203 - Michael Jackson - Bad

[csberry]

I was really surprised with how much I disliked Bad during my listening sessions. I'm no stranger to this album; I had it on cassette when it came out. Starting with the title track met my expectations, but once I was past "Bad" and "The Way You Make Me Feel," I found most of the album really dull, mechanized, calculated, and a bit silly at times ("Dirty Diana" is both creepier and lame than I had remembered).

Personally, I think the best track on the album is "The Way You Make Me Feel." It has a casualness to it that is lacking in the rest of the album. On the other side of the coin are songs such as "Speed Demon" that have some impressive points (I really like the synths - especially the "bass" trills during the chorus) but seem sterile and calculated as a whole.

Compared to the albums around Bad in the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums list, I was very much underwhelmed by this album and would certainly have moved it much further down the list.

Songs I Knew I Liked: "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and to a lesser extent "Smooth Criminal"

Songs I Now Like: No new likes.

Songs I Can Go the Rest of My Life Never Hearing Again: "Speed Demon," "Liberian Girl," and "Just Good Friends" (Why, Stevie? Why?)