 years later. Despite what we know about Jackson’s personal struggles and all the criticism we could level at him (including the irony of this track), “Mirror” continues to defy cynicism: the key change @ 2.52 lifts an already lifted melody; the celebratory whoops and “na-na-nas” @3.36 are like cheat-codes to levels we didn’t know was available. Jackson sang “Leave Me Alone,” and maybe we should’ve listened, but it’s too late for that now. Whatever you think about him or his music, nobody can deny he’s cast in bronze and his music is legend. “Bad,” the wildly impossible follow up to the impossibly successful “Thriller,” is a big reason why.
"Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" are by far the best songs on this album. By far.
Like Bad, Smooth Criminal; everything else’s okay.
His vocal styling and drama he puts into it is strong and carries the mediocre synth music.
Although this album has quite a number of Michael's hit singles, I found it less creative and interesting as previous albums, such as Thriller. Although I enjoyed listening to the album, I found it very much a product of pure commercial tracks aimed to maximise sales, rather than a creative album.
Probably MJs second best album after Thriller. Lots of great songs and beats. 3
man in the mirror and smooth criminal slap hard. others cannot be critically reviewed by me
This album is like a time capsule of pop music from the 80s. It reeks of its sound. Other than that, it’s mostly just a weird 80s pop record. Didn’t age too well.
Good album but totally over produced. MJ’s squeaks, gasps, woots and hee-hees wear thin quickly. I find it difficult to take his songs about women seriously given his reported proclivities and Speed Demon is just ridiculous. Still there are bunch of hits on this album, hence the score.
Man in the mirror seems to be relevant
Some classics, of course. Non-singles are generally a bit crap though.
Ah, the King! I don’t have much nostalgia for MJ, but can say I definitely enjoy a majority of the songs. Been looking for a way to get more familiar with some of his work. I’m surprised by how many I know but wasn’t aware they were from him. Easy to listen, many will put me in a good mood, no matter what kind of music I want to listen to. Favorite tracks: Bad and Smooth Criminal
well produced. not my style
Great pop album by a weird man.
Some good singles but a lot of the songs are forgettable.
its michael jackson what should i say babes extremely famous album with amazing songs on it
Michael Jackson. Doing MJ things. Couple of HUGE tunes on here, but also some absolute stinkers. And of course, the elephant in the room makes it hard to separate the art from the artist. But in general, it’s not a great album, it’s just ok. The classics stand up well as you would expect - Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal but the rest feels an awful lot like very average filler tunes.
First time finding myself having a hard time separating the art from the artist. Not a bad album but what a mess of a human.
All the hits
Bad is weird. while it's not bad (even though it is), it really doesn't feel all that good either. it really doesn't shine very well in comparison to thriller, or even off the wall. smooth criminal is obviously the highlight and only song I'd call thriller-tier. Bad (song) actually isn't that bad (even though it also is). The rest is memorable (dirty diana, speed demon, man in the mirror) but it's just like. sure. this exists. I'd rather just listen to thriller. still not bad (even though it is?) I'd see why someone would call this bad. though I do also not see how you wouldn't call it bad. where am i
p580. 1987. 3 stars Well, there's no denying he could knock out a tune - this is packed with hits - and Man In The Mirror is possibly the best thing he did. Vocally he's on top form, but set against that is the dated production and an awful lot of filler. And I can't shake off the embarrassment of listening to music made by a child molester.
No while this album is Bad, I wouldn't say it's bad. But it definitely isn't great. The second half stands out for sure.
The hits are hits. The rest is meh. I did like "Librarian Girl".
The songs sound quite dated and there are a few pretty shite tracks. The hits are rather good however. Trying to seperate art from artist is always tough, especially when the album was released seemingly before he went 'bad'. 2.5/5
Good music overshadowed by a disgraced legacy. I knew eventually I'd have to encounter a review like this, and still not sure where I land on the whole thing. I considered not rating this at all, but I think I'll just try not to overthink it and give an honest rating. There are some great pop songs here. I do prefer the production on the two previous albums, but the hits are pretty strong. Three stars. Fave track: The Way You Make Me Feel
The hits are there! About three of the songs were unknown to me. Not bad but they weren't anything special.
I see why the hits were the hits
The songs "Bad" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" are okay. The rest I can live without. Overall, a very dated 80s sound. Far from a timeless sound like, for example, Simon & Garfunkel. 2.5-3 stars
There are absolutely great songs on here like Smooth Criminal, and I cannot deny that, but everything here feels incredibly aged, for mostly worse, and the fact that the best song (Leave Me Alone) isn't even on the original track listening is kind of the final straw that makes this album feel incredibly mediocre. 2.5, round up to a 3.
Bad was good. all the hits
I heard most of these songs as singled on the radio.
Top-notch production, top-notch pop, though much of it definitely sounds dated. Looking forward to some of his other works.
Not my favoirite of his but still je of his best
HEE HEE. Actually pretty good. Not great, but definitely not Bad. Talk about clickbait. Do better Michael Jackson, I know you're reading this. Yaddi-yadda, insert eight paragraphs here about Michael Jackson being a questionable guy. Who cares. I know all of you fuckers writing college essays in the reviews pull out the nastiest bop of all time when "Billie Jean" comes on at the club.
When you reach the heights that MJ did, even an album made after you’ve begun your downward slide is pretty great. This has some hits and some filler and some garbage, but it’s just past peak Michael Jackson.
It's not BAD but it's no Thriller.
Hit power gives way to star power on Bad. The tracklist feels a bit stretched, and there's less spectacle for Michael's ad-libs to hide behind. Perfectly controlled, perfectly unique, but one such record among many.
Good pop album with a lot of good songs
Well not being a great fan of Mr Jackson, I surprised myself that I enjoyed this. I prefer the earlier stuff but the production and gutsy sound are both clever and stimulating.
Yes
Not bad!
already heard it
Good but not my favorite MJ album. I think thriller and off the wall are better but it’s still solid
It’s alright
Not a Michael Jackson fan but I did like a few. Top Tracks: 1) Liberian girl 2) Smooth Criminal 3) I just can’t stop loving you
wore out the cassette of this when i was like 7; really struggled to listen to it straight through now, partly b/c of, you know, and partly because this is just very dated now; really, smooth criminal is the only one that really still stands up. leave me alone is ok too.
Not for me, I guess. MJ's talent is undoubtable, and his performance is super energetic. But there's just too many songs on the record, which are "just there". So Bad and Smooth Criminal remain the standouts.
Take a stick and smash it repeatedly on a metal garbage can. You've just nailed the recurring sound of Bad. It's bad. The songs are just weird and the producer appears to have just unboxed a new synthesiser. Every track, any moment of breathing space, is filled with a wacky sound effect or slice of novelty nonsense. I actually bought this in 1987 and thought I'd arrived as a serious cultural thought leader. Today, I'd like to apologise to that young man, 30 years too late.
If I liked this type of music more I would give it a 4.
Hard to ignore the cliche and connotations of these songs. Although some songs undeniably good.
I liked the sounds. There were some good song but won't be rushing back to listen anytime soon.
Honestly, this album did not age well. The synthesizers sound like a parody of themselves, with effects reminiscent of my 1990s childhood Casio's demo song. Many of the lyrics are cheesy beyond redemption, and the ballads are straight up unlistenable. And after relistening to the masterpiece that is Thriller, which truly stands the test of time, it's even worse. If it weren't for some classic hits, I'd rate this a little lower.
Bookended by two great songs, the rest of the album is.. okay. It's not my favorite MJ album, but still alright.
Fun album with amazing vocals
My appreciation for Michael Jackson's abilities as an artist has grown as I've gotten older. When he was alive, his music always seemed over-hyped and over-shadowed by his personal life—you know, things like allegations of assault and molestation against children. But, if I separate the art from the artist, it's difficult to deny how talented he and his bandmates were. I can't help but wonder what the scene would look like if he were still here creating music today. Standout track moments for me include: Bad's bass throughout, Liberian Girl's subtle Xylophone accompaniment and smooth bass progression, and Dirty Diana's powerful electric riffs and solos. The synthesizer and sampling throughout the album are also nothing short of classic. And then of course, there's his signature scats, vocal tics, and flourishes—they may have been overused at the time of release, but they're fun and bring a smile to my face now. I've listened to this album before, but there's several tracks I had no memory of—clearly a sign the entire album didn't make a huge impact on me. I'll probably listen to this again in a few years and think the same thing. While the aforementioned tracks stand out in their own way, the album seems to be a collection of independent songs, not anything cohesive.
If you can separate the art from the artist, some of these songs are pretty good. I mean, I prefer the Weird Al version whenever that's an option, but the originals ain't bad. 3.5. Apparently I hate whole numbers and refuse to acclimate to this 1-5 scale.
Michael Jackson-Bad I thought i knew all the songs but I was surprised I didn’t know/ remember a couple. Great album but I didn’t love every song.
Not really an MJ fan but I get why people like it.
A strange listen - I'd loved this album as a kid, but had forgotten half of it. Some parts - like the speed metal kick drums on Speed Demon and the funk stabs on just another part of me, were fun, and it almost reminded me of Zappa in terms of orchestration, but it also felt quite bloodless. Smooth Criminal and Bad and pop anthems, but elsewhere you see the signs of boredom and paranoia. I can't listen to Man in the Mirror without thinking of Patrick Bateman. By the end of the album I'm a bit tired of the same adlibs and hiccups on every song. I can't say it's a great album, but it's very unusual to listen to in retrospect. I feel like everyone should listen once, but I can't say I'm itching to go back to it.
I've never been a big fan of Michael's music, but I've never hated it either. If I was going to listen to one of his albums, I think this is the one. It's very polished and has some great grooves. Parts of it reminded my of Stevie Wonder, who I love, and then I was pleasantly surprised to hear a song featuring Stevie. Overall pretty good listen. 3 stars.
Politics aside, this is really a mixed album. The singles are massive and still stand up very well now. However, some of the album tracks really drag down the overall rating. The highs are really high, but the lows really low.
Dont really like michael jackson but its fine
Clearly doesn't hold up as well as Off The Wall or Thriller. I suspected as such. It was loaded with hits that basically rode the magic residue leftover from the Thriller era, but in hindsight sound dated. ”Hey pretty baby with the high heels on" doesn't work as a pickup line, especially from an alleged child molester. MJ protests a little too much with songs like" Leave Me Alone", and he clearly had no intention of taking his own advice singing" Man In The Mirror". It's fitting that the one solid legacy track from the album is "Smooth Criminal", a song that's built around what CPR students say to the Resusci Annie, which makes me suspect MJ didn't take a CPR class until he was in his 30's, and he probably only took a class to hang out with young boys. Smooth Criminal is the one truly solid banger here. Anything Michael released as a follow up to Thriller was going to be huge. This is where his weirdness finally started catching up with him. It's sad for many reasons. But I can still listen to Off The Wall and Thriller repeatedly without a concern for MJ's extra curricular activities. Those albums are that great. This album is where you start to hear all the whispers that would eventually become too loud to ignore.
I was never the biggest MJ fan, and have never listened to Bad in full before. When it started I thought, yeah these first two tracks are great if this carries on I'm going to love this. But it didn't really carry on and after a while, all of Jacko's vocal ticks and affectations started to annoy me.
Following Thriller, a timeless classic wasn’t easy. Listening back Bad sounds dated now. The title track borders on comical, sounding like a cartoon soundtrack.
I like the hits on this one
This definitely has a different sound than Thriller, which I like in some of the songs, but I generally prefer the style of Thriller. Still some good songs, but I am indifferent to too many of them to give this a four. My favourite songs were Leave Me Alone and Smooth Criminal.
One of the greatest songs of all time is on this album. I'll let you guess what one I'm referring to.
It has some undoubted tunes on it, but MJ's schtick hasnt aged as well as some others of this era
Memorable primary school joke - Q. "Why did Michael Jackson call his album Bad" A. "Because he couldn't spell terrible" Clearly, it's not terrible, but for one of the biggest selling albums of all time, it's not amazing either. Smooth Criminal is a banger, but that aside, there's a lot of over-engineered generic 80s pop here.
I liked Thriller better than Bad, but neither were my type of music. I recognize the significance of this album and it's influence on music and culture.
If this album had been put out by Michael Johnson, not Michael Jackson, I don't think it would have got nearly as much airplay. That's not to say that it's bad. It's not. But it's not great either. At most it's 4 stars. But I think it's really closer to 3.5, and given the "overhype", I'm rounding down.
3 Stars This is so thriller but it's also no dangerous.
Not fly bag, but not bad. Smooth Criminal is pretty awesome
Incredible and unique voice, he was truly a Master of his craft. The music is just too profoundly 80s for me.
They were ok and catchy but not the genre I like listening to.
TBH it's really really bad. Okay pun out of the way - I think it falls short of Thriller by quite a bit. A lot of the songs just aren't all that catchy or just have a very strange subject it's written about. 6/10
its good but not much more the highs are high and the lows are low the album is very dated and just doesnt have the hits to back it up with.