Bathroom (album)

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bath
Michael Jackson studio album

Publication
(s)

August 31, 1987

Label (s) Epic Records

Format (s)

CD , LP , MC , MD

Genre (s)

R'n'B , pop , rock , funk

Title (number)

11 (CD, MD and new edition 2009 of the LP; otherwise 10)

running time

48:11 (CD, original version 1987)
71:12 (Special Edition 2001)

occupation
  • Drums: John Robinson, Miko Brando, Ollie E. Brown , N'dugu Chancler, Bill Bottrell, Bruce Swedien
  • Drum programming: Douglas Getschal
  • Keyboards: Stefan Stefanovic
  • Saxophones: Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams
  • Synthesizers: John Barnes, Michael Boddicker, Greg Phillinganes, Christopher Currell, Rhett Lawrence, David Paich
  • Piano: John Barnes
  • Synthesizer programming: Larry Williams, Eric Persing, Steve Porcaro
  • Midi saxophone solo: Larry Williams

production

Quincy Jones , Michael Jackson

Studio (s)

Westlake Audio Studio, Los Angeles, California (USA)

chronology
Thriller
(1982)
bath Dangerous
(1991)
Single releases
July 20, 1987 I just can't stop loving you
September 7, 1987 bath
November 9, 1987 The Way You Make Me Feel
January 19, 1988 Man in the Mirror
April 18, 1988 Dirty Diana
July 11, 1988 Another part of me
October 24, 1988 smooth Criminal
February 13, 1989 Leave me alone
3rd July 1989 Liberian girl

Bath (English for about. " Evil ") is the seventh studio album of American pop singer Michael Jackson . It was released on Epic Records in August 1987 and is Jackson's third and final album to be produced by Quincy Jones .

In 1983 Jackson became a "megastar" with the previous album Thriller . The follow-up album Bad reached the top of the album charts in over 20 countries and has sold over 45 million times to date. In the USA seven, in Great Britain and Germany even nine of the total of eleven songs on the album were released as a single.

Emergence

Jackson wore a gold-plated military-style jacket with a belt during the Bad Era for a more edgy look
Label of the LP

With the previous album Thriller , Jackson released the world's best-selling music album to date , which is said to have sold well over 100 million times. Jackson's intention when producing the album in 1987 was that Bad should sell over 100 million copies - at that time the sales of Thriller were estimated to be significantly lower, as it had only been on the market for five years at the time, however, he wanted the sequel to Thriller to sell even better. However, this project failed.

Just a few months after the Victory Tour with his brothers from mid to late 1984, Jackson began recording various demos for Bad , which kept him busy until late 1985. The elaboration of the album began in November 1986 and the recordings took place between January 5, 1987 and July 9, 1987 at Westlake Audio Studios, where a special wooden stage was built for him, which allowed him to dance during the recording.

Jackson wrote about sixty songs for his new album. He recorded about thirty of them, all of which he originally wanted to release on a 3-CD set. However, Jones advocated shortening the album to a 10-track LP. When the album was released, an additional eleventh track, Leave Me Alone, was released exclusively on the CD version, which was later released as a single. This should promote the sales of the then still relatively new sound carrier compared to the conventional ones.

The title song Bad was originally planned as a duet with Prince , but Prince declined because he believed the song would be a hit without him. Prince later expressed himself less positively and said that the album title was chosen because there was too little space on the album cover for the word Pathetic (English for pathetic ). Other artists who should be represented on the album were Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand; however, none of these collaborations came about.

The hinged record cover shows Jackson in black clothes, looking directly at the viewer. Only the album title BAD stands out in red. On the inside of the opened album he is shown on eight pictures with various of his typical dance steps. The inlay contains all the lyrics and production data.

In 2012, the documentary Bad 25, directed by Spike Lee , explained the creation of the album in more detail.

Content and music

Thematically, the titles on Bad revolve around the prejudices of the media ( Leave Me Alone ), paranoia ( Speed ​​Demon ), racism, romance ( Liberian Girl , I Just Can't Stop Loving You ), self-realization ( Bad ) and world peace ( Another Part of Me , Man in the Mirror ).

The song Bad , for example, is a pop song with R&B and funk influences. It is in C major with a 4/4-stroke written. Jackson sings in a range of E4 to C6. The tempo is 120 beats per minute . The song is based on a sequence of D3 – B3 – F3 – G3 as a progression .

With Dirty Diana Jackson also took another rock song, comparable to Beat It from Thriller .

Track list

  1. Bad (Michael Jackson) - 4:06
  2. The Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson) - 4:58
  3. Speed ​​Demon (Michael Jackson) - 4:01
  4. Liberian Girl (Michael Jackson) - 3:53
  5. Just Good Friends (duet with Stevie Wonder ) (Terry Britten, Graham Lyle) - 4:05
  6. Another Part of Me (Michael Jackson) - 3:53
  7. Man in the Mirror (Glen Ballard, Siedah Garrett) - 5:18
  8. I Just Can't Stop Loving You (duet with Siedah Garrett ) (Michael Jackson) - 4:13
  9. Dirty Diana (Michael Jackson) - 4:52
  10. Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson) - 4:16
  11. Leave Me Alone (Michael Jackson) - 4:37

reception

According to Rolling Stone magazine, Bad was the better album than Thriller . Even if songs like Billie Jean were missing, the “filler pieces” were better than on Thriller : “Songs like Speed ​​Demon , Dirty Diana and Liberian Girl were written by Jackson himself, which made Bad overall richer, sexier and better than the filler material on Thriller . "

While Jackson had set a new record with eight Grammy awards in 1984 in the Thriller era , Bad was only awarded a Grammy twice. On the list of the 500 most important albums of all time by the music magazine Rolling Stone , it was ranked 202 (compared to Thrillers rank 20).

Commercial win

In the United States, Jackson received the eighth platinum award for bathroom on September 29, 1994 . Thus, the album had already sold 8 million times in the States by this time. It was the first Jackson album to go straight to number 1 on the American charts.

In the UK, Bad sold around 500,000 copies within the first week of its launch (this number was only topped 10 years later by Oasis ' Be Here Now ). The album has since been awarded 13 times platinum for 3.9 million units sold. This makes it Jackson's second most successful record and the ninth most successful album in Great Britain.

Furthermore, nine of the eleven songs were released as singles in Great Britain and other large parts of Europe, while there were seven in the USA. The last single Smooth Criminal was there , followed by Leave Me Alone and Liberian Girl in Europe . There were only a few copies of the title Speed ​​Demon that were only used for promotional purposes for the film Moonwalker .

However, only I Just Can't Stop Loving You could reach first place in the British singles charts .

In the US, Bad is the album with the most number-one singles on the Billboard charts. The first five releases I Just Can't Stop Loving You (released as a pre-single and without a video clip), Bad , The Way You Make Me Feel , Man in the Mirror and Dirty Diana all made it to the top position. In addition, Smooth Criminal reached number 1 in the charts in some countries and number 7 in the USA. This record was only set in 2012 by Katy Perry with her album Teenage Dream .

Sales figures and awards

Country / Region Award Sales
Awards for music sales
(country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA) Australia (ARIA) Platinum record icon.svg 6 × platinum 420,000
Denmark (IFPI) Denmark (IFPI) Gold record icon.svg gold 50,000
Germany (BVMI) Germany (BVMI) Platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum 2,000,000
Europe (IFPI) Europe (IFPI) Platinum record icon.svg platinum (1,000,000)
Finland (IFPI) Finland (IFPI) Gold record icon.svg gold 51,000
France (SNEP) France (SNEP) Diamond record icon.svg diamond 1,000,000
Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA) Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 20,000
Japan (RIAJ) Japan (RIAJ) Gold record icon.svg gold 100,000
Mexico (AMPROFON) Mexico (AMPROFON) Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold 350,000
Canada (MC) Canada (MC) Platinum record icon.svg 7 × platinum 700,000
New Zealand (RMNZ) New Zealand (RMNZ) Platinum record icon.svg 9 × platinum 135,000
Netherlands (NVPI) Netherlands (NVPI) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 100,000
Austria (IFPI) Austria (IFPI) Platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum 200,000
Sweden (IFPI) Sweden (IFPI) Platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum 200,000
Spain (Promusicae) Spain (Promusicae) Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) Diamond record icon.svg diamond 10,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI) United Kingdom (BPI) Platinum record icon.svg 13 × platinum 3,900,000
All in all Gold record icon.svg4 × gold
Platinum record icon.svg52 × platinum
Diamond record icon.svg2 × diamond
19,526,000

Main article: Michael Jackson / Music Sales Awards

Chart placements

album

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1987 bath DE1 (11 weeks)
DE
AT1 (22 weeks)
AT
CH1 (5 weeks)
CH
UK1 (5 weeks)
UK
US1 (6 weeks)
US

Singles

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1987 I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Bad
DE2DE AT5AT CH2CH UK1 (2 weeks)
UK
US1 (1 week)
US
1987 Bathroom
bathroom
DE4thDE AT9AT CH3CH UK3UK US1 (2 weeks)
US
1987 The Way You Make Me Feel
Bad
DE12DE AT15thAT CH8thCH UK3UK US1 (1 week)
US
1988 Man In The Mirror
Bad
DE23DE AT10AT CH22ndCH UK2UK US1 (2 weeks)
US
1988 Dirty Diana
bathroom
DE3DE AT7thAT CH3CH UK4thUK US1 (1 week)
US
1988 Another Part of Me
Bad
DE10DE AT20thAT CH5CH UK15thUK US11US
1988 Smooth Criminal
Bad
DE9DE AT17thAT CH5CH UK8thUK US7thUS
1989 Leave Me Alone
Bath
DE16DE AT15thAT CH10CH UK2UK -
1989 Liberian Girl
Bad
DE23DE - CH12CH UK13UK -

Post-processing and later publications

The album was released several times over the years, sometimes with various changes to the song material. In November 2001 a special edition of the album was released. This contains:

  • Three originally unreleased songs:
  1. Streetwalker - 5:49
  2. Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu ( I Just Can't Stop Loving You in Spanish text version) - 4:04
  3. Fly Away - 3:26
  • An interview with producer Quincy Jones about the production of the original album, which is recorded gradually between individual songs.
  • A 20-page booklet with the lyrics and previously unpublished photos.

The song Streetwalker , written by Jackson, was originally intended to be featured on the album instead of Another Part of Me . Quincy Jones wanted Another Part of Me , while Jackson favored Streetwalker . There were also inconsistencies with the song Smooth Criminal ; Jones declined to publish the song on the album; Ultimately, however, Jackson's opinion prevailed.

The original mix from Bad was replaced here for the first time by the 7 "single mix (both 4:06). The biggest difference is the lack of horns, which were still heard in the original mix in every chorus - except for the last two The rhythm guitar in the choruses is mixed with the hi-hats louder than originally intended.

The Way You Make Me Feel was made up of a full remix that was already used for the single, with Jackson's louder vocals and improvisation throughout the ending.

The song I Just Can't Stop Loving You had a different introduction when it was first released on vinyl. The title begins with a slightly mumbled 20-second spoken declaration of love from Michael Jackson. Only then does the music of the title, known from later publications, begin. The spoken introduction can also be heard on the single. This was deleted from all re-releases of Bad . There is a French version of the song called Je Ne Veux Pas La Fin De Nous , which, unlike the Spanish version with the name Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu, was initially not published, but has only been circulated as a black copy on the Internet since 2000/2001 . Je Ne Veux Pas La Fin De Nous was not officially released until 2012 on Bad 25 . In contrast to the English and Spanish versions of the song, the duet partner is not Siedah Garrett , but Christine Decroix.

In DirtyDiana the 4:42 Long Single Edit was used instead of the original album version (4:52).

The song Smooth Criminal was also remixed for the re-release.

The changes described above have also been adopted for the anniversary edition for Bad's 25th anniversary .

tour

The Bad World Tour was Michael Jackson's first world tour as a solo artist from September 1987 to January 1989. The tour was very successful from a commercial point of view and was attended by 4.4 million viewers. The Bad Tour grossed a total of 125 million US dollars; This made it the most successful tour at the time and was only surpassed by Jackson's HIStory World Tour in 1997.

Trivia

  • Bad appeared unusually late as Thriller's successor; its publication has been postponed several times.
  • The album title Bad does not mean “bad”, as is often assumed, but is also an expression for “cool”, “being in”, “belonging”, “being recognized” in the parlance of American youth.
  • There was an alternative cover shoot in the style of the 1930s. A Vogue photo of Gloria Swanson served as a template .
  • The American comedian Weird Al Yankovic released an album Even Worse with the single (including a video clip) Fat .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. release date "Bad"
  2. Release date
  3. http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Michael-Jackson/dp/B00000269M
  4. [1]
  5. Campbell 1993, p. 147
  6. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1615214/20090702/jackson_michael.jhtml ( Memento from June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) VH1.com
  7. ^ Bad (Special Edition), liner notes
  8. Campbell 1993, p. 151
  9. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1615214/20090702/jackson_michael.jhtml ( Memento from June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) VH1.com
  10. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1615214/20090702/jackson_michael.jhtml ( Memento from June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) VH1.com
  11. ^ Bad (Special Edition) Interview with Quincy Jones
  12. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/michaeljackson/albums/album/259584/review/6067877/bad
  13. http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx
  14. http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/5010
  15. http://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/
  16. http://www.mirror.co.uk/northernireland/news/tm_method=full%26objectid=18104022%26siteid=94762-name_page.html
  17. Facts about "Speed ​​Demon"
  18. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/jackson_michael/artist.jhtml
  19. http://www.hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Michael+Jackson&titel=Smooth+Criminal&cat=s
  20. a b DE Chart sources: Michael Jackson on musicline.de ( Memento of the original from November 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musicline.de
  21. a b AT chart sources: Michael Jackson singles and albums
  22. a b CH chart sources: Michael Jackson singles and albums
  23. a b Michael Jackson in the Official UK Charts (English)
  24. a b US chart sources: I Just Can't Stop Loving You , Bad , The Way You Make Me Feel , Man in the Mirror , Dirty Diana , Another Part of Me , Smooth Criminal
  25. http://www.mjtunes.com/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?cid=1&lid=1050
  26. Lisa D. Campbell: Michael Jackson: The King of Pop . Branden, 1993, ISBN 978-0-8283-1957-7 .
  27. Michael's Last Tour . In: Ebony , Ebony Magazine , April 1989, pp. 142-153. 
  28. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bad Definition No. 36
  29. http://www.amazon.de/Fat/dp/B001V5ZNS2