Bad

~ Release group by Michael Jackson

Album

ReleaseArtistFormatTracksCountry/DateLabelCatalog#Barcode
Official
BadMichael JacksonCD11
  • XE1987-08-25
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)450290 2, EPC 450290 25099745029020
BadMichael JacksonCD11
  • JP1987-08-31
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Epic/Sony (logo of the Japanese company Epic/Sony Inc. (Aug 1978–Mar 1988))32・8P-2004988010212056
BadMichael Jackson12" Vinyl10
  • JP1987-08-31
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)25·3P-8004988010215019
BadMichael Jackson12" Vinyl10
  • JP1987-08-31
Epic/Sony (logo of the Japanese company Epic/Sony Inc. (Aug 1978–Mar 1988))28 3P-8004988010215019
BadMichael Jackson12" Vinyl10
  • GB1987-08-31
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)450290 15099745029013
BadMichael Jackson12" Vinyl10
  • US1987-08-31
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)OE 40600074644060010
BadMichael Jackson12" Vinyl10
  • XE1987-09-01
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 450290 15099745029013
Bad (picture label)Michael JacksonCD11
  • XE1987-12-07
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 450290 95099745029099
BadMichael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EK 40600061213406003
Bad ("DIDP 10645" printed on CD + matrix code)Michael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 450290 25099745029020
BadMichael JacksonCD13
[none]
BadMichael Jackson12" Vinyl10
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 450290 15099745029013
BadMichael JacksonVinyl10
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 450290 15099745029013
Bad (picture disc)Michael Jackson12" Vinyl10
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)450290 0[none]
Bad (original versions)Michael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 450290 25099745029020
BadMichael JacksonCassette10
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)450290 45099745029044
Bad (single versions)Michael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EK 40600074644060027
Bad (original versions)Michael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EK 40600074644060027
BadMichael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EK 40600074644060027
Bad (special edition)Michael JacksonCD18
  • DE2001-10-15
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 504423 25099750442326
Bad (special edition)Michael JacksonCD18
  • GB2001-10-15
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 504423 25099750442326
Bad (special edition)Michael JacksonCD18
  • FR2001-10-16
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EPC 504423 25099750442326
Bad (Special Edition)Michael JacksonCD18
  • US2001-10-16
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EK 66072074646607220
Bad (special edition)Michael JacksonCD18
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)CDIM 5044237509950442326
BadMichael JacksonCD18
  • JP2009-07-08
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EICP 11964547366047479
Bad (special edition)Michael JacksonCD18
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)50442320009399700091953
Bad 25 (Mastered for iTunes)Michael Jackson2×Digital Media11 + 13
  • US2012-09-14
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment)886443546240
Bad 25 (96kHz · 24bit)Michael Jackson2×Digital Media11 + 13
  • XW2012-09-14
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment)[none]
BadMichael JacksonDigital Media11
  • XW2012-09-14
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment)886443546264
Bad 25 (25th anniversary edition)Michael Jackson2×CD11 + 13
  • XE2012-09-17
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment), MJJ Productions (logo / imprint / label)88691999702886919997026
Bad 25 (25th anniversary edition)Michael Jackson2×CD11 + 13
  • US2012-09-18
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment), MJJ Productions (logo / imprint / label)88691999702886919997026
Bad (25th anniversary edition)Michael Jackson3×CD + DVD-Video11 + 13 + 16 + 19
  • US2012-09-18
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment)88725400952887254009528
Bad 25 (deluxe edition)Michael Jackson3×CD + DVD-Video11 + 14 + 16 + 19
  • JP2012-09-19
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)EICP 1541–44547366066753
Bad 25 (25th anniversary edition)Michael Jackson3×12" Vinyl11 + 6 + 7
  • XE2012-11-19
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)8872540098-1887254009818
Bad 25 (25th anniversary edition)Michael Jackson2×CD11 + 13
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)88691999702886919997026
Bad (48kHz/24bit)Michael JacksonDigital Media11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment)886443595095
Bad (Mastered for iTunes)Michael JacksonDigital Media11
  • US2013-06-29
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), Legacy (reissue division of Sony Music Entertainment)886443546264
Bad 25 (special edition) (deluxe, hi-res audio)Michael JacksonDigital Media40
  • JP2014-04-01
Sony Records International (Japanese TEXTLESS walking eye imprint)4547366206104
BadMichael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)888750354327
BadMichael JacksonCD11
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)88875035442888750354426
BadMichael Jackson12" Vinyl10
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony), MJJ Productions (logo / imprint / label)888751437418
Promotion
Bad (promo, gatefold cover w/printed lyric sleeve.)Michael Jackson12" Vinyl10
  • US1987-08-31
Epic (US label founded by CBS in 1953, now owned by Sony)E 40600, OE 40600074644060010

Relationships

associated singles/EPs:Bad
Dirty Diana
I Just Can’t Stop Loving You
Leave Me Alone
Smooth Criminal
The Way You Make Me Feel
The Way You Make Me Feel
included in:Bad / Dangerous
part of:Discothèque Idéale Qobuz / Qobuz Ideal Discography
8th Annual Smash Hits Reader’s Poll – Best LP (number: 1) (order: 1)
8th Annual Smash Hits Reader’s Poll – Worst LP (number: 1) (order: 1)
Grammy Award: Album of the Year nominees (number: 1988) (order: 128)
Discothèque Idéale Qobuz / Qobuz Ideal Discography (order: 145)
Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 2020 edition (number: 194) (order: 194)
Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 2003 edition (number: 202) (order: 202)
Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 2012 edition (number: 203) (order: 203)
Discogs:https://www.discogs.com/master/8517 [info]
lyrics page:https://genius.com/albums/Michael-jackson/Bad [info]
reviews:https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/gxb6 [info]
other databases:https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/michael_jackson/bad/ [info]
https://www.musik-sammler.de/search/Michael Jackson - Bad/ [info]
Allmusic:https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000650293 [info]
Wikidata:Q44142 [info]

CritiqueBrainz Reviews

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Most Recent

A multi-million-unit-shifter, Bad was (and remains) as important to 1980s pop culture as the rise of the Walkman, the Back to the Future movies, and the shooting of JR. Like 1982's Thriller, it's an album that appeared to easily find a home within the record collection of rockers and poppers, punks and poets alike.

Ubiquity comes cheap in 2012 (thanks, internet), but in 1987, it was earned by being the best of the best. And Bad was just that: almost a greatest hits package, it spawned nine hit singles. Its chart campaign didn't begin with the title cut, but with I Just Can't Stop Loving You, a number one in both the US and UK. In Britain, Bad (the song) peaked at 3, as Rick Astley sat atop the pile.

The title track rocketed to No.1 in the US, followed by The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror and Dirty Diana. Jackson's star was at its zenith across the 1980s - but fame never guarantees critical approval. Yet Bad was as well-received in the press as it was by Jackson's fans. It's a special rarity: a commercial behemoth with nary a lapse in quality across its 48 minutes.

Quincy Jones' production is tight yet yielding, every song allowed to breathe and never cluttered by needless elements. Dirty Diana is remarkably lean, Steve Stevens' flamboyant guitar aside, yet powerful too. Speed Demon, deemed "filler" by critics at the time, is fun funk-rock that'd sit happily on a Prince album of the period, compositionally if not lyrically.

Unreleased demos make up the majority of this anniversary release's second disc. Amongst the most interesting are Song Groove (A/K/A Abortion Papers) and Price of Fame. The former, aggressive of percussion yet light of synth, is about a Christian girl carrying an unwanted pregnancy. "Michael knew (it) could be controversial," read the accompanying notes; but Jackson handles the subject matter with tenderness.

Price of Fame addresses the pressures Jackson felt as a pop idol. Of his obsessed followers, he wrote: "They'll do anything and it's breaking my heart… It's running me crazy." It is, perhaps, a first instance of the cracks that'd soon spread. But nothing that was to come in Jackson's career could ever take the shine off this awesome, evergreen and essential pop masterpiece.