Michael Jackson Bad Rare 1987 Epic Records 1st Press Vinyl LP w/Insert NM

$

130

Welcome to Classic Cadillac Records!  I visually grade all my records as accurately as possible and will never grade anything above Near Mint unless it's still sealed.  Please note that a visual grade can differ from a play grade, and am happy to spot check a record upon request.   All orders are shipped within 1 business day (usually sooner) and packed with extra care to ensure fast, safe arrival.  Please look closely at all pictures, read all relevant details and ask any questions you may have before buying.  I offer a full 30-day return policy on everything I sell, so buy with confidence!  20% restocking fee charged on items returned for reasons other than it not working properly.  Thanks for looking!
Bad Original 1987 cover Studio album by  Michael Jackson Released August 31, 1987 Recorded January 1985 – July 1987 Studio Westlake, Los Angeles, California Genre

• Dance-pop 
• R&B

• 43:59 (LP version)
• 48:40 (CD version)

• Quincy Jones 
• Michael Jackson

1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
   Released: July 20, 1987
2. "Bad"
   Released: September 7, 1987
3. "The Way You Make Me Feel"
   Released: November 9, 1987
4. "Man in the Mirror"
   Released: January 1988
5. "Dirty Diana"
   Released: April 18, 1988
6. "Another Part of Me"
   Released: July 11, 1988
7. "Smooth Criminal"
   Released: November 14, 1988
8. "Leave Me Alone"
   Released: February 13, 1989[a]
9. "Liberian Girl"
   Released: July 3, 1989[a]

Bad is the seventh studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on August 31, 1987, by Epic Records. The album was highly anticipated, taking three years to produce between 1985 and 1987, and was Jackson's third and final collaboration with producer Quincy Jones. Jackson adopted a more aggressive sound and incorporated new digital synthesizer technology. A dance-pop and R&B album, he composed and co-produced all but two tracks on the album, which discusses celebrity, romance, world peace, and self-improvement. The album features appearances from Siedah Garrett and Stevie Wonder.

Following the enormous success of his previous album, Thriller (1982), Jackson's public profile increased significantly. Bad represented a new phase in Jackson's career, as he faced greater expectations than ever before. Prior to the release of Bad, Jackson’s radical new image, including his facial surgeries and lighter skin complexion, generated significant controversy in the US. Jackson embarked on his first solo world tour, which grossed $125 million to become the highest-grossing concert tour at the time. Nine commercial singles were released along with a promotional single.

Bad remained atop the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart for six consecutive weeks and a record five of its singles reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana", while "Smooth Criminal" was also a Top 10 hit. Worldwide, it became the fastest-selling album in its first week, topped the charts in twenty-four other countries, and was the best-selling album of both 1987 and 1988. The album received acclaim from critics, particularly for Jackson's vocals and its musical arrangements, though some felt it failed to replicate the peaks of Thriller.

Bad is one of the best-selling albums, with sales of over 35 million copies worldwide, and is certified 11× platinum in the US. It has been included in numerous lists of the greatest albums and praised as part of Jackson's influence on contemporary music. It was nominated for Album of the Year by the Grammy Awards and won Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Best Music Video (for "Leave Me Alone"). Jackson received the special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1989 American Music Awards for the album's Hot 100 and commercial successes.

Critical reception

Bad was generally critically acclaimed upon its release. Edwin J Bernard of Record Mirror opinionated that Bad is better than Thriller, praising the album as having "little compromise and a lot of genius". Simon Frith of The Times described the album as "peerless pop: funky, flamboyant, and just a touch feral." Frith compares Bad with Thriller, writing, "If Thriller was magic, Bad is mastery—consistent, confident, but cozy." Jay Cocks for Time lauded Jackson's vocals and highlighted "Man in the Mirror" as one of the finest achievements in Jackson's career. Tim O'Connor of the The Sun-Times described Bad as "excellent" and lauded Jackson's vocals: "[Jackson] once again proves that no pop singer can touch him for pure musicality [...] perhaps no other pop album has reproduced the human voice with such breadth and brilliance". O'Connor concluded his review by saying, "Bad is yet another affirmation of [Jackson's] monumental talent."

In USA Today, Edna Gundersen called Bad Jackson's "most polished effort to date". Eddie Huffman reviewed Bad in Times-News, observing that it features a "healthily eclectic combination of musical styles, forceful, revealing lyrics and a maturity". Huffman also considered Bad a more consistent album than Thriller, despite feeling that the best songs on the album do not match the peaks of Thriller, lauding it as a "worthy follow up" to Thriller and Off the Wall. Rolling Stone's Davitt Sigerson also viewed Bad as better than Thriller, noting that despite it not featuring a milestone recording like "Billie Jean", the filler, such as "Speed Demon", "Dirty Diana" and "Liberian Girl", made it "richer, sexier and better than Thriller's forgettables."

Some critics felt that Bad lacked the qualities of Thriller. The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau lamented the album's lack of "genius" in the vein of "Beat It" or "Billie Jean". Richard Cook of Sounds noted that the album lacks "that once-in-a-lifetime spark" in comparison to Thriller, whilst Richard Harrington of The Washington Post felt that that it would be "considerably fairer to compare" Bad with Off the Wall. Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times felt that it would be "disappointing" if the album's "creative level" is where Jackson wants to stay. Cromelin further said that the record was more "reminiscent of Off the Wall's uniform strength than Thriller's peaks and valleys". For Creem, Richard C. Walls described Bad as "tuneful, clever, infectious pop", but considered the album "more of the same" as Thriller and "not an advancement".

In a retrospective comment in 1991, Richard W. Stevenson of the Tampa Bay Times considered the album a letdown for Jackson, and claimed that the album's music was largely derivative of Thriller.

Rankings

Having been ranked number 202 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and 203 in a 2012 revised list, Bad moved up to a ranking of 194 in a 2020 list. In NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Bad was ranked number 204. It was also included in the book titled 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2009, VH1 listed Bad at number 43 on their list of 100 Greatest Albums of All Time of the MTV Generation. In 2012, Slant Magazine ranked the album at number 48 on its list of The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s. In 2017, Bad was named the best album of 1987 by Consequence Of Sound. Billboard ranked Bad at number 138 on its list of the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums. It was ranked number 30 in Billboard's list of the Greatest of All Time R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, out of 100 albums. Billboard's critics ranked it the 41st best album on its list of all 92 Diamond-certified albums.

All tracks are produced by Quincy Jones and co-produced by Michael Jackson.

All tracks are written by Jackson except where noted.