Bad ＜完全生産限定盤＞

キング・オブ・ポップ=マイケル・ジャクソン 1987年リリース『BAD』
モービル・フィデリティ社のSACDハイブリッド盤で復刻

キング・オブ・ポップ=マイケル・ジャクソン、1987年に発表した『BAD』がモービル・フィデリティ社SACDハイブリッド盤で復刻。
前作『スリラー』の空前の成功を経て制作された本作は、クインシー・ジョーンズとの名コンビによる3作目にして最後のスタジオ・アルバム。マイケル自身が収録曲の大半で作詞・作曲を手掛け、シンガー、ソングライター、プロデューサーとしての才能を全面開花させた作品として知られている。リリース当時、全世界で爆発的なセールスを記録し、ポップス、R&B、ロック、ファンクを融合させた革新的なサウンドで1980年代後半の音楽シーンを席巻した。
アルバムから「BAD」「The Way You Make Me Feel」「Man in the Mirror」「Dirty Diana」「I Just Can't Stop Loving You」を含む5曲の全米チャート1位シングルを輩出。これは一つのアルバムから生まれた全米No.1シングル数として史上初の快挙となり、マイケル・ジャクソンのポップ・アイコンとしての地位を決定づけた。「Smooth Criminal」「Another Part of Me」「Leave Me Alone」などの人気曲も収録され、全世界累計3,500万枚以上のセールスを記録する歴史的傑作として今なお高い評価を受け続けている。

The downside to a success like Thriller is that it's nearly impossible to follow, but Michael Jackson approached Bad much the same way he approached Thriller -- take the basic formula of the predecessor, expand it slightly, and move it outward. This meant that he moved deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into hard dance -- essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft. He wound up with a sleeker, slicker Thriller, which isn't a bad thing, but it's not a rousing success, either. For one thing, the material just isn't as good. Look at the singles: only three can stand alongside album tracks from its predecessor ("Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"), another is simply OK ("Smooth Criminal"), with the other two showcasing Jackson at his worst (the saccharine "Man in the Mirror," the misogynistic "Dirty Diana"). Then, there are the album tracks themselves, something that virtually didn't exist on Thriller but bog down Bad not just because they're bad, but because they reveal that Jackson's state of the art is not hip. And they constitute a near-fatal dead spot on the record -- songs three through six, from "Speed Demon" to "Another Part of Me," a sequence that's utterly faceless, lacking memorable hooks and melodies, even when Stevie Wonder steps in for "Just Good Friends," relying on nothing but studiocraft. Part of the joy of Off the Wall and Thriller was that craft was enhanced with tremendous songs, performances, and fresh, vivacious beats. For this dreadful stretch, everything is mechanical, and while the album rebounds with songs that prove mechanical can be tolerable if delivered with hooks and panache, it still makes Bad feel like an artifact of its time instead a piece of music that transcends it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine