Bad 25 is the 25th anniversary edition reissue of American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's seventh studio album Bad (1987). This is the second album by Jackson re-released on its 25th anniversary, the first being Thriller 25 (2008). Bad has sold 35 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Bad 25 was released on September 18, 2012, with co-operation with Epic, Legacy Recordings and MJJ Productions.[1][2] Along with the original album, Bad 25 contains demo recordings recorded during the Bad era, with the deluxe edition also containing a live CD and DVD of Live at Wembley July 16, 1988, Jackson's performance at Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom during his Bad world tour.[2][3][4]
Bad (25th Anniversary Edition) M
To implement a new "Live for Now" campaign, Pepsi promoted the 25th anniversary of Bad by printing one billion Pepsi cans with a photo of Jackson from the "Smooth Criminal" video.[1] Limited edition 16 ounce (450 ml) cans were produced and distributed worldwide. On September 18, 2012, Sony Music and the Estate of Michael Jackson in partnership with BET broadcast a two-hour TV special titled Bad 25: The Short Films of Michael Jackson, which showed the short films from Bad. Bad 25 debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart and in Italy. The album received globally positive reviews, with criticism however directed at the production and features on the album.[5]
The deluxe edition of the album, which is a box set, includes both the two discs along with a CD and DVD of the performance on July 16, 1988, at Wembley Stadium in London, a booklet with photos from the making of the Bad album and behind the scenes photos from the short films for Bad, a two-sided poster and a Bad 25 sticker. A vinyl version of the original 1987 release (which does not include "Leave Me Alone") was also released. Three songs, "Streetwalker", "Fly Away" and "Todo Mi Amor Eres Tú" (the Spanish version of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You") appeared on Bad: Special Edition in 2001. The Japanese edition includes "Bad" (Live at Yokohama Stadium September 1987).
To implement a new "Live for Now" campaign, Pepsi planned to promote the 25th anniversary of Bad by printing one billion Pepsi cans with a photo of Michael Jackson from the "Smooth Criminal" video (which is not to be included on the CD or DVD itself).[1] Limited edition 16 ounce (450 ml) cans were produced and distributed worldwide.[6]
The album opened in the United Kingdom at number six with sales of 11,475 copies,[15] but for the second week, it fell to number thirty-eight with a severe buffeting of 3,365 copies sales.[16] In Japan, 26,000 copies of this album had been sold during the first week of its release as number ten on Oricon album chart,[17] the sales fell to 5,307 copies as number twenty-four for the second week.[18] In the United States, as per Billboard's chart ruling, the 2 CD standard version of Bad 25 is regarded as the same album as the original Bad (1987) but with added studio tracks, and therefore caused Bad to re-enter the Billboard 200 albums chart at #23, while the deluxe edition (including a full live disc) is regarded as a new album release and debuted at #46 on the Billboard 200. The album sold a combined total of about 47,000 copies in its first week in the US, spending 3 consecutive weeks atop the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. Spike Lee's Bad 25 documentary aired on ABC Thanksgiving (November 22) in the United States in a 60-minute edited version while the full 123 minute version was broadcast in the UK and Ireland on BBC2 on December 1. The documentary received widespread acclaim and currently holds a 90% rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes.[19] The standalone version of Jackson's Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 DVD debuted at the top of DVD sales charts of several countries including the United States, Italy, France, Sweden, Austria and Norway. It debuted at number 2 in Ireland, the UK, Spain, Switzerland and Australia. Parts of the Wembley show were seen through the Bad 25 special.[20]
1 In Australia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, Bad 25 and Bad are regarded as the same album.2 In the United States, the standard version of Bad 25 is regarded as a re-issue of Bad, but the deluxe edition is counted as a new album.
Digitally remastered and expanded triple vinyl LP edition of this classic album from the King of Pop. Disc Two features 12 tracks including previously unreleased recordings and remixes. Bad was the third Michael Jackson album produced by Quincy Jones and was originally released on August 31, 1987. It was monumental in many ways; Michael wrote nine of the album's 11 tracks and received co-producer credit for the entire album. The album was #1 around the world, made history with five consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard chart, produced 10 chart-topping singles, nine ground breaking short films and to date, the Bad album has generated over 45 million units in sales. Bad was nominated for six Grammys and won two.
Michael Jackson's 7th record was released in 1987. 'Bad' followed global smash 'Thriller', and featured "Man In The Mirror", "Bad", "Smooth Criminal" & "The Way You Make Me Feel". This 25th anniversary version includes 13 rare and unreleased bonus tracks.
Those words would likely have sounded like pure hubris had they emerged from any singer other than Michael Jackson. He threw the gauntlet down not just to his fellow musicians, but to himself, with the 1982 smash Thriller. Still recognized today as the best-selling album of all time, Thriller spawned seven Top 10 singles, received eight Grammy Awards, and elevated the one-time child star to the rarefied status of an international icon of music, dance, fashion and culture. Rather than instantly capitalizing on his success with a follow-up, though, Jackson waited roughly five years before releasing his next solo musical statement: 1987's Bad. Despite the swagger of those lyrics from its title track, it was inevitable that for many, Bad would fail to reach the same high artistic standards as its predecessor, even as it broke one record after another. It was similarly inevitable that, in 2012, Bad would be revisited in an anniversary edition, allowing it to stand on its own, out of the shadow of Thriller. Today, Jackson has been gone for more than three years, and not a day goes by without some family controversy filling the newspapers. But Michael Jackson's most significant legacy is now, and has always been, in the joyous, liberated, boundary-breaking music he created, and that's what is celebrated on BAD 25, from Epic Records and Legacy Recordings, available as a standard CD, 3-CD/1-DVD box set (88725 40095 2), Target-exclusive 2 -CD/1-DVD set and vinyl LP.
The third and final collaboration between Jackson and producer Quincy Jones, Bad marked Jackson's ascendancy to near-complete creative control. It heralded the end of another era, too, as Jackson's final album designed to the constraints of standard LP length; his future projects would become more sprawling and some would argue, less focused. Bad, however, was tightly packed with wall-to-wall hits and has sold over 30 million copies to date. It yielded five Billboard Hot 100 number ones, the first album to do so. (Katy Perry repeated the feat in 2010 with her Teenage Dream.) A sixth single hit the Top 10 and a seventh made the Top 20. Out of six Grammy nominations, Bad picked up two of the trophies. BAD 25 generously expands the story of this landmark album by looking to the past (unreleased demos, live footage on DVD, the first-ever official audio document of a Jackson concert on CD) and the present (remixes of Bad tracks by current hip-hop stars). In its box set form, it's doubtless the most lavish anniversary release accorded any of Jackson's solo albums. Does it succeed in bringing a new dimension to one of the most familiar recordings of all time? Hit the jump!
Jackson primarily addressed familiar themes on Bad, whether in his own songs or in the two supplied by others. Most often, the album is concerned with matters of the heart: the expression of love in "Liberian Girl" and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," of lust in "The Way You Make Me Feel," confusion in Graham Lyle and Terry Britten's "Just Good Friends," of anger directed at duplicitous ladies in "Dirty Diana" and "Leave Me Alone" (the song which appeared on the original CD edition of Bad but not the original vinyl, and has since become a standard part of the album proper). But he embraced a message of hope, unity and empathy in "Another Part of Me" and Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard's "The Man in the Mirror." He even offered a tantalizingly darker tale in the edgy, dangerous "Smooth Criminal," with its feverish cries of "Annie, are you okay?" All of his compositions show a skill for simplicity and directness, often two of the most difficult qualities to attain.
The crown jewels of BAD 25 can be found on the set's second disc, which is included in both the box set and the standard 2-CD edition. These are the six previously unreleased recordings by Jackson, none of which have been altered from their original production. Three more demos first appeared on 2001's Bad reissue, and those have thankfully been carried over to BAD 25, although you will have to hold onto that 2001 disc if you're interested in its otherwise-orphaned spoken word interview segments.
"Streetwalker" and "Fly Away" have been imported from the previous CD edition. Elements of the former morphed into "Dangerous," and it was a serious contender for the final album line-up, with Jackson offering a confident vocal and even some street-corner-style harmonies. "Fly Away" is another graceful ballad from the Bad era.
BAD 25, the box set, is housed in a magnetic flip-top box, and contains two well-designed booklets, one for the main two CDs and one dedicated to the Wembley CD and DVD. The main booklet offers a staggering amount of photographs, two essays from John Branca and John McClain of the Jackson estate, credits, and brief track-by-track notes for the "new" songs. The latter booklet contains Jackson's tour itinerary plus more remarks from Branca and McClain plus more photos and full credits. The four discs are stored in two digipaks, and a sticker and foldout poster have also been included. Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering has remastered the two main CDs with the iPod generation in mind, and Joe Palmaccio has handled the Wembley CD. Finally, mention should be made of the Target-exclusive edition, which features the standard 2-CD set (main album and outtakes/remixes) plus a DVD of all nine original Bad-era short films, including extended edits of "Smooth Criminal" and "Speed Demon" from Jackson's Moonwalker movie. 2ff7e9595c
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