eMusic Review 0
Michael Jackson had already started to look strikingly different in a video for the song Bad that preceded the album's release. His nose had been thinned to achieve a regal refinement, his chin seemed more chiseled and his eyes widened into a scared, doe-in-the-headlights stare. But if all those alterations signaled the start of a long, and increasingly alarming, series of self-mutilations, those acts had yet to seriously mar his art. Perhaps hobbled by the impossibility of following up “Thriller,” Jackson and producer Jones did choke on the opening of “Bad.” It begins awkwardly, with the repetitive title track. But the quality of the melodies ticks up sharply from there; Jackson stressed melodic pop this time over the more daring dance rhythms or jazzier twists of the disc's predecessors. There's a lighter sound to songs like “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Liberian Girl,” or the sweet ballad “I Just Can't Stop Loving You.”
On the other hand, “Another Part of Me” hits the dance floor hard and recalls the more undulating parts of “Off The Wall,” while “Smooth Criminal” expands on the dynamics and tension of “Billie Jean” with a riffing texture all its own.
Still, one song (“Man in the… read more »
