I feel the same about Madonna's true blue album..
in terms of not liking the sound..it's albout polished
synth lines & ugly 80's guitar..they give me the creeps...

Martinelli said:

I'm not very fond of that album,either...for the same reasons that you listed.

SoulAlive said:

Yeah, a lot of people heavily dislike Patrick Leonard's production techniques...

JoeTyler said:

Well...his production on Like a Prayer was a million times better.

SoulAlive said:

Smooth Criminal is the biggest classic of the Bad album

Anyway, here's my ranking of the Bad tracks

1.Just can't stop loving you
2.Smooth criminal
3.Leave me alone
4.Another part of me
5.Liberian Girl
6.Man in the mirror
7.Bad
8.The way you make me feel
9.Dirty Diana
10.Just good friends
11.Speed demon

MikeMatronik said:

Yeah , he certainly improved his skills, including organic sounds and better sounding synths...
But True Blue or Bryan Ferry's Bette Noire sound cheap...

JoeTyler said:

I think the extreme usage of synth was to blame. Still Like A prayer was a full digital recording (oh so it says on the cover!).

Can't talk about Bryan Ferry's album...don't like BF's solo work

SoulAlive said:

Exactly. Its like from Bad onwards Michael produced songs purely for video interpretation, if the song didn't have some grand, expensive video it couldn't stand on its own, IMO. And to me thats the difference between Pre-Thriller and post-Thriller.

I didn't need some over-hype video for Don't Stop Till U Get Enough, Rock With You or WBSS to grab my attention. Whereas quite frankly Smooth Criminal without the video the song ain't all that. I can say the same thing for the song Thriller, without the video I couldn't be bothered with the song. Having said that the song Thriller has gone on to be a national anthem for Halloween.

Truely classic music stands up on its own. It doesn't need an expensive video to make it classic or relevant. I think its the reason why even today if I were to go to a party or a club I am more likely to hear Don't Stop or WBSS than Smooth Criminal or Jam. Its like from Bad onwards Michael's main concerns were the videos rather than the actual music and it shows.

Btw, does anyone else prefer the video of Don't Stop Till U Get Enough against the more grand videos of Remember The Time and Black and White?
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SoulAlive said:

Ok that must be the reason then coz True Blue is Madonna's second best imo.

You're still mad for dissing Smooth Criminal though One of his bests

Well...the only thing I don't like is the version of Another Part of Me of the album. The Captain Eo one is way better!

MikeMatronik said:

but how about this version?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kknzQjOen2M

LightOfArt said:

excellent!

LightOfArt said:

I love that video, but I remember it was the first time I ever heard Michael sound like he was having vocal problems. I remember my friend saying "He sounded like he had a sore throat". It was a surprise to hear that. Little did we know it was just the start of a long, steep decline in his vocals.

whatsgoingon said:

Agreed. Most of the songs on this album didn't work for me until I saw the videos. The same goes for numerous Jackson tracks from Bad onwards. What amazes me is that I'm more likely to hear "Blame It On The Boogie" at a party or a club than to hear anything from Bad or Dangerous, even though those albums sold about twenty times more than Destiny.

I think Smooth Criminal is amazing without the video... I used to have it on repeat on my CD player...

The video is just icing on the cake IMO.

Loved Bad.... hated Dangerous... such boring rhythms/beats on that album...

For those who can appreciate it

kicking ass with

THE POWER OF DANCE!
back when Mike was biracial





and the Moonwalker video game

Dance said:

I loved the Moonwalker game...I played it for hours on my Sega MASTER SYSTEM!

midnightmover said:

It's during that time he kinda lost the smoothness and started singing a little deeper. Compare his vocals there to vocals at Victory better yet the Triumph Tour and the difference is there.

But I dont mind really I dig his vocals at any period.

I think Another Part Of Me though was one of the songs that made me fall in love with synths as a teenager. It was just a trademark synth song.

novabrkr said:

I just love "Another Part of me" , Its a great song especially when he says " sending out a major love" .....Just beauitful.....

For whoever said that Smooth Criminal is Garabage I don't know what you're smoking.....The chorus of the song is just amazing, brillaint.

seeingvoices12 said:

I agree.

I love listening to Smooth Criminal on my headphones.

the bad album sounds AMAZING on headphones, the feeling is just heavenly, and I feel guilty saying that but it's true

whatsgoingon said:

Exactly.I think the amazing success of the 'Thriller' videos convinced Michael to focus on the videos first,the songs second.That's why 'Bad' is filled with songs like "Dirty Diana",the title track and "Smooth Criminal".....pretentious,mediocre,"novelty" songs that can't really stand on their own,without the big-budget videos."Speed Demon" is another example....you can tell that Michael was thinking "this will be a wonderful video!" when he wrote that crappy song.I bet he would have made a better album if he had just let the songs and ideas flow on their own,without the pressures of making videos.

Too damn pop. The success of "Thriller" ruined him forever. He should have continued making music with his brothers.

AlexdeParis said:

I totally agree. Leave Me Alone is one of the best trax on the cd.

JoeTyler said:

Come on! When people think about the Bad album, most think of TWYMMF or Bad. Hell, MITM was a bigger hit than SC.

daPrettyman said:

I agree,"Leave Me Alone" is a great song.He should have used these four songs ("Leave Me Alone","Man In The Mirror","Another Part Of Me","Liberian Girl") and ditched the remaining tracks in favor of some stronger songs.

MikeMatronik said:

Agreed!

http://uk.youtube.com/wat...4a8J-WTaKc