Hey OKP crew...Here are some bits from my Q&A surrounding the release of Michael Jackson's BAD 25 Deluxe project...Some cool stories here from keyboardist and band director Greg Phillinganes, guitarist Jon Clark, and choreographer Vincent Patterson...What Mike was like in the studio during the Bad era; how obsessed he was to destroy Thriller; how much of a crazy, mammoth undertaking the Bad tour was; who Michael looked at as his biggest competition; and why Bad is still underrated to this day...Enjoy...

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BAD 25 Shines Light On Michael Jackson’s Most Underrated Album, Era, And Competitive Obsessions
Keith Murphy

Intro: In the summer of 1986, Thriller hung around Michael Jackson’s neck like a mammoth, neon albatross; a 25-million-copies-sold albatross to be exact. Indeed, it is now well documented that the biggest pop star to ever moonwalk across the planet wanted to bury music’s most commercially/culturally successful album of all time (now 42 million and climbing in America alone). To achieve this ridiculous coup, Jackson envisioned a follow-up work that was bolder, more musically groundbreaking, and grander in epic songwriting scale.

When the dust settled months after its much-anticipated August 31, 1987 release, Jackson’s Bad album did not meet the late Gloved-One’s over-the-top ambitions of quadrupling his previous landmark 1982 statement in sales. But it did something much more impressive. The no. 1 Billboard album displayed a genius talent who grew exponentially as a songsmith, producer, and vocalist. Unlike previous releases, 1979’s glorious Off The Wall and the monster that is Thriller, this time Jackson ran the show, leaving all-world producer Quincy Jones to settle on backseat driver duties.

Which is why Tuesday’s release of BAD 25—a deluxe package featuring three discs that includes a remastered version of the original album; remixes by electronic music visionaries Afrojack and Nero; unreleased songs; and the first ever commercial DVD of the 1988 Wembley Stadium concert from Jackson’s record-breaking Bad tour—is an intriguing set. Let the music historians and insiders dwell on how Bad “failed” to meet the record industries’ (and MJ’s) grandiose sales expectations. Brush aside Bad’s impressive U.S. numbers of more than 20 million copies off the shelves. And set aside its movie-quality barrage of award-winning music videos. It’s all about the songs, which includes five no. 1 singles. “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Man In The Mirror,” “Liberian Girl”…this is greatness, y’all.

link: http://www.vibe.com/article/bad-25-shines-light-michael-jackson%E2%80%99s-most-underrated-album-era-and-competitive-obsessions


Excerpts....

On MJ's obsession with destroying Thriller

VIBE: For Michael, there was a lot to live up to with the release of Bad. By now we’ve all heard the stories about how he was intent on destroying the record sales of Thriller. But Michael was also intent on raising the bar artistically with Bad from the album to the tour. Can you talk about his mindset going into that era, album and tour?

Greg Phillinganes: He simply wanted to top Thriller.

He was aiming for 100 million copies, so says the legend, correct?


Greg: Yes, but there’s a fine line between having a goal and being unrealistic *laughs*. Thriller broke all the records. It became this massive iconic success that it is today. But Michael was driven . By this time he had way more songwriting and production input in the music. It was still up to Quincy Jones to keep everything solid and make sure we didn’t lose touch with reality.

---

On MJ's relentless perfection...

Vince Patterson: Yes! I’ll give you an example from the “Smooth Criminal” video shoot. There’s this one dance phrase that repeats itself in the video. I gave it to Michael and he stood in front of the mirror for four hours doing just the same count again and again and again! I kept coming over and saying, “Michael come on…you can take a break.” And Michael told me, “No, Vincent…I want to do this ‘til it’s perfect.” Michael was a taskmaster on himself.

On the HUGENESS of the Bad tour:

Jon Clark: It’s important to note that at the time the Bad tour was the biggest production ever. We were in London and someone said that this was the biggest tour they had ever seen…bigger than U2, bigger than everyone. And I just remember during the “Billie Jean” section there was a special light that was developed just for Michael’s tour. It was made just for him to do his thing on “Billie Jean”.

Greg: The true bigness of the Bad tour was the size of the actual set. We were building sets in the stadium as opposed to the arenas. We had several bags of airplane regulation landing lights *laughs*. They would blind the hell out of you when they first turned on. But Michael’s favorite toy was the cherry picker. It was the extended ladder with an arm that moved out, so he was able to dangle off of it over the crowd.

Jon: Dangerously dangle off it *laughs*.

Greg: Right…the fans loved it, but it scared the hell out of the insurance guy .

Jon: I never shit my pants when I looked out into the crowd *laughs*. But I will tell you that you will never know what it feels like to see 70,000 people swaying while you are playing “Man In The Mirror.”

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On who MJ felt was his biggest competition....


Michael was really known as the ultimate competitor. He looked at other artists in terms of what they did musically and performance wise and wanted to top them. During the Bad era who was the one person that Mike looked at and said, “Oh, I have to raise my game to another level”?

Jon: That had to be Prince *laughs*. During the Thriller and Bad eras, it what just those two guys—Michael and Prince. And they both knew it. Everyone has read about that infamous summit that Quincy put together. Only Quincy could bring Michael and Prince together in one house and try to convince them to do “Bad.” But Prince decided not to be a part of the song. You could see the friendly rivalry between those two, even on their tours and in their videos. Michael would tend to hone in on some of things Prince was doing. They were both amazing and brilliant.

Imagine those conversations…

Greg: Crazy. But the craziest thing is at the Wembley shows I personally set out to make a statement. During the band solos I would play tunes from artists that I would find out were in the audience. So I had heard Prince was at the show. So I did a whole separate section of “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night” by Prince. I’m talking about the groove, the breakdown and everything! We stepped down to the front of the stage and got the audience to clap on the four. We wore that shit out . And I still don’t know if Prince was really in the audience. But the bad news is that session will not be included in this DVD because Prince decided not to give us the rights. And I wish he would change his mind.

---

On why Bad represents MJ's finest moments as a songwriter and producer...

Looking back at Michael Jackson’s Bad album, what is the overall legacy of that work?

Greg: Bad showed off his solo artistry because Michael was more involved production wise and songwriting wise. Yes, he worked with Quincy…but it was not quite as much as Off The Wall and Thriller. You saw the transition of Michael becoming more of a solo force behind the scenes and away from the Jacksons. By the time he went into Dangerous, Quincy was no longer there. Michael started bringing in different producers to express his musical ideas. I think Bad is the most definitive expression of Michael’s craft.

--

To read the entire piece go to:

http://www.vibe.com/article/bad-25-shines-light-michael-jackson%E2%80%99s-most-underrated-album-era-and-competitive-obsessions

Have you checked out the box set yet?

Thanks homie...



Yeah...I have that joint...The unreleased songs really interests me...I wish he would have finished that 'Abortion' song...Seemed pretty interesting...

All in all a cool set...I enjoyed it...The Wembley show was pretty dope...They could have saved the "new" remixes though...Pitbull? Come on dog...lol

Including the remixes was pointless, especially when they could've put 2 or 3 more unreleased tracks in their place

My other complaint is that they didn't use the original 1987 mix for disc one so the original mixes of Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Dirty Diana, and Smooth Criminal aren't included

Also, they edited the live album by 20 minutes


overall though, I'd give the whole set a 8. A step up from the Michael and Immortal albums

>My other complaint is that they didn't use the original 1987
>mix for disc one so the original mixes of Bad, The Way You
>Make Me Feel, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Dirty Diana, and
>Smooth Criminal aren't included
>
>Also, they edited the live album by 20 minutes
>
>
>overall though, I'd give the whole set a 8. A step up from the
>Michael and Immortal albums

.....this reissue. Boooooooooooo. I'm gonna go look for my 87 copy now. This is some bullshit......

silk.later Reunion radio with Old P. & Silk http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

"i'm talking about *Balls Deep*....In Love (c)Cleveland Jr.

He was cultivating a fine nigga farm (c)Goldmind.

R.I.P Jamie Hubley

I was discussing it with friends when we found out the times of the songs on disc 1 and we were all disappointed that they used the later mixes instead of the '87 mixes (which sound way better). Still, no one was surprised LOL Although it's a great set, they still put those 3 wack remixes, not to mention in the past, included 3 suspicious tracks on the "Michael" album, and put only 5 songs on the second disc of the This Is It soundtrack. We kinda expected it lol

wowsers: "heartbreak hotel" as the second song! bold move!!!! but then i realized he skipped significant jackson songs.

i wonder if "randy and em" denied em permission for "things i do" "lovely" and "shake" as a middle finger up to branch and mcclain (aka "the estate")

The first leg (September- November '87) was pretty much the Victory Tour set list with Thriller and the first 2 Bad singles

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Things I Do For You
Off The Wall
Human Nature
Heartbreak Hotel
She's Out Of My Life
I Want You Back/The Love You Save/I'll Be There
Rock With You
Lovely One
Band Interlude
Working Day And Night
Beat It
Billie Jean
Shake Your Body
Thriller
I Just Can't Can't Stop Loving You
Bad

when the second leg launched in February, the show was revamped

One of the first shows was considered but one of the shows from Wembley was demanded by fans.

I mean, there were petitions, Youtube videos asking for the release...


Plus all the footage was owned by Michael and his company

Now a release of the Triumph or Victory Tours.....now the brothers could definitely put a wrench any plans (and apparently have)

jaywonder.tumblr.com

well done on the article though.

Ha!...True...


And thanks....

Right before MJ drops his infamous "Your butt is mine" = absolutely terrible idea.

Just listened to the song for the first time. Had to rewind it twice to make sure I heard it correctly.

I've found I've underated Bad on occasion too. For me, it's one of those albums that I'll put on and say to myself 'This is better than I realize'.

I think it's mostly cause the song 'Bad' is horrible to me and it's a really poor representation for the rest of the album. It's got no sonic guts and I can't stand the sound of the bassline. Just sounds empty to me. It has a knack for overshadowing how good some of the other tracks are.

'Leave me alone' is a fave MJ song of mine that I always seem to forget about. Nice shuffle and you can hear the P Macca influence in there. And 'the way you make me feel' is sexy as hell.

Thanks homie....

>'Leave me alone' is a fave MJ song of mine that I always seem
>to forget about. Nice shuffle and you can hear the P Macca
>influence in there. And 'the way you make me feel' is sexy as
>hell.

"Leave Me Alone" was my favorite track. As this was one of the first CDs our family had, I would often sneak to our CD player and play this one over and over.

good read

I guess when you're a kid you take a lot of shit for granted

like MJ would just keep dropping record breaking records

and mashing up the world

never really thought about what he was trying to do with that record

just thought it was MJ doing his thing

the remaining image from that era for me is him wearing that shiney military style blazer with the reflective shades on and curl in a pony tail

just standing there

at attention

for awhile

and MFers would pass out

I think it's the same image they used for the history jawn

and you don't know how many of us young bols were jumping on the hoods of cars trying to impress the girls ala the way you make me feel

Yo, nobody mentioned the shoes for smooth criminal

I heard he designed some shoe or contraption so he could get his lean on during live performances

as far as under rated

I don't think Off The Wall gets it's due

it's a little bit before my time

so I've had to go back and listen

but that has to be one of the best jam records of all time

it's just jam after jam after jam

LOL

will forever be my favorite...

......ending/fade ? I know we talked about this in the other post. Great read,Murph. Thank you kindly ?

Edit: Nevermind, i just read Jay's post above. Damn !!!!

silk.later Reunion radio with Old P. & Silk http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

"i'm talking about *Balls Deep*....In Love (c)Cleveland Jr.

He was cultivating a fine nigga farm (c)Goldmind.

R.I.P Jamie Hubley

Silky....Thanks homie...

is it my imagination,
or do CD copies of "bad" sound... muddy.

like, my vinyl copy sounds crisp.
the CD sounds weird.

i don't have this issue with the CD copies of OTW or thriller.


but CD copies of "bad" sound weird.
does anybody know what i'm talking about?




like you know how the album mix of "smooth criminal"
sounds 'muddy' and the video version of "smooth criminal" sounds crisp?

that's the difference between my vinyl of bad and the CD copies
i used to have.

I can't speak on this specific example

but the jist of the digital files is that they compress the sound

and actual clip some of the frequencies

to save file size

the example in my paper I think was an Elton John record

some of the sounds in the original release

got clipped out when it was re-released in digital format

so you actually got a song with some of the pieces missing

I would guess, Bad being released in 87', pre-digital dominance

might suffer from the same conversion sacrifice

there are a few things i'd like to get to the bottom of.

i have the same issue with all of my prince albums.



those CDs sound terrible.
the vinyl is pretty much golden, though.

jaywonder.tumblr.com

the version i had didn't have the spoken
intro to "i just can't stop loving you."

so i guess it wasn't original.
i don't know when i bought that CD.
i had it on vinyl for the longest.



don't get me wrong... the vinyl and the CD
always sound a little different. but i can't say
the vinyl of OTW and thriller sound "better"
on vinyl. just different. and that difference may be in my head.


but with "bad," it's distinct.
the CD sounds muddy or something.
(in comparrison to the vinyl).

It sounds a lot better. I know what you mean by muddy. I chalk it up to the compression.

The best way to find it is that the original pressing has the cursive "Epic" logo on the back and the timing of I Just Can't Stop Loving You"

I ripped Bad 25 to my iPod last night but kept the '87 version on

jaywonder.tumblr.com

it was AWESOME. A lot of people had never seen Liberian Girl. I had never seen Another Part of Me. I was very happy with BET for the first time in the past few years

didn't know Liberian Girl had a video.

You've never seen the celeb-fest that is the video for 'Liberian Girl' ????

Get out !


What the blood claaat ???

the physical single was never released in the USA. and i think the video premiered in late 1988 or early 1989 (i dunno when it premiered in the USA b/c i don't recall it). by then we were pretty much done w/Bad. the album had been released in the summer of 1987.

i think that's why most of us didn't see that 'Liberian Girl' video until yrs later.

"Leave Me Alone", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Bad", "Dirty Diana" (LOL, that one used to freak my lil brother out)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3V-7DEAgdc

also They Don't Care About Us and Stranger in Moscow.. if you're interested

been a while since I seen it but most the videos were in it and thought it was

Except for Smooth Criminal, which feels a few beats slower. No wonder mofos were passing out left & right.

To me this is Michael Jackson in the sweet spot. Right after he had come away from the Jackson 5 and on his way to becoming "Michael Jackson". There isn't the barrage of distracting vocal inflections (The famous Michael Jackson "tics")or the grandiose material, just Mike SINGING. Quincy Jones and Rad Temperton did an awesome job with Jackson on this album. My favorite song off of this album is "I Can't Help It", which was written by Stevie Wonder.

>To me this is Michael Jackson in the sweet spot. Right after
>he had come away from the Jackson 5 and on his way to becoming
>"Michael Jackson". There isn't the barrage of distracting
>vocal inflections (The famous Michael Jackson "tics")or the
>grandiose material, just Mike SINGING. Quincy Jones and Rad
>Temperton did an awesome job with Jackson on this album. My
>favorite song off of this album is "I Can't Help It", which
>was written by Stevie Wonder.

I hear you homie...

But most people NOW view Off The Wall as one of his best albums ever...And a lot of fans believe it's better than Thriller...

Bad routinely gets a "bad" rap...hell, I've even had a love/hate relationship with that album because of his GLOWING pop sheen.....

Ha!

for Tina Turner and he wanted some of that, instead he and Stevie Wonder got a busted "blues clue" jam instead imo

Even Stevie said it was a dud in the new Spike Lee documentary

damn lol

jaywonder.tumblr.com

i used to play the living hell outta that song when i was little lol

in the instrumentation (and IMO, that's what gave "Do The Bartman" away as a MJ-involved song)

and Stevie sounds like he's joking throughout the song. But there's a slight bit of that Jam/Lewis chord change going on right at the parts where Mike sings "There's something I would sure appreciate" and Stevie sings "So even if she's asking you to stay" and the bridge between the two that keeps it from the recycle bin for me.

A lot of people love Off The Wall.
With Bad, even with the hits, the great videos, and the tour (his best), folks always say it's a weak album. The main complaint is that it's "too polished" or too pop. It had the unfortunate job of following up Thriller which isn't an easy feat, not to mention the media backlash against him (that Rolling Stone 1987 readers poll had to feel like a slap in the face LOL)

he "won" in:

Worst album
Worst male Singer
Worst song
Most unwelcome comeback

all the while, RS gave the album (I think) 4 stars, and the album was still in the top 5 lol

jaywonder.tumblr.com

the problem with Bad is that it needed a Rod Temperton song or two in a few spots.

its a good album and Important to the Man's Legacy, however i don't consider it underrated IMO.

the outtake tracks ain't much. the blue cut is cool in a destiny outtake era, bottom line he put all of his best stuff and the vault stuff is at best low 2nd tier/high 3rd tier.


but its cool to get the box set. most of the stories i heard long ago, john barnes had a few good ones.

Dangerous is more underrated than "Bad" IMO

That album is crazy underrated.
MJ & Teddy did their thing. The first 5 tracks are all bangers.
And then throw in Give in to me, Who is it & Dangerous at the end.
Its a classic IMO and im looking forward to Dangerous 25.

Thanks...

of it outdoing their last record...particularly in this case because there was NO WAY MJ was going to surpass Thriller, no way, ,not commerically or sonically.

BAD mos def had songs on it that I loved

but

the album overall is my 4th fav by MJ

but that's the thing about genius.
you can't turn it off and it doesn't go away.

the same man that had the stated objective
to create the biggest selling album of all time and
to touch all demographics and make every song good enough to be a single...

well, that's the same guy that walked into the studio to
record "bad."



if geniuses could turn off their genius sometimes,
more geniuses would be better off, on a personal level.






but it doesn't work that way.

Bad's not even close to being an underrated album.

Smooth Criminal and Bad are iconic. Dirty Diana? Another Part of Me was a ride/attraction at Disneyland. i wonder how many people went to see that?

his most underrated album is easily "Invincible."

everyone counted him out or didn't really pay attention due to the issues with Sony.

"You Rocked My World" and "Butterflies" are really big records.

regardless he did it again, considering that it wasn't really cool to work with MJ anymore at that point in time.

The Neptunes were in their prime and the tracks that were written for MJ got blocked, or given to other artists.

i remember reading that he wanted to work with Dre, but for some reason it didn't happen.

so you listen to tracks like "Unbreakable" "Invincible" and "Threatened" and imagine the same beat with Dre's influence. you start to really get a glimpse of MJ's true genius.

i know he wanted to work with Timbaland and that didn't go through, and so you hear a track like "heartbreaker" or "heaven can wait" and wonder what it would have sounded like if Timbaland actually did the beat.

granted some of the slow songs were a little too sugary, tracks like "Break of Dawn," and "Whatever Happens" still take it there. and "Privacy" Slash shuts it down.

i just named 9 tracks on an album. and that's about how many he normally had on albums back then. all of those songs are super dope. if he dropped some of the other records, and got those neptunes tracks that became smashes for those other artists...then it would easily rival Thriller, or stand alone as the work it was, Invincible.

"You Don't Have to Call," "There She Goes" and a few of them JT cuts...

?!!!


a side note. what in the hell was going on, on the song "10,000 Watts" i think MJ, MF doom'd that. if you ever need a good laugh, bump that song.

See post #32....

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1437845/dre-passes-on-michael-jackson-project.jhtml

" 'Somebody approached me about working with Michael Jackson, and I did say no because I like working with new artists or people that I've worked with in the past,' Dre said. 'I can develop them from the ground up. There's no set standard that I have to live up to or anything like that. All I have to do is go in the studio, and basically they're going to bust their ass to come in there and do their thing the way it's supposed to be done.' Jackson's spokesperson confirmed there have been discussions between the two artists, but said nothing has been decided."

it was considered underrated.

https://soundcloud.com/doriandiaconu/michael-jackson-stevie-wonder
jaywonder.tumblr.com

Thanks....

I love some of the "visual" extras and the expanded liner notes.

if you are a MJ fan, I'd recommend picking this up.

The "Music That Inspired This Is It" album, and the Vision DVD set were okay but were slight disappointments

the "Michael" album was such a fuck up

I'm not even gonna go into the Immortal remix album

so like I said some months ago, I had low expectations lol

but Bad 25, from the CD 2 content, the live album (although edited), and the DVD, the booklets, the packaging, is top notch

the only 2 problems I had was them not using the original mixes for disc 1 and those stupid remixes on disc 2. They could've easily included 2 or 3 more unreleased tracks or the unreleased instrumental of Liberian Girl and the unreleased dance mix of Leave Me Alone


jaywonder.tumblr.com

>the only 2 problems I had was them not using the original
>mixes for disc 1 and those stupid remixes on disc 2. They
>could've easily included 2 or 3 more unreleased tracks or the
>unreleased instrumental of Liberian Girl and the unreleased
>dance mix of Leave Me Alone

because now I'm going to have to shell out for a copy of "the original mix" (I believe we had it back in the day since we copped Bad on CD not long after the videos were on TV, but that CD is lost in the ether now).

I really dislike those remixes (well, really, the Pitbull featured one, I could take or leave the other two) ... Mike's music stands better "in the moment" (speaking to alternate mixes of the songs we all know as released in the album's first half-life), not remixed some 25 years down the line.

it was kind of interesting hearing Mike sing in Spanish and French.

I agree now, after hearing all of the extras they included, that Mike and Q did the right thing in paring the songs down to the list they did for Bad (including "Leave Me Alone"... which is my favorite song from there). I really like "I'm So Blue", "Free" and "Fly Away". I'm kind of shocked at the "Abortion Papers" song -- Mike was never a stranger to controversial topics, but that sort of song reminds me more of mid-'90s Mike than mid/late '80s Mike.

Some are going off about it, thinking it's a pro life song when it's really about a girl's struggles with the whole thing and the guilt she faces from her upbringing

jaywonder.tumblr.com

>Some are going off about it, thinking it's a pro life song
>when it's really about a girl's struggles with the whole thing
>and the guilt she faces from her upbringing

and it put it in the context of the subject matter of Mike's songs, the female characters within and everything (you might have read it already, it escapes me).

it reminded me so much of mid-90s Mike.

i strongly considered getting the box set,
but i don't even fuck w/ CDs like that, so
without the original mix of the album, i figured i'd be okay
without the extras.

i'll cop it used one day, i'm sure.
probably when i see a used copy for a good price.


i'm glad it's awesome though.

Not for disc 1

but for everything else lol

the outtakes are really good (better than most of the Thriller outtakes), the DVD is great too

but the live CD and the DVD audio.....it made me change my opinion on the Bad Tour band. It sounds great

jaywonder.tumblr.com

i'm lying to myself.
i did the same thing when "the ultimate collection" was released.

i said, "yeah... that looks cool. but i already have most of the material.
i don't need it."

my buddy in the store with me, who is a "star wars" fan,
said...."joe, don't lie to yourself. you may not pick it up today.
maybe not tomorrow. but one day, you will be in the store,
and this box set will be on sale, and you'll think back to all of the
awesome MJ songs you love, and you'll think about the
unreleased material. and all the new pictures you'll get to see,
and yes, you'll buy it again.

MJ is like George Lucas.

he will convince you to but material you already own.
just accept it."








yes, i do own the anthology. lol


so i know i'll cop it.
i'm lying to myself again.

Because they'll make the earlier pressing out of print the minute the new version is out LOL

When they released the special editions in 2001, you were able to find the earlier pressings for a couple months. By 2002-2003, they were phased out

Thriller 25 came, the 2001 edition is still easy to get, but Thriller 25 is the one most stores have on shelves. And it won't be any different Bad 25 lol


You're not lying about The Ultimate Collection. That shit had me in at least 8 stores looking for it (folks were not stocking it though) so I had to get it online LOL

Only people who can get me to rebuy stuff is MJ, Prince, Stevie, and George Michael lol


jaywonder.tumblr.com

A friend of mine wanted the Special Edition version. So I gave her mine and got the reissue. I remember buying this on cassette the day it came out. I wasn't thrilled by it but it has a few nice tracks.
-"Just Good Friends" is still my favorite track.
-"Smooth Criminal and Liberian Girl " are my jams!
- I really love the music to the title track but did not like the lyrics or subject
-He did need a Rod Temperton track and other producers on it.
-"I Cant Stop Loving You" is a sweet track and "Speed Demon" was cool.
-Some of the bonus material was better than expected. I didn't care for "Streetwalker" and the remixes.
-The booklet is cool. I love the pics.
-I wish they could have made a better album cover.

Check out NEW Soul music at: www.myspace.com/starbeing

Bumpin in the STEREO:
Gladys Knight&The Pips
That NEW Urrrrrsher
Gregory Porter-Be Good
Dwele-GTO
Darryl Reeves-Mercury
Mint Condition -M@TSOL

1. The Epic logo. If it's the old school cursive logo that you saw pre Sony takeover (around 1988-1990), it's the one

2. The times. The original pressing has I Just Can't Stop Loving You at about 4:25 or something, whereas the later pressings have it as 4:11

The best places to look for are the independent record stores

jaywonder.tumblr.com

when will that get released?

That's what I'm looking forward to

I don't think Spike interviewed Quincy. I know he reached out to Prince to talk about Bad and Mr. Nelson declined. He is discussed though lol

jaywonder.tumblr.com

http://mjdatabank.com/mjjnews/wordpress/2012/10/09/chicago-1945-was-done-prior-to-al-capone-matt-forger-the-secrets-of-bad-25-en/

“Chicago 1945 was done prior to Al Capone”
Matt Forger speaks: The secrets of BAD 25

Listening to Michael Jackson’s music is always some kind of a unique experience. Not only because the vocals and the music are good, but also because his songs are really like a tapestry with so many layers that you always find yourself discovering new details each time you listen to them. With BAD 25, the Estate of MJ and Sony shed light on several unreleased tracks from the BAD sessions. Of course, there are still more songs from that era to discover, but the tracks that are released this year give an interesting and genuine glimpse of Jackson’s often underestimated creative process.

This time around, BAD 25 delivers the goods: all the unreleased tracks on it are presented unenhanced or overdubbed, as explains sound engineer and longtime MJ collaborator Matt Forger: “It was decided that anything that was going to be included in the release and presented to the public had to be exactly at that stage of production that existed in 1987. No additional recording, no additional elements… I was very happy to hear that the direction was ‘we can only use the elements that were recorded up to 1987. It must be the work of this period’.”

Forger worked with Jackson for his studio albums (from Thriller down to HIStory) and also assisted him in the production of other projects such as Captain E.O., plus the opening soundtrack for the Jacksons’ 1984 Victory Tour. In the 2000’s, he worked on the 2001 Special Edition series and the 2004 Ultimate Collection box set. Forger was also part of the team that developed the Thriller 25 project in late 2007. So, quite logically, he has found himself involved in the making of the BAD 25 release: “I was asked by Sony and the Estate to participate in this because this was work that very much I was involved in during the recording of many of these songs. (…) I’m the person who has been called many times as a consultant, to help them when they have questions about older material from the archives, or when someone need to understand a particular point.”

Digging into the MJ archives is, of course, one of the best jobs in the world. But the way the songs and tapes have been handled demand expertise that very few people have. Forger was there when it all happened, so he is able to track things that papers and notes may have overlooked. “When I review notes or tape boxes, all these memories come back to me. I can remember the situation that the song was recorded in, who were the participants and the musicians, and some of the particular things that we did like the style and the sound of the recording or the equipment that we used. All of this information is just from my memory bank, because I was there working with Michael Jackson at that time. “

It of course shows how comprehensive and full of surprises Jackson’s works in the studio can be. What has to be kept in mind is that since the Off the Wall album (1979), Michael Jackson gradually had taken control over his music and all aspects of his career. The pinnacle of this process took place during the BAD era. As the final and last episode of the trilogy he started with Quincy Jones in the very late 70’s, the album was also an important transition for Jackson, who would head to new directions and collaborations in the early 90’s when he released Dangerous. And, on many occasions, BAD 25 hints at these changes to come.

Michael Jackson entered the music world as probably the last true Motowner of his generation. After a record-breaking career with his brothers, The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, he stepped into adulthood with a collection of songs that not only proved he had made the hard transition from childhood, but also generated tracks that since then have become instant club classics. On BAD, he showed that he could still make it in clubs, but also leant to other styles and genre. The global image of the album is a dramatic evolution of the tough image he developed in the Beat It short film (1983). Songs like Man in the Mirror also shows he comes with a message, and that the music is always a matter of sound, but also of melody and lyrics.

On BAD, Jackson penned 9 of the 11 tracks presented to the public. As Quincy Jones puts it in the 2001 bonus interviews of the first re-release of BAD, his songs “are always somehow autobiographical”. So, somewhere down the road there may be a thin line between I Just Can’t Stop Loving You and Dirty Diana: here is a fascinating definition of love and hate that he also developed in further works.

BAD is known for the 11 tracks that made it on the album. But it is also known for being a project with some 60 plus tracks to have been considered. Some of them have Jackson’s vocals on it, at different stage of productions. Some of them are just instrumental tracks and song ideas that were not eventually developed any further. BAD 25 humbly focuses on the BAD sessions with a series of 6 unreleased tracks that document Jackson’s creative process. So, as a little bit more than 10% of the recorded material has been presented to the public, these unfinished and yet sometimes experimental works give an idea of how the sounds were crafted.

Don’t Be Messin’ ‘Round
Recorded by Brent Averill and Bruce Swedien
Don’ Be Messin’ ‘Round was released this June as the flip side of the re-issued single, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You. It definitely sounds like a raw sketch Jackson throws on the soundboard, just to see how the different elements meld and eventually match. With light pop accents and a definite Bossa Nova influence, Don’t Be Messin’ ‘Round is also reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing. Jackson often cited Wonder as one of his masters and major influence in music. On many occasions, he also praised some of his works. In 2003, he gave a special interview to Brett Ratner for Interview (published in early 2004) and talked about Wonder’s 1973 Innervisions album (which includes Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing): “Hearing this music made me say to myself, ‘I can do this, and I think I can do this on an international level’".

Michael first recorded the song with sound engineer Brent Averill in the early 80’s. “This is one of the songs that was recorded very early, potentially for the Thriller album”, explains Matt Forger. “For whatever reason, it was not developed any further at this point in time. Michael brought it back and we did more work on it in the period of the BAD album. Some additional recording was done at that time with Bruce Swedien at Westlake. I did some additional work and mixes at that time for evaluation for Michael. “

The version released for BAD 25 is an attempt to give the best representation of the 1987 version of the track, the one that was left in the studio at that time: “Many of the elements that were worked on in the BAD era were some of the very basic elements from these earlier demos. Selected elements were transferred and then additional work was recorded for the BAD album. And then it was decided it wasn’t to be included on the album, and at that point no additional work was done. And for BAD 25 I had to go back to many multi track tapes because the elements of the recording were on different tapes: some were recorded at Westlake, and some at Hayvenhurst and I had to make sure that all these representative elements could be assembled in a single version, and a single mix of the song”.

Forger also confirms that other versions of the song were done later that were more refined than the earlier recordings. Don’t Be Messin’ ‘Round, an unfinished song that is now presented to the public as is and on purpose, shows Jackson’s spontaneity at his best: “I understood what the feeling of the song should be. What is interesting in the song is that you can hear Michael giving directions like “bridge” or “guitar” and he actually sings the parts himself. That was of course a work in progress session”.

Emotion is something that has always been very important in Jackson’s songs. In the 2004 The One documentary, Jill Scott explains she realized the importance of such emotional input in his work: “but it’s the choices that he makes when singing a song, he emotes. That’s a gift”. So even when he sings random lyrics on demos, one can feel he is looking for the best spots and moments in the melody to introduce genuine and heartfelt emotion. “Michael was experimenting and testing elements and styles”, says Forger. “He would evaluate the best way to approach. But emotion is the thing that is very much at the forefront”.

I’m So Blue
Recorded by Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell
Quite surprisingly, depression is a theme Michael Jackson showcased very early on in his career as a songwriter when he released Blues Away on the Jacksons’ 1976 eponymous album. At 17, he already was into quite mature themes that he would develop on later works. I’m So Blue is about a love story with a sad ending, and Michael singing his loneliness out.

The ballad is wrapped with sweet arrangements. The intro riffs instantly sets up the stage and the mood of the track. The chords are grooving and mellowing down, and Jackson’s voice in the first lines reflects the sadness of the story.

The bridge section of the song has this great harmonica solo, or actually an instrument that sounds like a harmonica: “That was in fact a synthesizer harmonica”, reveals Forger. “And that was actually John Barnes. He is a very talented keyboard musician. And he could play many instruments like horns and brasses. So he could understand how a musician who plays the actual instrument and how the notes had to be attacked and that is one of the things he was very versatile and very talented at”.

I’m So Blue is included on BAD 25 as a demo recording. Its sophistication of some of its polished arrangements actually put the song in another category. What most artists would consider finalized recordings, Michael Jackson would call them demos.

Song Groove
Recorded by Brian Malouf and Gary O
In Song Groove, Michael Jackson addresses a social issue that still fuel debates today. This is a theme that has been developed by many Pop artists before. And quite unexpectedly, Jackson wrote a song on the subject, trying not to offend women who may face such situation.

The title of the song, Song Groove, is followed by another title: Abortion Papers. It sounds as if the two titles hardly match: in a way, how can a title like Song Groove be used for a song about abortion? One of Jackson’s abilities was to craft uptempo and catchy songs with deep and dark themes. Billie Jean may be the best example, as it tells the story of a woman who claims to have Jackson’s child. In Abortion Papers, Jackson also uses an uptempo musical theme to spread his message. The story of this double title reflects Jackson’s way of working on song ideas: “When we did the research there were two tapes and each tape is a multi track analog tape saying Song Groove”, recalls Forger. “But we didn’t realize that Abortion Papers was recorded in two halves. Half of the song was one tape, half of the song was another tape. And while listening I said “this tape is half of another tape that we have”. And then we did more research and we found another tape and we had to put the two halves together to get the complete recording”.

So it takes people like Matt Forger to fully understand what is in the archives. Some songs had working titles that changed in the process. On BAD, The Way You Make Me Feel very first title was Hot Fever. This working title surfaced only once, on a rare 2001 US Promo CD of the Special Edition of BAD.

Musically, Song Groove hints at sound textures and designs that would be developed on Dangerous: the subdued yet tensed atmosphere, the machine and metallic sounds: they are already there. “In Song Groove there is an aggressive quality of the music that he was developing and writing”, says Forger. “This was the time when, at Quincy’s encouragements Michael wrote all the songs of the Bad album, as much as he could. I worked with Michael along with Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Chris Currell. We were working with him at Hayvenhurst studios that Michael called the Laboratory. My job was to work with Michael and to get all these song ideas that Michael was working on and developing: his production style, his writing style, his arrangement style. Everything about that was Michael developing this, which was fascinating for me to be able to observe. Much of these styles you can hear in the songs included in BAD 25 are developed in later albums”.

Free
Recorded by Bill Bottrell
Once again, Stevie Wonder’s influence is highly palpable in this song. From the aforementioned 1976 Blues Away down to later works such as Beautiful Girl (released on the 2004 Ultimate Collection box set), Jackson’s self penned ballads often bear signature harmonies inspired by Wonder. Free also sounds fresh like some of the Jacksons’ late 70’s work as a group. Jackson’s love for sweet melodies may have been the source of mockery over the years, but like French composer and one of Celine Dion’s collaborators, Jean Jacques Goldman, told RTL radio in 2009: “He is a great composer. We Are the World may sound easy stuff, but it takes some talent to come with such a melody. He is a musician and an arranger.”

Free is Jackson the balladeer at his best: soulful, happy and so into the moment. “This is one of my favorite songs here because you can hear Michael’s emotion, and his spirit, you can hear his happiness and his joy”, confirms Forger. “And this is the feeling that we had in the studio. The atmosphere in the studio would always be exciting. He would be happy and enjoy so much the work. When you hear Michael’s voice it makes you smile and feel so good that you can feel the joy. Anytime I hear the song Free, it makes me feel so good inside”.

Price of fame
Recorded by Bill Bottrell and Matt Forger
Here is a song that has a long history in the MJ fan community. Price of Fame was scheduled to be the main theme of a Pepsi campaign. The song was not released and was eventually replaced by a special version of BAD with new Pepsi lyrics. Matt Forger remembers: “there was a special version of The Price of Fame with different lyrics for Pepsi. I don’t think a lot of people ever heard it. But this is the original version of The Price of Fame on BAD 25, and it was recorded at Hayvenhurst”.

As it sounds like a sequel to Billie Jean and a prequel to Who Is It, Price of Fame also has its own identity and originality. It is built around a smooth Ska / Reggae beat, one of Jackson’s scarce incursion into this genre (he also recorded background vocals for Joe King Carrasco’s 1982 Don’t Let A Woman (Make a Fool out of You)).

The lyrics perfectly reflect the state of mind Jackson may have been in as soon Thriller reached heights that to this day remain untouchable: “This is Michael talking about very personal experiences”, explains Forger. “It is about the kind of things that happened in his life especially after the success of Thriller. His popularity was so extreme that he was not able to go out in public at all without attention”.

Al Capone
Recorded by Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell
Another song title known for years by MJ fans and experts. Described as the very early demo or incarnation of what was to become Smooth Criminal, Al Capone reflects Jackson’s love for storytelling. Of course, cinema and films had a huge impact on his work and his vision as an artist. Starting with the epic video to Can You Feel It (The Triumph, 1981), Jackson always pushed the limits to innovate and present pieces of music with a strong cinematographic edge. The song was recorded at Hayvenhurst and Matt Forger remembers the original angle of the track: “Al Capone was written around an actual historical figure. It sets the groundwork for the song that became Smooth Criminal. Michael used many of the same themes and similar ideas to create Smooth Criminal”.

As Al Capone was about a historical figure, Jackson refined his vision and opted for another totally different story: “In Smooth Criminal he wrote a story and made it unique. It was not about a historical figure like Al Capone. He made his own story and this was something new and fresh in his vision”.

Just like ideas and elements from Streetwalker were reworked to create the very first version of the song Dangerous, Al Capone and Smooth Criminal were crafted with the same kind of elements. And actually, both songs seem to be derived from another song that Jackson recorded earlier and that has been widely talked about by MJ music fans: “Chicago 1945 was done prior to Al Capone”, explains Matt Forger. “It spoke about an era in time, about what was happening at that time in Chicago, that year. It was almost as if you were reading the newspapers at that time. It was a song that maybe Michael used as the idea for Al Capone, and Al Capone was the idea for Smooth Criminal. So maybe there were some similarities but this is a different song. Al Capone was a definite new approach and Smooth Criminal was much more refined”.

Je ne veux pas la fin de nous
Leaked on the internet in 2001, Je Ne Veux Pas La Fin De Nous is Jackson’s sole attempt to sing in French. He chose to adapt his song I Just Can’t Stop Loving You in Spanish and French to reach out to new audiences. Other singers also went in that direction, and quite simply the goal was to enhance their image in specific markets.

As the Spanish version, Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu, was co-written by Ruben Blades (Jackson would also work with him on the Spanish version of his all-star internet 2003 single What More Can I Give), the French one was penned by Belgian writer Christine Decroix, one former Quincy Jones protégée. Decroix remembers the track was recorded quite in a rush, shortly before Jackson left for Japan to kick off the BAD Tour. It took her like a night to write the lyrics and she was in the studio with him to coach him and give him directions so that he could get the right accent.

The mix of the song presented on BAD 25 is the final one that was done in 1987: “This is not a new mix”, confirms Matt Forger. “The mix existed at that time. I only knew there were a Spanish version and a French one. There was a lot of research and an interest to release the song. I was told to mix it for BAD 25. However the people I worked with and I said we have to research this completely and we knew something was done in 1987. My entire philosophy is: every time I could find a very good mix representative of what the song should be and the way Michael would want the song from that era, my choice is: that’s the one that should be used. We did a lot of research and we found the mix and we were so happy we were able to find it. It was so authentic”.

During the BAD sessions, Michael Jackson considered many songs that finally were discarded. Songwriter Rod Temperton, who was part of the A-Team behind Off the Wall and Thriller, submitted a few songs for BAD, one of them being Groove of Midnight. This song was eventually recorded by Siedah Garrett and was released on her debut album KISS of Life on Qwest Records (1988). “Rod Temperton had some songs”, remembers Matt Forger. “Quincy asked him to have songs ready. Groove of Midnight is one of these songs. However we searched and we could not find a version with Michael’s vocals. It wasn’t a song that they considered for the BAD album eventually”.

BAD was the final collaboration between Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. Both artists would part ways after the release of the album. Jones stepped away from the music business and dived into the multimedia age, most notably with the launch of his acclaimed urban publication: Vibe Magazine. Jackson stepped into the 90’s by acknowledging Hip Hop culture as he worked with New Jack Swing mogul Teddy Riley, and crafted ever more ambitious works as a songwriter, arranger and producer. A lot has been said about Michael’s and Quincy’s respective and actual role and responsibility in the success of the music they made together. Matt Forger feels debates may have gone a little bit too far: “I’ve read all these discussions about Quincy and Michael on the internet. They fight and argue about Quincy’s or Michael’s actual involvement in the production of the music. One of these things we see now 25 years later is the amazing work Michael did. Quincy encouraged Michael as a songwriter, arranger and producer. There were some differences of opinion like when Quincy told about Streetwalker versus Another Part of Me in the 2001 Special Edition interviews, and of course these things happen”.

During the We Are the World sessions, Quincy had a sign at the entrance of the studio, stating: “check your ego at the door”. What should be remembered about records like BAD is that when such songs were released to the public, the word “album” had a meaning and the concept was to develop great imagery around songs. This is something that may have been altered or gradually overlooked throughout the years. It is no coincidence that 9 of the 11 songs were released as singles and were widely acclaimed. These were the days when albums would not be about fillers but, and just like how Thriller was geared, a collection of songs that could all be considered for single release. With BAD, Michael Jackson reached new heights that very people of his age ever dared and managed to reach. And 25 years later, the music and the vision are reaching out to a new generation: BAD 25 is topping the charts worldwide. As he tried to surpass Thriller, Michael Jackson actually delivered an album that eventually can also be played as a collection of his biggest hits that reflect his fantasies, vision of life, and also spread a very strong message in the anthem Man In The Mirror: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make change”. This is what the “BAD days” were all about.

Richard Lecocq, author of Michael Jackson: KING
Additional editing by Chris Cadman and Craig Halstead (Keepers of the Dream)


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