Bad

Although I am a massive Motown fan I never took to Michael Jackson's solo stuff. Obviously a classic album with commercially successful pop songs, well crafted and produced. But not for me this one I'm afraid

It's okay, it's no Thriller though, obviously. There isn't much else to say about this, it's a Jackson album. I always considered it one of the weaker ones, but lots of people seem to like it.

ehh, the singles on this are all pretty good but it's a slog to get through a good portion of these.

Catchy songs but a hard act to follow post Thriller.

What to do with a problem like Michael Jackson. On one had the big songs on this album are timeless classics. On the other hand he's quite possibly singing them about children he's molested. The songs are great but I can't truly enjoy them anymore. 3/5 Is it possible to remove one from the other?

Some of it holds up well, but some of it (Speed Demon) in particular is nowhere near as good as I remember

Good- Smooth Criminal, Man In The Mirror, Leave Me Alone Bad- Liberian Woman, Another Part Of Me 6/10

This album did not age well. Ee-hee!

Man in the Mirror is definitely Ashton’s favourite on this. Happy to hear 80’s bass and drums in Sydney traffic. The Way You Make Me Feel is the standout out of 4 standout tracks. The rest is real real average.

Soul, pop. Melódico.

Michael Jackson's obviously iconic- but I don't think I've ever actually listened to a full album of his. I really enjoyed it! I will say his french is trash holy shit. (ALSO Pitbull trash jesus)

It's Michael Jackson. You know who he is and what he sounds like. Bad is not his best album (two guesses what it is), but it's not bad (pun intended) either. The sound is dated, but it's been a very important and influential album so this makes sense as one of the "albums you must listen to".

Did not realize all these hits were on one album. Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal, AND Man in the Mirror...Wowzers. The first line of the album is something I've heard Mike say dozens of times. Had no idea he was quoting MJ. Speed Demon and Just Good Friends has some cool 80s synth bass... Liberian Girl isn't bad, but ignorable. Just Good Friends has comfortable elements... Overall, you know the hits while the rest feels more like filler than hidden gems - possibly with the exception of Dirty Diana. Still, another classic album. Good listen.

Does it sound dated, or was it date-defining? Who knows! Fave track - "Smooth Criminal"

the album overall was good, and i really enjoyed certain songs on it. However the instrumentals were very unimpressive

i'm still not sure i really care for michael. this was ok, but it ultimately just leaves me cold.

Quite enjoyed the album. Not hating it, not my favorite as well. Maybe it's not just what I usually listen to

80's pop star cool

Smooth Criminal, Bad, and Man in the Mirror are all on this album, so it feels criminal to rate it low- but I'm not a fan of a lot of Jackson's secondary songs, so 3 is as far as it goes.

I'm not listening to two Michael albums in a row. I'll assume it was a 3.

Puh... Was soll man zu ihm sagen? Mitreißende Musik, aber ein bisschen zu upbeat für meinen Geschmack. Sehr markante Stimme, aber mich stört mittlerweile sein ständiges „Huh-heh“ und „Ow“ und der gleichen. Als Kind hab ich ihn auch mal gehört und schlecht ist die Musik definitiv nicht, nur nicht mehr so mein Ding. Ein Argument für ihn, das ich glücklicherweise hier ignorieren kann und was mich ohnehin nie angesprochen hat, ist seine Persönlichkeit und Leistung bei Live Performances. Moving on...

I've never listened to this whole album. I've definitely heard the popular songs: "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man In The Mirror", and "Smooth Criminal". I don't recall hearing any of the other songs. I would have been 8 when this album came out. I was not into music then. I have vivid memories of hearing Thriller and my siblings watching the music video and not letting me watch it because it was too scary. I have a strong association with Thriller and GI Joes for some reason. Probably just the thing that I was into at that age.

Some fun songs, but mostly pretty annoying and cheesy. Smooth Criminal is good. Speed Demon and Man in the Mirror were better than expected.

1987. Key Songs: Bad, Smooth Criminal

Meh

Meh. Its good but its just not my cup of tea, and they sound to similar for my liking, and the hee hee and gasping kinda annoyed me

When this album was hot I hated MJ but also Madonna and Prince. I listened (and still) to Bruce Springsteen and the Stones , Pink Floyd etc. I laughed at MJ as his concerts were done when Bruce was just halfway. I saw the Michael movie this year which is mainly about his youth, the Jackson 5 up to Thriller. After that he went downhill. With Bad the sound went also way less organic and into terrible 80s drumcomputers and synths. The albums has some parts which are ok . The titel song and also Dirty Diana I can sort of appreciate but not sure of that is sufficiënt for 2 starts…

Never liked Michael. I find his voice really annoying. Also can't cope with his little screams.

“Your butt is mine” ayo?

I already knew the hits, they're just okay to me. The rest want anything spectacular. I never understood the fascination with Michael. Perhaps it was had to be there thing

During the 80s, he was the master of crappy 80s pop music. I have to wonder if his musical ability would extend to 90s alt or 70s classic rock, or was he just gifted at crappy 80s pop music and happened to be making it in the right decade?

The extremely talented but problematic Mr. Jackson. Follow up to Thriller. Bad: lead single. Not that good of a song. Ironic. Michael was bad. Just ask the children. Drum machines and lack of real instruments annoying. Album seems to lack energy and zest. Just going through the motions. A lackluster effort. Man in the mirror. Only good song on the album. Not a good album. Disappointing effort. Two stars.

Expected to like this more today. Quincy Jones put in a hell of a shift here and MJ could sing, but it all feels hollow and fake.

++: Bad, Just Good Friends +: Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal +-: The Way You Make Me Feel, Speed Demon, Another Part of Me, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Dirty Diana -: Liberian Girl 4,9/10

Kiddy fiddler

Oof. Fuck Michael Jackson, but Thriller and Off the Wall are four-star albums. This one is pretty... wait for it... wait for it..... terrible.

Smooth criminal ist ein krasser banger. Sonst ok 2.5/5

Some really important songs here (Smooth Criminal, The Way you Make Me Feel) but most of the album is underwhelming to me. Actually makes me appreciate Prince even more.

Sweet. Final Jackson. It's been about 180 albums since I listened to "Off the Wall". To be honest, I don't remember anything about that album. I felt a bit of whiplash coming off of the back of Thriller, where I was intimately familiar with just about every song on that album through radio osmosis. At the very least, I know there'll be one song on this album that I recognise, so I'll hopefully have an easier time engaging with this music. Here goes. Hmm. Kind of a bummer. I remember Thriller being immaculately produced, which makes the artificial, minimalistic sound of this album disappointing by comparison. That being said, I understand the assignment with this album. Jackson's trying to create stripped-back, easy-listening dance tunes, and I think he succeeds in that respect. The reduced emphasis on audio fidelity places greater focus to Jackson's vocals, which are generally adept. He has a good level of kick on the more rigid dance offerings and his distinctive falsetto is pleasing on the more ballady and atmospheric tunes. Unfortunately, this music crumbles quite a bit in the songwriting department. The vocal melodies are generally hit-or-miss, repetitious and airheaded, which makes their weaknesses stand out more when paired with the hefty song lengths and simple production. The result is an album where I felt disengaged across most of its runtime. Yeah, there's the title track. I should have expected to be hit with it right out the gate. It's not as iconic as the high points of "Thriller", though there's still a lot that it gets right. The funky synths are instantly recognisable and provide a good sense of forward momentum. Jackson offers a strong vocal performance and I like how the backup vocalists harmonise with him during the chorus. I've heard "The Way You Make Me Feel", too. No surprises there. Good song - I prefer it to the title track. The songwriting is tighter and Jackson delivers a more spirited performance, which is owed in part to his iconic heehee-ing. The instrumental is stronger, too. I do enjoy those Sega Genesis synths (especially down the middle of the song) along with the brass numbers and clapping percussion. Overall, the song nails the one thing it's focusing on, which is a constant sense of forward momentum. There's "Man in the Mirror". Honestly, I was beginning to lose hope in this album by the time this one rocked up, so it's good to be getting back on track. Nice tune. As one of my guilty pleasure instruments, I greatly appreciate the inclusion of the cowbell. The heavy, percussive sound is also charming in how of-the-time it is and I enjoy the ambient/funk synths. The songwriting of this track is once again the highlight, though I admittedly find the vocal hooks to be weaker than the other songs on this album. Overall, I think the song lacks a bit of focus, though it's still nice. Ah. I should have known that I wouldn't be getting through this list without getting hit by a smooth criminal. Great song. The lyrics are fun, the vocals well-delivered and the instrumental is well-executed, if simple. All in all the song is a good time. I, once again, don't need to research why this album is in here - it's a Michael Jackson release. Truth be told, I think Jackson could do with four list albums. The releases following this don't appear to have been as warmly received by the critics, though you can't deny their level of chart success, which I would argue makes at least one of them a must-hear. For the time being, however, I'm content to let this one through. I cosign this inclusion.

Except Man In The Mirror,, I couldn't listen. Nopes.

Michael Jackson was on the decline when I was born and died when I was a child. I only really knew of his status as a massive star, but this album did not convince me of how justified that status is. I understand why the hits were hits, but at least 5 of the songs are awful, like speed demon and liberian girl.

First Michael Jackson album I've ever listened to as a whole. Phew... He employs his signature "heee heee"s, "wooo"s and "ow"s so damn often, you get the impression this is a Michael Jackson parody. Most of the songs did nothing for me, though it had its good moments like in the title track or the groovy "Smooth Criminal". Other songs were cringeworthy and hard not to skip. "King of Pop"? Apparently not earned through great songwriting. However, worst of all is the 80s sounding production. The drums and bass sound like shit, the synths are just horrible. 1.5/5 - weak

Previously known. A few great songs but more medicore ones.

Some major hits, but I feel like nobody was supposed to hear all the non-singles on this album. "Liberian Girl" is kinda an insane song Highlights: "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", "Smooth Criminal"

Ham on Ham on Ham on whole wheat Alright

It feels a bit soulless. For an artist such as Jackson, I was expecting a bit more. Besides "Man in the Mirror" and "Smooth Criminal" the songs sounded overproduced and failed to demonstrate any sort of the spark that he is known for. I didn't like "Thriller" that much either", and I feel this is of similar standard.

it's fun. he's a child molestor. still everyone should hear this before they die.

While I think Off The Wall still holds up pretty well, and Thriller is worth the price of admission for its title track, this turned out to be a hilariously aptly-named album. I knew loads of people who seemed to worship this album when it came out, but when it came down to it, what they actually seemed to love was his videos and the spectacle of him. Personally, I always found this album weird, from the imagery and outfits meant to imply that he was some badass (the lyrics “I’m creepy…” wouldn’t have scanned well, but “I’m weird, I’m weird, I’m really, really weird” could have worked) through to the strange vocal tics - not just the shamones, eee-hees, wooohs, but also the weird pronunciations (“…another *pwart* of me…”). The saving graces for me are Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal, but the river of dross you have to cross to get there is generally not worth it.

Besides the hits, this just didn't do it for me. Add the complications of who Michael Jackson was and what he did, and this was super missable for me. 4/10

Not really the best mj album, off the wall is better

bad

kind of weird i've never heard the album in full. also pretty ironic that the michael movie has been launched just a couple of weeks ago. the drums are so !!! toit i think i've heard more covers of michael jackson songs than the originals. i like speed demon (the falsetto part got me rolling though) i just do not like this type of music / pop?

Good album.

It’s MJ, so none of it is truly truly heinous, but for the most part it lives up to its name. There’s the inane songs, the affected high pitched noises, the “sha-mo”s, the awful Stevie Wonder duet, and then mixed in a couple of pop classics. But it’s actually really quite a poor album and doesn’t have the disco energy to carry it through.

"Speed Demon" is a weak song it's a bit repetitive and silly so loses a bit of classic MJ to me.  It sticks out to me as not sure of its place in the overall album effect. I guess the positive in this album of all this flip-flopping styles is exactly that he can transition to almost anything vocally, and the range is insane.  "Liberian Girl" is another gear change as it's a significant down change of pace but has not much more quality than Speed Demon. I probably only "woke up" when Man in the mirror came on.  That is a classic song but had to wade through some filler before that (Including a dire duet between Stevie Wonder and MJ.  How did those 2 manage such a crap song!). I do like "Dirty Diana" & "Smooth Criminal" in that I think they have got a bit of extra passion and not just another pop jingle and start to blend some styles in this case with a strong rock influence. MJ has one of the best vocals of the century and probably why he can lift almost anything to a pop hit.  I do actually like MJ but for me this album lacks consistency to be considered great and when 2 thirds of the album is weak not much more to be said.

MJ is completely unconvincing as a "Bad" boy and this album is like the musical equivalent of Mario Kart. I found myself instantly irritated by the odd noises, sqeals, and stoccato beats. Every now and then MJ whooping like man-child. He completely fails to sell any song about love or sexuality, but maybe that's because I know with hindsight that he has the mental age of a twelve year old. I have to admit that he is pitch perfect throughout the album and it has a couple of classics. Just too much camp pop for me in this one.

This was always going to be a troublesome listen for me. Can appreciate tracks like Smooth Criminal as 'Classics' but won't be listening to it again

Sounds dated and childish. Probably his worst album and an awful rebrand for him. Gets a 2 for Man in the Mirror

Of his big three albums (Off the Wall, Thriller) this is probably his weakest. He also went weird during this period. Too much plastic surgery and of course the elephant in the room, the allegations. So while it's not really that bad with many good songs, hard to give it above 2 stars

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I don't care if his music is good or if he's an "icon" I'm sick of listening to men who've fucked kids on this stupid gameeeeeeeeeeee

I don't feel like listening to Michael Jackson and it doesn't help that this album is surprisingly meh.

Mid

Meh. Cant separate the art from the artist

Bleh

This album is when the car drives off the road and then Dangerous I'm assuming is when it goes off the cliff and whichever one after is when the car hits the ground and explodes .

I didn't really get Michael Jackson at the time and that hasn't changed

Mmmm. Not my thing. Never was, even before all the broohaha. Some great singles. But the self-consciously orgasmic whoop puts me on edge for all sorts of reasons. 2*

16-year-old me was entirely correct in rejecting this album as synth-pop garbage.

I was in 8th grade when this came out and even then I could tell this was ridiculously inauthentic. Bad, Smooth Criminal, Dirty Diana are beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. This would get a 1 if it weren't for The Way You Make Me Feel. I like that one.

A real flat album with the highlights being the hits and singles only. It was always going to be impossible to follow up Thriller, but somehow this came out more flat and more dated. The only unique hit on the entire record is "Smooth Criminal", and that's not enough to sustain this. Add to it what we know about Michael's actions and it just makes for a gross record all around.

I had this on cassette. Smooth Criminal is still my favourite song of his. That said ... can't really endorse the artist, but also... man, a lot of this album just isn't very good.

Don't think I've ever listened to this all the way through, so wanted to see if there were any hidden gems in here. Not really. Bad is corny, Smooth Criminal is great, I kinda like The Way You Make Me Feel, and despite everything in my body rejecting what I'm hearing, The Man in the Mirror is over-the-top 80's pablum at its best. The deeper cuts are blah.

bad, bad, bad.

Perfekt produziert, perfekt nicht meins

Outside of Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal, not blown away by this album.

You don’t have to tell me who’s bad.

good

I admire people who can separate the artist from the art. I cannot. And this is not a well aged piece of art as a consequence

Some good tunes. One star deducted for being a paedo.

This would be a decent album if the production wasn’t so awful

Glee version of smooth criminal is better

It's bad, it's bad, it's really really bad. MJ's tough guy songs are just weird. I do dig Smooth Criminal though.

Unlike some of MJs better work, this has aged poorly, and has a sickly 80s feel that I can't really get behind. Has it's moments in the title track and smooth criminal.

Srednja žalost. Ima tu dobrih stvari, ali brijem da ima i boljih njegovih albuma. 2/5, 4/10

Not very interesting... very corporate... made to sell above anything else...

Not of my taste, I couldn't distinguish one song from the other

A follow up to Thriller was always going to be tough, but this is also below the level of Off The Wall (another great album btw). Bad appeared just as chart pop music was becoming homogenised and bland, and did nothing to arrest the trend.

120/1001 There are some great songs here but also a bunch of crap that just isn’t my thing and just so many of those uniquely Michael sounds on this. I’m not going to be playing this whole album again. 4/10

😐

Wow. Michael Jackson is a one album wonder. Everything outside of Thriller is a miss.

For å være helt ærlig synes jeg MJ er slitsomt og ikke så bra. Jeg kan høre at feks. Bad er en låt, men det er ikke en låt for meg. Har et soft spot for Smooth Criminal, da. Må være den eller Billie Jean som er MJs post-disco mesterverk. Nå hørte jeg på Billie Jean igjen etter skiva var ferdig, og det er ganske klart at BJ er den sterkere låta. Smooth Criminal kan få stå som en trygg nummer to.

Starter knallsterkt med to certified bangers, men ble overrasket over hvor mange fillers som er på plata. Produksjonen, synthene og trommemaskinene er ekstremt datert. "Speed Demon" og "Just Good Friend" høres ut som MJ har sunget over en keyboard-demolåt. "Man in the Mirror" må også nevnes som en veldig fin låt som jeg alltid har likt. Her på albumet blir den et veldig velkomment avbrekk fra alt synthbråket fram til nå. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" virker som en skrotet Disney-låt (Låtene er det verste med Disney-filmer), så det vrir seg i meg. Jeg har allerede mista trua når "Dirty Diana" og "Smooth Criminal" kommer på. "Leave Me Alone" er passende som siste låt, for det er nettopp det jeg vil at Bad skal gjøre. Etter Bad og Off the Wall begynner jeg å lure på om et samlealbum er alt man trenger av MJ, men jeg har fortsatt trua på Thriller.

Vel, det er ihvertfall bedre enn det første Michael Jackson albumet vi fikk, kanskje. Men det lider av mange av de samme problemene. Starter med to bangers (dog disse er ikke i nærheten av nivået på det forrige albumet), så dabber det av. Albumet er litt slitsomt mikset til tider og. Trommene er ofte for høye mens vokalen overraskende nok ofte er litt for lave. Tar Michael Jackson over tronen til Nirvana som tidenes mest overvurderte artist?

A real chore to get through. Nothing on side one has any interest beyond how the drum machines of the day sound awful. "You're just another pwart of me" is annoying. Man In The Mirror is pretty much unlistenable, especially now. I Just Can't Stop Loving You and Smooth Criminal rescue a point.

I wrestled with myself and won, just. Because it's/he's so famous it's tempting to say wow, I can see what all the fuss was about. But it's just vacuous, right? Am I missing something here? No, I don't think so 😐

Classic - I'm not a hugeeee MJ fan but it's a classic album

2,5 tähteä. Monta hittiä, mutta albumikokonaisuutena ei tarpeeksi mukaansatempaava.

Much like the man himself, that hasn’t aged well. Never a fan in the first place, but the eeeeeee-heeeeee’s are pretty insufferable and some of the bass lines and backing are of the 80s sound that makes me cringe. That being said you can’t deny his pop class in some of the songs. That also being said, nonce tax must apply. Not sure quite where that leaves us, but a 1* feels a bit harsh.

I'm not a big fan of Michael Jackson, so…

I don't like it that much. The sounds are too synthetic. A few great songs, of course.

Okay

This guy was a master of the 80s sound, which is good if you like that but I don't.

It’s not bad. It’s not good. It’s just fine

It's Michael Jackson. There are some awful songs in here (Dirty Diana, Liberian Girl) and he's an awful person, but these songs are iconic for a reason

Little Michael peaked in the 70's / early 80's. Or rather, Quincy Jones peaked in the 70's / early 80's. Gone are the lush (initial Quincy brilliance in the case of Off The Wall, and the Roland 808 and the Minimoog providing a weird sense of 'organic' synthetic sound in Thriller) arrangements of yesteryear, for the advent of digital synths that sound like the equivalent of spray-on cheese in retrospect. The songwriting chops are still there (See: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal), and the one Stevie Wonder contribution is quite good as well. Still, you can't help but feel that he's veered a bit towards a telecast-y style with 'Man In the Mirror', and his attempts at world music -- 'Liberian Girl' -- aren't as compelling as Ry Cooder, David Byrne, Robert Fripp, or Paul Simon's attempts (just realized these are all white men, pls dont cancel me). Unfortunately he fell off hard, in terms of music and his album covers (blech!) Can't help but feel that he would've had a late career resurgence if he was still with us today, though.

- Another pedo on this list. I’ve almost reviewed 100 albums now, and the majority are Zionists, pedos, and/or SA’ers. How about we promote good people instead? Anyone know an equivalent of this exercise that is full of non-pedos? - Listening to pedos sing about love is difficult, at best. And his talking on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” made my skin crawl. - Only the singles are even a little good. Is it just me or does Man In The Mirror make you think of that Wilson Phillips song, lol - The others are so annoying. They don’t go anywhere and are not catchy or interesting enough to hit. - This whole album is very dated - the synths especially, and his voice grates on me. - The top review really says everything.

i mean its ok i guess michael jackson is just a weirdo and i dont wanna listen to his music 🤷

I can understand the appeal of the album and it was epic back in the day. Just not an MJ fan on any level

Not my fav

It's bad! It's bad! It's bad! Ooh! Heehee! I've been flip-flopping between 2 and 3 for a while. I settled on 2. It's basically just the hits and then filller, and even the hits are like 35% too long. Just cut out half the random noises. It's so annoying.

Didn’t finish it…

There the right mix of hits and misses that I would give this four, maybe four and a half stars. But Michael Jackson did things, and I have a precedent of taking these things into account (c.f. "Antichrist Superstar" and Marilyn Manson). So here we are.

Surprisingly mediocre.

Sure it was a big album....can you put aside the allogations of child molestation? No.....was he talented? Absolutely.

The beginning of the end.

pa ovo je dosta slabo... ove su pjesme jako duge? bilo bi mnogo bolje da su sve po tri minute. ovako se ponavlja te ponavlja. usto je već ovdje malne karikatura. čudno, mislio sam da je to postao kasnije. sve u svemu sasvim bezvezno. dobra mi je "smooth criminal", ali i ta je malčice preduga. bokte

(2) it’s hard to look past its success but… 1. It’s not a definitive album. 2. It does not define a genre. 3. Its average. And it does not have the beat I can’t help but dance to!

Too pop eighties for me

late 80's pop that was played everywhere during its time. was never a fan of it then & still not really fan now either. Leave me alone is best track. he definitely ruled the radio & MTV back in the day....

Pivotal album amazing dancer, rough history and also not my fav

Man in the Mirror (meh) and Smooth Criminal. The rest...exists.

Never been the biggest Michael Jackson fan, but never hated him either. His output was just to mainstream for me. Even as far as Michael Jackson albums go, this is not his best. Michael trying to be "edgy" just doesn't work for me. There are, of course, the many hit singles. Those for the most part are descent, but nothing so special I'd want to hear it again. So much of the rest of the album is just flat-out filler.

Good album at the time, but has dated like milk. It's a bit overshadowed by the artist and his exuberances and behaviour. Jarvis Cocker knew the score.

By the time I was old enough to know about Michael Jackson he was already more or less white and in trouble for potentially being a pedo. I missed his golden age when he was the ¨King of Pop¨ and the biggest and baddest thing on the planet. He wasn’t the little boy from the Jackson 5, he wasn’t the guy who ruled MTV, he was just the human equivalent to a shopping bag- white, plastic and dangerous to children. How then do we separate the man from the music? The art from the artist? Is it possible, especially since he was never convicted and we’ve never had any proof beyond a shadow of a doubt? It’s not like listening to the Lost Prophets or watching the Cosby Show… So how does ¨Bad,¨ an album from the year I was born, hold up today? I guess it’s fine- it’s catchy, expertly made, with songs that have become a part of the national lexicon like ¨The Way You Make Me Feel.¨ But then, when he says ¨You really turn me on,¨ who is he talking to? This came out pre-scandal, so it hits differently from when it came out. ¨Liberian Girl¨ was, devoid of any context, just kind of bad. The album itself is very 80s, and when something sounds 80s it sounds generally shitty and canned and dated. ¨Man in the Mirror¨ is catchy but is the kind of mindless drivel that gave us ¨We Are the World.¨ ¨Dirty Diana¨ is a bit more ambitious- there’s storytelling, drama, orchestration. Of course, ¨Smooth Criminal¨ is so catchy it defies the rules of time, space and allegations and will forever be a jam. All in all, I think this album has aged about as poorly as Michael’s reputation- even separating the art from the artist leaves me wanting it to be over. Best songs: ¨Dirty Diana,¨ ¨Smooth Criminal¨

How do you follow Thriller? Bad has some cool and heavier elements, but this is definitely MJ just starting his downslide. I sure hope he's okay.

Wat een grensverleggende platen voor de popmuziek heeft Michael Jackson toch gemaakt. Off the Wall - Thriller - Bad is een ongekende serie met onwijs veel hits. Bad is één en al pop. En ook al is het daarom niet de best luisterbare plaat in zijn geheel, kan ik het bijzondere daar op zich wel van inzien. The Way You Make Me Feel vind ik zelf het lekkerste nummer. Van andere nummers krijg ik soms ook een beetje (negatieve) kippenvel. Met name bij Liberian Girl en Man in the Mirror. Dat is echt te glad en zou ik normaliter snel doordrukken. En ja, ik associeer zijn stemmetje toch ook altijd pedofilie. Zeker na het kijken van de docu Leaving Neverland een paar jaar geleden en alles wat er over MJ gezegd en geschreven is. Ik moet mezelf even behoeden van weer een rabbit hole op het internet. Zijn muziek kan er enerzijds los van staan, Maar aan MJ kleeft ook zo erg de keerzijde van alle fame en Amerikaanse gekheid en hoe fucked up je daarvan wordt (tot pedofilie aan toe) dat het ook een afkeer en negatieve associatie voor zijn muziek creëert. 5,5/10 Highlights The Way You Make Me Feel Smooth Criminal

Meh

Wasn’t looking forward to his, have avoided Jackson because of the mental gymnastics needed to be in a clean place to listen to it and be objective. There's just too much background noise for me that's unpleasant, both the allegations and even the fans he was whole innocent and was the victim stuff. But just focusing on the music, not ever been a fan of the self proclaimed king of pop, but accept Off the wall and Thriller were good records produced by Q Jones but even back then when this came out felt it was too forced as a follow up to Thriller and falls off of a cliff, all the overt syth drums and his trade mark yelps and whatever those gimicks it is he did dialled up to 11 to be a M Jackson parody album. Smooth criminal is ok and on par with thriller songs, the rest is just trying too hard and to me feels like a heavy dose of fake. The song Bad, like the leather jacket being lame hot garage hidden under decent production. Dirty Diana the guitar song tick, like Beat it. Man in the mirror by someone melting their face off was and is just sad, see can't stay objective. Oh I give up, 2.5 for the music, 1 Star because the level of weird around him I realise today i cant be anything but subjective, and unlike thriller where the songs maybe strong enough to stand their ground, i will have to see when that album come up, this is where the songs sound already sound a trite, lame parody of a MJ record.

Never cared for it. Still don't care for it. This was a step down from Thriller and it never caught on with me. Just meh.

The hits were great, but I was really bored by a lot of the songs

2.5

Good: Bad, The way you make me feel Bad: everything else...just horrid Sometimes you just gotta admit that the masses don't know shit.... 2 stars

OEEDP EPEDO PEDO FILLI PEDO CHILD RAPER!!!!! CHILD FUCKING RAPSIT!!!! lapsi raiskaaja pro. michael jakson on ehkä top 5 pedofiileistä koskaan. jeejee aivan poppia pop it up pop pop pop!! woo-hoo ee--heee aaaa-haa AAAUH-- WOAUGH! ääni efektit heh rakastan maikkel jäxön!!! WOOAAh ahhaah uhhhu ashishisih aa shshishsi aashshsishsi ee-hee waa-ahahaaa uuuuhhh--hhhuuu!! jeej ejejejeje olisinpa lapsi että maikkel jaixöni peppu panisi minuaa vitustii :((( kakkainen pylly minulla ripulinen peppuaukosta valuisi vaan sinappista kekulia jalkaa pitkin alas koska avo aukko keskellä bepaa smooth criminal (pedofphile crimes (smooth baby butt))

A few nostalgic numbers smooth criminal etc but bag of shite otherwise.

Really slick production, particulalry juicy basslines. But quite uneven, and lyrically dodgy overall. Favorite track: Smooth Criminal

There's too much going on and you can tell that it just isn't all that sincere. Most of the songs are about discarded and vapid love affairs which really don't click with me to begin with. And the michaelisms are recognizable but ultimately laighable. MJ makes music you dance to and don't think about. Please don't think about it.

Weird Al did it better

I would’ve given it 4 stars but well it’s Michael Jackson

Bad? Yes. Bad? No. I wonder if Jackson was secretly upset that "Shamone" never caught on in a serious way in the Lexicon. All the "Hees" and "Haas" grate on me almost as much as the dated sounds.

First album I'll skip because I've heard most of these songs so much more than I would want

En del genkendelighed, men jeg kan egentligt kun lide Smooth Criminal. Og de ikke kendte numre er ikke kendte af en grund.

Not good

It's so hard to separate the music from the artist, especially on an album where he's proclaiming he's bad. I tried, but I can't separate Jackson's pedophilia and mental illness from this, when, not to mention "Bad", songs like "Man in the Mirror" draws attention to him changing himself, "Smooth Criminal" describes a predatory criminal, and all the sentimental, innocent-sounding lyrics are just plain insincere and unbelievable. This is Jackson trying to adopt a heavier, more-dangerous attitude, perhaps a reflection of his own real inner demons. Yet it doesn't even feel sincere. Most of the album is over-polished with over-produced synth, which maybe was cutting edge then but now sounds a bit goofy. The worst culprit is "Just Good Friends" with Stevie Wonder, a shame. I found "Dirty Diana" misogynistic and "Liberian Girl" interesting but ultimately annoying. This album is undoubtedly important and influential. I admit I'm not a fan of most 80's pop music and this sound which carried into the 90's. I bet it also influenced other pop artists who came to reject their initial clean image and adopt a bad facade later in their career when they started to become irrelevant and needed attention again. Overall, I'd say the songwriting is really good here-- many of the hits are super catchy and timeless melodies-- but the production is too busy and dated. And of course, Jackson's child molestation and mental illness hangs over it all.

Not near as good as Thriller. It's just too sleek and saccharine, which I didn't I would write since Irave about 80s synthpop. There's a lot of similar sound palettes so the songs sound samey. The bass playing is pretty good but it think that actually contributes to that issue The album is also peppered with those vocal affectation that are beyond parody at this point. Not the fault of the album necessarily but those are incredibly distracting I was going to give this a 3, but Smooth Criminal is the only song I liked so I'm going 2 Highlights: Smooth Criminal

I hate michael jackson bro This just has everything i hate about him in one big package

It is bad

A big ol' Quincy Jones record from the very first beat. Not at all my bag - tries to ape the sound and edge that Madonna et al had brought to pop, but keeps falling flat. Without a single scintilla of irony, I can easily say that I prefer the Alien Ant Farm cover of Smooth Criminal... It's so fucking lightweight, and the biggest/best/ songs give me PTSD from a high school musical I played in. Gets annoying the more I listen to it.

Ooft. The soundtrack of being 9 years old; and it's mostly as insipid as the title and cover design suggest. There's no accounting for public taste eh? Couple of decent pop hits if I'm feeling charitable - and it seemed exciting at the time - but far from my bag nowadays.

due pezzi famosi, ma il resto molto dimenticabile e non il mio stile

Very hard to objectively review an MJ album. I think bad and smooth criminal are good songs, though I think the actual music on both is a bit flat and thin, both should sound bigger. Still on both of these the whole chamon stick does sort of work. The rest varies between pretty bland to hilariously bad. Liberian girl was particularly funny, loads of it sounded like a parody to be honest. And most of the Michael Jackson tics sound ridiculous. So even without considering MJ as a wrongun, thought this album was fairly bad

Obligatory not a Michael Jackson fan. So many ooooowws, eeeheeees and shamones here. Ignoring who he was as a person, I just don't like the music, it's just not for me..... There are however a lot of big hitters on this album that I am pretty familiar with; bad, the way you make me feel, man in the mirror, dirty Diana, smooth criminal. I guess I would say smooth criminal is the best of them, would rather listen to the AAF version though. I'm going to say 1.5, not as good as thriller but more hits than off the wall, but I could easily give it a 1

'Man in the Mirror' is genius. The rest of it is overrated.

"Jamon?!" I didn't really care for this album when it came out, and not much has changed. It has some catchy pop songs that I know are very popular with a lot of people, but it's just not for me. Would not listen again.

I was always amused at Michael Jackson trying to assert that he was bad. (Really, really bad according to the high pitched background vocals.) If push ever came to shove, he would most likely get his ass kicked up, down and sideways. Jackson is undoubtedly a talent but not one that I enjoy listening to. His shouts, hiccups, shamone's, hee hee's and other vocal effects wear thin very quickly and this genre of music does nothing for me. I would never seek this music out.

King of pop? More like king of crap.

Must we? "Man in the Mirror" is one of his greatest tunes, a rare moment of self-critique from the most profound ego of the 80s. I'm surprised to find "The Way You Make Me Feel" here - I thought it was from an older album or maybe a Stevie Wonder song. The rest of this album sounds and had always sounded phoned-in to me, hyperactive autopilot designed to fatigue a Solid Gold dancer.

Watching the official video again for “Man in the Mirror,” it dawns on me that this is one of the clumsiest protest anthems/self-affirmation songs extant. And it illustrates my main complaint about this album — that it lacks strong songs. “Bad” is defined by airtight production and, in its first half, some interesting electronic percussion flourishes. But those technological innovations sometimes make an odd fit for the actual songs, such as “Liberian Girl,” which might work better with more organic instrumentation. The hits, like the title track and “The Way You Make Me Feel,” just don’t land with the same force as “Billie Jean” or “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” which feel timeless. Much of “Bad” just feels like non-essential, dated and over-produced mid-80s pop and sappy love songs. It marks a kind of demarcation from his legacy as a brilliant hitmaker to a rather creepy and tragic cautionary tale.

This review writes itself. Uhh it’s on the cover??? Yup. BAD. Unless it’s good, then I’m FUCKED. I can’t imagine the weird pedophile man with the razor nose will produce a good album, but I’m giving it the old college try. College. Not elementary. Remember, death cleanses all sins in the eyes of the public. Bad - I can only hear “Fat” from Weird Al. I actually don’t think I’ve ever even heard this version. When you’re having seconds, I’m having 23rds, when I go to get my shoes shined, I have to take their word. Never question the integrity of a shoe shiner. Wise words. Ugh, so MJ. The song is pretty funky, but something about it feels quiet. Almost subdued. Not sure if it’s the remaster or what. The Way You Make Me Feel - This remains a catchy song. It lasts way too long and is too happy for me, but I’m not in misery. And that? That’s the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas in this instance is of course, listening to pop albums. Speed Demon - Thurman “Sparky” Plugg theme song. Genius of the ring and the track. God, this is honestly kind of good. It’s insane. I’m not sure if he was going for that level of artistry, but I like this song. Liberian Girl - How many pop fans learned about Liberia from this song? How many American pop fans still believe this is about a librarian? My guess is most. I suppose this is a deep track. You taught me to reeeeead. This is like the pedophile version of Sadé. I’m sorry to Sadé. Queen of pop. This is a misstep. Just Good Friends - The derailing of that opening bassline for this pallid imitation of 80’s pop is the worst rail disaster of all time. Something something kiss and hug me? Get real, man. These lyrics stink. The short king gets friendzoned audio has finally been put to tape. Another Part of Me - The basslines continue to go hard as all get out, but the vocals and pop sensibilities make me want to say “get out.” No ghostwriter here folks. That’s all my own home cooking. Can’t you tell? The tortured syntax, the lame gags? It’s classic me. Man in the Mirror - Oh no. What is that intro. He just sounds like a feeble oddball. It’s literally the portrayal from “Atlanta.” He’s insane. One of the worst pop hits of all time, but the radio deserves nothing less. Humans hate creativity and abhor musical innovation even more. I’m asking the man in the mirror why I was able to summon him by saying “mirror man” three times. He doesn’t seem malevolent. He’s just standing there and miming that he can’t hear me. Nice chap. I Just Can’t Stop Loving You - (underage boys) was chopped off the title after testing negatively in most markets. The Catholic Church considered making it their theme song before the last minute alteration. This song takes the worst aspects of the human experience and distills them into the duet from a high school theatre production held in a decommissioned Quiznos in upstate New York. Dirty Diana - Dirty Dian-meh Smooth Criminal - Usher in nu-metal afterthoughts Alien Ant Farm. Credit to those goatee-laden pioneers for introducing this song to a generation of white kids filled with more monster energy than sense. The original is, well, kind of good. It’s overplayed, but the performance feels Leave Me Alone - Hey I haven’t been that rough on this. You deserve these jabs. Considering how I speak about U2, I’d say you got off pretty easy. Alright. Wrap it up. Let’s go. A lot of this album has the vibe of a shy vocal jazz enthusiast scatting kind of far from the microphone. That is appealing to an enjoyer of the bizarre. What is not appealing is the added context of this vocalist’s personal exploits. And I do mean exploits. I believe I was 15 when he died, and I was baffled that people were so celebratory of the career when for my entire life to that point, he had been denigrated as a predator. Taught me a lot about death and the way that society glorifies people and things after they’re gone. Some may argue that death is a point of reflection for the person’s entire life, but I don’t believe most people are that thoughtful. I think it’s a reflex that I can’t fully explain. We just want to remember the positives. Our brains are excellent at forgetting the negative. What was I saying? Oh right! I’m reviewing an album. Who cares about this? It’s so mediocre and has so much filler.i will say that it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Neither bad unlistenable nor really all that filled with attitude. There are excellent basslines and couple enjoyable songs, but the eccentric freak out vocal ticks get old quick, especially over these sugary pop choruses. This ain’t for me. Add in the allegations, and you’ve got a recipe for music I never want to hear again. 1.5-2 HIGHLIGHTS: Speed Demon, Smooth Criminal

This pedo is overrated. The singles are fine. The best song was Leave Me Alone.

Should've been called "Boring".

Never liked it when it came out. Hasn't aged well either. Synth sounds are jarring and lacks the killer hits of other MJ efforts.

I have to admit that I am not too up on MJ’s personal history. I basically turned off when the tabloids got a hold of him sometime around the making of this record. I have not watched the documentaries. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, it was impossible not to be inundated with Michael Jackson, especially if you had MTV on all the time like I did, whenever we had cable. Come to think of it, we did not have cable during Bad’s rollout, so I didn’t see the full Scorsese short film until years later, likewise the physics-defying Smooth Criminal video, etc. But, I remember the promotional materials for Bad being everywhere the summer we lived in NYC, a temporary stopover that lasted longer than expected because our new quarters weren’t ready yet. We were moving from smalltown upstate NY to Washington, DC, a concept I had some indifference to and in the background on the subway, at bus stops, on tv, the radio, etc, it was BAD. As a kid, a white kid at that, I had no idea about “bad” meaning “cool” or whatever, so it was like loveable Michael is this angry guy now? He’s in the NY subway - hey, that’s what we use now - and dealing with gangs? There are gangs here? Anyhow, what a crapshoot of a record. Is this where things started going off the rails for him? Thriller was one of the few boastful album titles to earn it - nothing but world-beating hits - after the charming, winsome dance party joy of Off The Wall, whereas this thing, sure, there are a few clear singles, but as much as I like Smooth Criminal, it’s still a sub-Thriller attempt at recapturing some of Billie Jean and Beat It’s spirit. It’s such an ugly-sounding record: the gated drum machines combined with the default urgency in his voice throughout, the minor key melodies, it’s just not a lot of fun, and ends with a groove that...tells you to leave him alone. A tough sell for his talents! Where Thriller had album cuts you’d want to go back to, these are a chore. Speed Demon (wtf?) through Another Part of Me is just...nope. Man in the Mirror is an interesting idea for a song and is the other good enough single here, but after the plodding, exhausting first side, this is more a reprieve than a standout, but it’s over 5 minutes! Followed by a forgetful duet and more bludgeoning. The only relief you get is when the record stops.

What an excitement ! Michael, yeah....but memories can trick...re-listening to this classic album was a disappointment. Flat songs saved by lush production but with embarrassing videos.

Michael Jackson is not my thing.

This album has a number of songs that were hits at the time but even so I do not find them enjoyable except maybe for smooth criminal.

Njäh

Unpopular opinion maybe, but this album just isn’t that good. This album marked a change in Michael Jackson’s sound away from funk/groove and to more of a straight synth/pop sound. I’m just not a fan. It’s ok I guess but I think it’s disappointing overall. Give me the boogie any day over this.

Jag vet inte om jag någonsin lyssnat på ett Michael Jackson album front to back innan? Intressant, ingenting jag skulle göra om.

There are some all time classic songs, but overall the production is hopelessly dated on most of it. Michael's vocal performance is stellar throughout which props up the production a bit, but honestly there is no need to listen to 2/3rds of this album.

Some very famous songs on here. Man in the Mirror is my favorite. Dropping a star because of what he did to them kids.

Cheesy pop. Another album that I don't really like although I also don't mind it, and another of those albums which is so popular and ubiquitous that listening to it in one sitting is almost a formality, my opinion was already mostly formed before I pressed play.

Brilliant pop album. Not at all my thing

The appeal of this baffles me. Didn't like his music 40 years ago. Not much has changed.

It's difficult to convey how much I hate Michael Jackson's music. This has nothing to do with alleegations of bad behavior. First, I was in high school in the 80s. MJ was everywhere and I didn't understand it then. But his music was forced down my throat over and over; there was no escaping it. So the fact that I didn't like it much to begin with just got amplified by the constant airplay. I suspect if I hadn't been bombarded with MJ for so many years, my dislike might not be so intense But let's go over what I can't stand: (1) repetitive 80s synth beats. (2) Dance music will never be my thing. (3) His breathy interjections and high-pitched "ehs" have always seemed totally ridiculous. (4) His effeminate manner and voice is totally wrong for his love songs. It's bizarre and laughable; how did women love these songs so much? How did women swoon for him? [Every freakin' MJ lyric that references love or sex is and has always been ridiculous to me. He is not believable.] In fairness, I do recognize his talent as a live performer, both singing and dancing. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't like his music, and I would be happy to never hear any of his music again.

I’m not really much of a fan. The music doesn’t really do it for me and after watching the documentary it is difficult to ignore his past. 2.5

Smooth Criminal and Bad are great songs, but the rest is mediocre.

Does a few cool songs make for a cool album. No. Having grown up hearing MJ constantly on the radio, I wonder if I'm now indifferent to his music.

There’s absolutely nothing musically important here. This is the point where his cultural impact began to outshine and outweigh his musical talent. I liked Man In the Mirror when I was a four year old, but it sucks now and goes on way too long.

Never really liked Michael Jackson, apart from the song Give In To Me. I do think the quality is palpable. It's just not for me.

As a whole, it's bad, but the hit singles are fantastic. The peak pop formula is to write a couple of hits, slap whatever's on to the media in the studio, release, play the same show of hits night after night, and profit. That's Bad, like touching kids, mmmkay.

Smooth criminal is a goat, but everything else feels a bit underwhelming when you compare it to his earlier in the 80s output.

I can respect that by this point MJ was one of the biggest artists ever but it's just a bit load of meh to me

not only is he a bad person this album is also bad . go figure

Surprised how tinny and 80's some of this sounds on the remastered version, like they ramped it up rather than down. Anyway obviously full of bangers, pity about the necessary pop label ballad nonsense

Have never listened to a Jackson album in full and this has not aged well, in more ways than one.

I decided that as Jackson is dead and can no long do anything creepy/illegal, I would listen to this one. I've never been a massive fan of his but it's kinda a fun album, if a bit naff. Some of the songs are actively bad, 'Speed Demon' is awful and made worse by the car sound effects. 'Bad' and 'Smooth Criminal' are okay, wouldn't object to these coming on at 80s night. It's just not very cool is it?

I remember grooving to this in my socks, moonwalking across the kitchen floor when I was maybe 8? So for a second I was glowing with childhood nostalgia. Then I remembered who I was listening to... stopped me in my socks. A lot of shamoning, gyrating and "sensual" whispering that has not only lost its charm because it's performed by a child molester, but also it's no aged gracefully. Now... I will admit, I had my toe tapping at times. Dirty Diana is probably the best on there for me. But it's not getting a revisit of my own volition. The King of Pop is a creep, oh how the mighty have fallen.

Pretty dull… the odd hit.

At some level there’s always a real challenge in trying to separate any musical enjoyment you get with the obviously immensely talented Michael Jackson from the fact he’s America’s answer to Jimmy Saville. Fortunately, there is no such issue of guilty enjoyment to be had with ‘Bad’, as it’s fucking rubbish. This album has aged TERRIBLY. It’s a collection of dated and random noises parping and clattering against each other, whilst an obviously insane maniac wails shamone over the top. It’s a horrible, humourless, tasteless mess. I don’t dislike everything here: I don’t mind the broken male posturing of the title track, and ‘Smooth Criminal’ is legitimately great. The barely concealed paranoia that runs through this album is fully unleashed here, presenting as a sort of Howard Hughes-esque breakdown set to furiously propulsive inhuman funk. Then there’s the rest of it. What is there even to say about the brass rubbing of a cliched C-tier MJ song that is ‘Another Part of the Me’, the lumbering ‘Dirty Diana’ that reveals Jackson to be more terrified of women than anyone who has ever lived, and the ballads… good lord the ballads. There’s the horrible and dreary ‘Liberian Girl’, the tacky pan pipe-tactic ‘Man in the Mirror’ which displays an early outing of the always welcome messianic Michael ‘maybe if I cry enough about elephants then people will forgot that I have constructed an elaborate bell system to alert me ahead of time if someone is approaching my bedroom’ Jackson and the supernovaly creepy ‘I Just Can't Stop Loving You’ who’s jump scare of a ‘sensual’ spoken word intro appears to be missing from Spotify, but was very much there on the version I listened to. I personally would have quite happily gone without hearing the great man breathlessly whimper ‘I just want to touch you’ at me. I physically shuddered. It’s all just really gross this. it sounds gross. It’s lyrically gross. It’s morally gross. It is GROSS; and it’s a grossness that the estate of Michael Jackson and all of his weird, creepy fans are welcome to keep. Hee hee.

Look it has some well known but it really isn't that great. Its weakened by some pretty poor 80s production sounds too. Outside of the main 4 or 5 songs the songwriting is pretty weak.

1️⃣ Man in the Mirror 2️⃣ Bad

While MJ was a good musician, the scandals around him and the people he hurt forever damage his musical legacy, making it hard to enjoy his album.

Two incredible stand out tracks in Dirty Diana, and Smooth Criminal (easily a top 5 track) and a ton of decent to awful tracks, with Liberian being the worst offender - and borderline unlistenable - and the title track being a weaker version of Beat It. In short, Bad is bad album. It’s not worth inclusion on the list

None of the songs on this album convey a "bad" persona. The cover doesn't portray a "bad" persona. But catchy tunes can't stop the album being bad

It sounds so dated and is unbearable due to how many times I heard it growing up, it was everywhere.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh smooth criminal é maneira

Hard to say anything without an unintended pun.. I'm not saying it's not good. There are many hit songs- Smooth Criminal is probably the one I enjoy most. But I'm just not a fan of this type of 80s pop. And his private life massively puts me off listening to his stuff. Also I both think he's rightly celebrated but even so feel he's ridiculously overrated.

I don't think I'd ever listened to this album in it's entirety before. For one of the best selling albums of all time there's an awful lot of filler. It hasn't aged well, but then I never liked Jackson to begin with either. And finally, how has he escaped getting a (thoroughly deserved) cancelling??

I guess the bass lines are pretty good.

Yeah, the clue here is in the title … Everything about this is so affected and dated, and it’s just so boring and bland. The high-gated drums. The horrid synth bass. The syrupy over-production. Jackson ticking ‘ooh’, or ‘hee’, or ‘cha’, or ‘chamone’, or ending every word with an extraneous ‘-ah’. Everything just comes together in one horrible cloying glop like a really unpleasant dog-egg that has worked its way into the tread of your boot and leaves its subtle perfume everywhere. Says a lot when I give an album a roasting and don’t mention that the artist was likely a paedo. Hee-hee! Cha! OW!

This shit didn’t age well. MJ knew it would be hard to top “Thriller”, so he didn’t. You can’t dance to any of it, and the beats and lyrics are so soft. Your butt is mine, indeed.

Shame about the molest

Bit of a mess, clearly influential on late 80s and early 90s US boy bands but despite all the massive hype at the time, and standouts like Smooth Criminal - there’s definitely a start of a decline here

Smooth Criminal is still kind of a cool song, but the whole thing sounds so weak. So many synths and drum machines. I just don't feel like it holds up at all.

How did I never realize the beginning of Bad was the song used in all those TikTok sports edits lmao. I can recognize why people like this but it just really isn’t for me. Meh.

- Thriller habe ich damals aus versehen statt einer 2/5 eine 1/5 gegeben, das gefiel mir (bis auf die Hits, die waren okay) nicht so richtig gut - generell bin ich einfach kein Fan von seinem Sound und seiner Stimme, klickt bei mir einfach nicht

Technically good but to be honest his stuff never really grabbed me

Fully expect this to be a 4 or 5 star album drug down by all the creepy personal details that came out about Jackson later. But really it's like 3 (4 if I feel generous) great singles, surrounded by a bunch of other, dated music that ranges from forgettable to cringey.

It's pretty much impossible to separate the person from the music - which were becoming increasingly intertwined even at the time, as evidenced by the existence of 'Leave Me Alone,' which was explicitly focused on all the tabloid noise about Michael's weirdness. Even if I were to succeed in doing that, like Prince's Sign of the Times, this feels like a retread of better ideas in a lot of ways (Bad & Beat It, Dirty Diana & Billie Jean [tho, admittedly, Diana is much more of a rock song]). The deep cuts are...not good to say the least (Speed Demon, Liberian Girl, Just Good Friends) - and while the album was admittedly huge, it's hard not to remember that NWA's Straight Outta Compton came out a year later making the try-hard affectation of 'Bad' even more cringe-worthy than it kind of already was at the time. I bobbed my head to a few songs. I admire the influence he had over others (Usher, the Weekend, Alien Ant Farm). But he destroyed lives with his abuse - and pretty much got away with it because even if people side-eyed how weird he was at the time, I guess it's too hard to admit you're enjoying a child molester's music? So it's easier to tell yourself it's not true. Or it didn't matter. Or something.

Lots of hits....not cup of tea Very 80s and not very authentic sounding now Smooth Criminal is a bit of fun

de singles zijn OK, rest is absoluut bagger... en dan laat ik MJ persoonlijke voorkeur nog buiten beschouwing

The hits are the hits, but the rest are definitely not hits

This album is alright, a bit dated and cheesy today. It reeks of the simultaneously great and terrible 80s. Unfortunately, this album is closer to the terrible side. "Dirty Diana" was my favourite off "Bad". The few decent tracks don't save this album. 2 stars for "Bad".

Not really my vibe, especially Michael's backgroud history. Songs i could listen again: Dirty Diana Smooth Criminal Liberian Girl

Sad iteration on 80’s pop. High pitched screechy voice.

Honestly, Weird Al Yankovic has a better version of the incredibly well known song Bad, these lyrics are quieter and the high pitched background singing felt pretty goofy when faced with the idea of the song. But then, The Way You Make Me Feel fits Jackson’s image better. As well as the high pitched background singers. But then the album just repeats unnecessarily like Jackson had an extra minute or so, and gives me an idea of what most of the rest of the album is like. Most of it absolutely sucks. This album made me realize Michael Jackson isn’t so great a musician. Some of it’s good, but he fails with consistency on such a level. Maybe he’s just figuring it out, but this album is not great.

I realize it’s an unpopular opinion, but I just don’t like Michael Jackson’s music. None of it. Not then, and not now. And, quite frankly, the “hee-hee’s” and “ow’s” get really old really fast. This album 100% deserves to be on this list for its importance to popular music, but I wasn’t happy when it finally popped up because I just didn’t want to listen to it.

Music wise I want to give it more - just don’t want to perpetuate the horror

This has aged like milk.

I am not a huge MJ fan though I admit he has some very iconic tunes. I know most of this album already, I’m not gonna listen to this all the way through because I’m doing this challenge mainly to discover new music. I’ll review the songs I haven’t heard before. SPEED DEMON - I like the rapid percussion. It’s experimental. LIBERIAN GIRL - Wow! The transition from Speed Demon to this was magnificent. JUST GOOD FRIENDS - I don’t care ANOTHER PART OF ME - I also don’t care and I’m tired of the HEE HEE MAN IN THE MIRROR - repetitive 4/10 I like most of the singles, but Michael Jackson is so overplayed for me I would never just put on his music and listen to it… an undeniable classic, though, just not my cup of tea

Very 80s and not for me. Highlight is Smooth Criminal, lowlight is Liberian Girl.

foi o primeiro álbum do MJ que eu escutei e po, infelizmente não é tão bom... fora bad e smooth criminal, achei chato btw os gritim do michael são intankáveis

I generally dislike pop music. But I've loved Thriller my whole life. I didn't like this album when it came out. I didn't really care so I never gave it much thought. Listening now, I think it's because Q turned the rhythm section over to synths and sequencers and that creates a flat, lifeless sound. Billie Jean has the simplest/straitest drum part maybe ever recorded. But that drum performance is AMAZING and it infuses an urgency into the entire track. Compare the feeling of that to anything here. Y A W N

One of my earliest music related memories is not liking Michael Jackson. A friend of mine in primary school was really into his music. And I just didn’t get it. He was loving it so much. And it just didn’t move me at all. Still doesn’t.

Smooth Criminal is the only saving grace in this album. Off the Wall and Thriller capped his career.

King of pop for sure. Tons of respect for that. Maybe I was in too shitty a mood when listening, but mostly didn’t enjoy.

Abgesehen von den bekannten Liedern habe ich von diesem Album eigentlich nichts gekannt. Und das wohl aus gutem Grund. Die Musik hat mich beim Zugfahren jetzt nicht gestört, aber wäre auch nicht meine erste Wahl gewesen.

What to do about Michael Jackson? No doubt that he was a flawed genius and a superstar the modern equivalent on the scale of Taylor Swift. But all the pedophile allegations do hang heavy. If I was able to leave that aside and just look at his music, he was never an artist that I personally took to at all. Like everyone else I enjoyed his videos. Not the musical value but they were to some extent groundbreaking and a bit of a do not miss thing when they were released. Equally I enjoyed Jarvis Cocker’s protest at The Brits over the pomposity of it all. Back to this album. I know just about every track on it and would not be bothered if I never heard them again. Come to think of it they are rarely played since his death so maybe there is something in the allegations or it’s the woke world we live in? As I am familiar with the album I have not played it today as I do not want MJ corrupting my Roon algorithm. Don’t like the music but as he was a genius in his own field I give it an extra star than it deserves and in recognition that millions of people love this album. 2/5 27/7/24

Hits

Genuinely didn’t want to finish this, and not because it’s bad but because I honestly just don’t care about Michael Jackson that much? Like yes I can appreciate that he is incredibly talented but like I just get over it so quickly. I’m not someone that can just listen to Michael Jackson long term. Sigh.

The song “bad” has never worked for me because, while it seems like MJ was bad, he was not this tough guy. And upon listening to this album, several other songs don’t work in the same way. I cannot see MJ as a bad boy or casa nova. The album sounds dated but I do have to give it to “the way you make me feel.” That still slaps. And “smooth criminal.” So probably a 2.5, rounding down for how I feel about MJ these days.

So dated. And reminds me why I have never owned an MJ album. Smooth Criminal gains this collection of nonsense an extra star. I mean, Speed Demon ... really? And Liberian Girl ... feel queasy just thinking about it 🤮

Almost every track was a single and they were played to death. I barely needed to listen to the album to confirm that I don't like it!

Pretty ok, Dirty Diana is probably the song I enjoyed the most on this album. I hadn't listened to much MJ in a very long time (not that I ever really did).

This album is waaaaay to clean and produced. It's okay to be pop, but that goes to a point I just can't stand.

Good department store music

Bad is not bad for a style of music I typically don't like. Its elevated dance music. Not a huge MJ fan either but appreciate his popularity. The driving beat, like hammering on a trash can, and the incessant falsetto get tedious. 2.5

Say what you will about his music, but boy oh boy did the man ever know how to accurately title an album.

singles are good, but whats all the rest of this like

The 80’s synths and and drum machines are impossible to get past. It sounds so dated and and cheesy. The sound and production of this record is so deeply ensconced In the dated gimmicks of that decade that it is impossible to listen to the songs and the songwriting objectively. King of Pop? King of Krap.

-.- o_o :/ c_c ;/

This was worse than I remembered. Super plastic-sounding 80s sounds, and really much weaker songs than on 'Thriller'. Let's be honest the James Brown style vocal tics have just grown beyond parody at this point. Like remember that bit on 'Don't stop til you get enough' where he goes "ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!" just before that little pause and then the main riff comes in. That was cool, this just sounds like someone who got their happy sack caught in their zip (or in someone elses). I'm surprised this wasn't regarded as quite an anticlimax at the time as it seems a real step down in quality, especially compared to Janet Jackson's albums of this era, much better songs, far superior production. Is it bad 'Bad'? Well it is a bit pants. Heeeeee!

Going back to some of my earliest childhood memories, I vividly remember my babysitter playing this album in the late ‘80s. Today was the first time I’ve listened to it since then. Not that I have a clear memory of it in the first place, but overall, I can’t say I’ve ever been a big Michael Jackson fan. Obviously, he has standout classics, and in this case, “Smooth Criminal” is my favorite track. Other than that, the album isn’t bad but doesn’t offer much else that would make me want to revisit it. There’s really nothing more to add, because this is one of those albums that has been thoroughly discussed, and anything I could say has probably already been said a hundred times before.

Not my style, and I'm over MJ.

- just good friends - man in the mirror

Honestly not that great. The non-single tracks reek of filler. Not the Minor Threat 7", either.

I never liked this album. I don’t even care for its hits. Speed demon is silly. I never liked Corey Feldman either and suspect that this album somehow made him worse.

I've never been a Michael Jackson fan, but we're listening to this only made my opinion of Michael Jackson even worse. The few songs that I thought I liked were actually worse than I remembered. When thinking of the song "Bad" I can never see Michael Jackson as a bad ass character. Therefore this song oddly reminds me of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef where Drake called himself Michael Jackson. I concor both are fake badasses. I'll take Jackson's advice and leave him alone.

Oy. Ok, this is where I checked out on Michael Jackson’s music. After Thriller, he got all weird, pulling media stunts. At this point he was super cheesy and his attempts to butch up his image seemed desperate. Yes, this was wildly successful, but I never understood why. It’s still so cheesy, heavy handed and affected. Melodies are basic. Catchy pop, for sure, but so bland, formulaic. He-he-he!

I had no real desire to listen to this album again...

Not for me really

Yeah. This is one of the quintessential pop albums of the 90s. I feel at least 7 of these songs were singles or released somehow and very popular. And because of that, this whole album sounds dated and quite frankly bores me. Strangely Thriller doesn't bore me, although it sounds pretty dated too. I didn't really care about this album in 1987. I care about it even less in 2024.

There's some decent tracks ("Smooth Criminal" and "Man in the Mirror") but overall I'm just not a fan. There's some real duds ("Dirty Diana" and "Speed Demon") and the rest just feels dated.

TItle track ok. The rest I can live without.

Странные ощущения от этого произведения. Я никогда сильно не любил его творчество, а в контексте обвинений это дается еще труднее, независимо от моего отношения к разделению творчества и автора. Это такое заезженное дэнс-поп, но встает очевидный вопрос: оно такое заезженное, потому что он такой большой артист? В любом случае, звучит это все неплохо, но желания в это все вникать, и тем более переслушивать, нет. Лучшая песня - Smooth Criminal.

awful pop with 2 hits

Off The Wall was a good time. Thriller was a mindblower. This is an album desperately trying to do it again and failing. This all sounded impossibly soft by the time it came out. Like, you're really gonna kick off an album bragging about how bad you are in a light, bouncy pop song when I've just spent the whole last year listening to Master of Puppets? Are you not paying attention to me at all? It's pretty dorky. And I can deal with dorky - They Might Be Giants is also in heavy rotation. But don't try to sell me on how tough you are, come on.

So many "1 star or 5 stars" polar opposite reviews for this. Personally, I just thought it was mediocre overall. He was only ever an ok songwriter imo, and the production on this wasn't as shiny and 80s-tastic as I expected, not enough to elevate the songs, so I'm really not sure why some folks see this is the ultimate 80s pop album (ABC and Duran Duran had already nailed that in 1981 and 1982 respectively, surely). I do like Smooth Criminal, he certainly released the odd banger after Off The Wall but overall... mediocre. I always did like his dancing more than his music, and I'll stop there.

I’ve never been able to understand the appeal of MJ; I find his inevitable yelps, grunts, gasps and falsetto “hee hee”s really off-putting. He plagiarised much of his look and many of his moves from Fosse and he didn’t originate the moonwalk, yet people let on that he’s some kind of dance visionary. Genuinely don’t get it. I have heard most of this album many times (as it was bloody unavoidable in the Pre-Streaming Days of Yore) and thought I’d never have to bother with it again. TLDR; I stand with Jarvis Cocker.

I hate Micheal Jackson-

Dislike: I just can't stop loving you Dirty diana Meh: Bad Speed demon Liberian girl Another part of me Leave me alone Like: The way you make me feel Just good friends Man in the mirror Smooth criminal Added to playlist:

Conhecia muitas músicas desse álbum. Algumas são boas pra ouvir individualmente, mas não aguentei escutar o álbum inteiro de uma vez. Fica cansativo. A interpretação do Michael é icônica, mas repetitiva.

Another conundrum... do I rate the art or the artist? I've struggled with this a few times here and think they have to be considered together. Unpopular opinion and interesting twist is that even in '87, I was pretty firmly in the \"meh\" lane of MJ fandom so what we've learned about his supposed perversions doesn't impact how I literally rate this particular album. It is too pop for me. With the exception of Dirty Diana (that always felt like MJ's attempt at being Prince) and Smooth Criminal (which is about a woman who was assaulted, kinda not cool), the other tracks are formulaic and nothing special.

Nowhere near as good as Michael Jackson's first solo album, off the wall. Coming off of Thriller, you can see the Michael Jackson solo sound develop further, but not in a good waty.

Yeah it’s Bad alright. Ok so it’s Off The Wall > Thriller > this album. And I think each album has more hype and cultural buzz around it, while each album also has less substance in it (yes Off The Wall has more substance than Thriller). To further go on about comparisons, Purple Rain just kinda does everything on here but better? As far as this album goes on its own…I wish for so much more edge. So much more soul. It seems like Michael is being pulled between the desire to be his own unique voice and the need for this album to have a universal commercial appeal. Smooth Criminal is a beautiful Thriller holdover that CLEARS everything else on this album. What a fun song. I don’t get much enjoyment out of the rest of this album

Not my thing... the "dah-huh-uh" vocals becomes a distracting gimmick quick.

Oh, the reviews for this are entertaining. I remember the album being awaited, then launched, then listened to, and it just sticking to the airwaves like a stain. It just dominated. For all its design brilliance, and clever music, it just felt a little forced, saying 'how clever am I' - he was clever, he did do brilliant things, but the charm of young Michael compared to this Michael, something is lost. I wish I had more to like about the album right now l, the legacy is not one I'm particularly thrilled by. Some bits are good. Some great, overall ... Unlikely to seek out and listen to again. I can't think why I'd like to listen to this, it's not got much of the joys that I find with my re-listened to albums. So, 2 stars. Sorry Michael, for all your genius and trauma, your tainted legacy, this isn't one I'm going to get excited by.

This isn't a bad album, but I have trouble listening to the artist ethically

okay but not making me seek for it

bad

I am always so conflicted listening to MJ. I really don’t like or support who he was at all. But purely from a music standpoint I think he was a great musician and genuinely enjoy his tracks. MJ - 0/5 stars “Bad” album - 4/5 stars

"Bad" is yet another song in the series of "Songs I'm incapable of hearing as anything other than Weird Al's lyrics." "Man in the Mirror" is... insipid, uninspired, and knowing what we know now about Michael Jackson, just a little weird. Overall - I'm trying to give this a fair shot but it's hard to escape the context. Ultimately, it's everything I don't like about 80s music with very little of the good bits. I won't say there aren't some high points (Smooth Criminal, bits of Dirty Diana) but I don't think I'll be revisiting it.

I did my best but the album just did not do it for me. Putting aside the private life issues that followed MJ until his death aside from the singles the album seemed to try too hard, his vocal ticks were down right annoying and the songs failed to really catch my attention.

Interesting listening. Of course I listened to this album in the 80s and at that time found it great. But now, approx. 40 years later, it simply isn't the same as before. Yes, it was great at it's time but for me now not anymore.

Era defining. You know it. You no longer feel comfortable listening to it.

Did not like it at all after its release and has not changed since.

Love: Smooth Criminal Like: Bad, Another Part of Me, Dirty Diana, Leave Me Alone The instrumentation really cement this album as of its time, and is pretty sparse in some sections despite Jackson's apparent perfectionism in recording. The vocal inflections and delivery (shamona, heehee, ah-ah, etc.) make it really difficult to get immersed in many songs and take them seriously. - preachy (Man in the Mirror) - muzak (Way you make me feel)

It’s very well made and I dig the title track, but it’s just not my thing. 2.5/5

First time listening to an MJ album as a whole, have only heard some of his songs here and there. I don't really love this synthetized sound, but I can understand how this can stand out in 80s pop. All feels very manufactured except for MJ's voice, which if it were autotuned would sound robotic like everything else in the album. Maybe it's this particular usage of drum machines that is just unenjoyable to me. 2* for one of the best sellers of all time. Just doesn't stand out to me. Not bad enough for a 1* because MJ's singing is great but not something I'd pop in again to get 3*. Standout tracks: man in the mirror, smooth criminal Zero judgement based on MJ as a person when judging this album.

Do I like it or am I just conditioned to appreciate popular music

This shit's fucking boring man idk

I don't want to rate this at all. It's obviously very good but the man is a big NO for me. I will hit 2 because yay for the production and artistry but the man ruined some people's lives quite profoundly so that colours my enjoyment.

It has 4 pretty good songs but the rest is well, bad

Thriller was the first album I ever owned and I and everyone I knew loved it, but by the time Bad came out I had moved on from MJ. So I never listened this all the way through until now, though a lot of these songs were constantly on the radio and MTV. Today the slick production sounds kind of thin and tinny. I really like The Way You Make Me Feel and especially Smooth Criminal, but I can't hear the title track without thinking of Weird Al. It's interesting that the closing track asks us to let MJ be his weird self in his personal life. He would get a lot weirder after this, and a hell of lot weirder than Weird Al.

I’m sorry but I’m a hater

I've already had this album before I was in the group. I'm not listening to this s*** again. The radio hits are nostalgic but otherwise I had a hard time listening. So many extra "noises" and MJs little squeak noise, and all together too much pop music. And the fake drums are too tinny. Also: Wtf is up with Liberian Girl?

Did not feel this one, even though I like the "Thriller" album. Lots of slow jams on this that are snoozers to me, and the production throughout feels so dated to me. "Smooth Criminal" and the title track are good, but "Fat" surpasses the latter in every way. There better be a Weird Al album on this list...

Thinking about Weird Al😳....Man In The Mirror, I just Can't Stop Loving You, and Smooth Criminal were my favorite tracks. Overall not my favorite type of sound. Also, I think I find his voice a little goofy? Can't tell if that's just because it so unique and has been parodied so many times.

Nope. This is the point where Michael Jackson starts to believe his own "King of Pop" hype. Bad is self-indulgent and, compared to Thriller, dull. Even the title song, the only enduring hit from this album, sounds like a Thriller outtake. In all fairness, trying to craft a follow up to an album such as Thriller is very hard, but Bad falls amazingly short. This is a parody of a Michael Jackson album that is not nearly as good as the real parody by Weird Al. Jackson is playing to MTV - all style but little substance. The only worse Michael Jackson albums are all the ones that followed. Bad is just bad.

Also the sound of the drum machine is super irritating. A very tinny drum machine. Iberian girl? WTF is this song! In general: so many added noises it's almost chaotic. And how many times is he gonna do that high pitched squeak noise? The ones I know from the 80s radio of my past are tolerable.

perfect title

Beginning of album is kind of weak and gets worse. Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal are the only reason its listenable

The album name is accurate

This album is just weird at some points. Idk what to make of it. The singles off of it are good, but the rest of it just feels like filler

Musically I've no opinion about this. Familiar withe the singles. Not my style.

It really is very hard to not think the entire time through this about MJ being such a massive sexual predator, and just isolate the music. Obviously these are classic tunes that you always here on an 80s club night, but even pre scandal I didn't really like MJ that much. I do like Man In the mirror, did sing along to that tbh

Owwwwwh it's a tricky one isn't it. Obviously he's a massive creeper and that can't be forgiven. Listening to this without thinking about that, it's incredible album with some amazing songs and I really do love it. I loved Michael Jackson as a kid. I think in some situations you can separate the art from the artist but with Michael Jackson I just don't think it's possible really so I gotta rate it low. But talking just about the music, Man in the Mirror is exceptional and Dirty Diana is probably the best MJ song in my opinion. Smooth Criminal, it's all there. But yeah, dark stuff.

BAD by Michael Jackson is one of the best produced records to which I have ever listened. Or best engineered, at the very least. The pureness of the vocal recording is a testament to Jackson's skill as a singer. This sterile, candy shop, pop isn't a genre to which I typically find myself returning and I don't see that being different this time.

I absolutely love Man in the Mirror and Smooth Criminal. I absolutely cannot stand most of the rest of the album.