Bad is the perfect pop record to me. It's like a greatest hits record from start to finish. It was actually the first MJ record I ever heard and it made me a fan immediately. Thriller is Thriller, of course. Great, legendary. But my favorite MJ album is Bad. Not to mention, it was such a fun era. The tour, the music videos, everything about it was so much fun.
Couldn't agree more with you. It was the first thing I heard from him, but I was BLOWN away that he managed to come up with a collection of songs even better than Thriller.
I personally like Thriller more because a lot of its songs have more of an R&B vibe, I love almost all of the tracks on Bad, I just like the style of Thriller and Off the Wall more.
BAD might be better than thriller. But slightly . For me it depends on the day. I have both on vinyl… but still. Dangerous and Off the wall are pretty strong themselves
I agree for sure. When it comes to Michael Jackson music, it's all really strong material. So it's splitting hairs really but I like talking about it anyway :)
These are two records I need to buy. I was 9 years old when Thriller was released and I was a huge Michael Jackson fan. I had posters on my bedroom wall. With my small weekly allowance I couldn’t afford to buy Thriller, but I could afford the singles. I had all of the 7” singles from Thriller which gave me the whole album in pieces. I think there were 6 singles and the B sides were the deep cuts. In fact, I remember Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ had an instrumental version as the B side probably because there weren’t enough tracks left over for B sides. To this day I’ve never owned a copy of Thriller. That was a great time to be a kid, I’m glad I got to experience that time in music history. It was my generation’s version of Elvis. You realized at the time it was something special. It wouldn’t happen again until Nirvana in 1991.
TOTALLY agree. I was 7 when Thriller was released, so I'm right there with you. I sound like a grandpa telling stories to younger poeple but I always try to express what am EVENT Thriller and MJ as a whole was. There's no real way to describe it unless you were there. Having said that, as good as Thriller is, I truly believe Bad is the better of the two albums. There was no way he could reproduce the cultural impact of Thriller, but he did come damn close. Speaking just to the quality of songs though, I believe it's a much better album overall.
i like thriller better , i like the sound textures of the early 80s a lot more than the late 80s sound selections of the late 80s bad , the lm1 drum machine and the organic blend of acoustic instruments and synthesized instruments is a perfect blend on thriller , thriller is more timeless in that regard its produced a lot better ..... bad sounds too late 80s and doesn't have the soul like thriller does ..... i love bad , but bad has very synthetic drums sounds and very late 80s style synth sounds and and doesn't have that good blend of human elements and machine elements.... thats honestly what lets bad down for me ..... its very close but for that reason i lean towards thriller ..... its got more funk flavour , thriller could come out today and not sound out of date ..... bad hasn't aged as well... but don't get me wrong I love both albums , I always seem to just lean towards thriller ....its mj coolest album imo
I totally hear what you're saying. My personal opinion changes on this all the time lol. It's been a long time since I amdr this video. I should sit down and listen to both albums again, then reevaluate how I feel about them now.
I am also of the opinion that bad is the superior album. Both albums are good, but song to song bad separates it self from MJs catalog. Thriller has that "vintage" sound while bad is near timeless.
Definitely love both albums but Bad has more punch in production wise. That being said I wish Michael left come together on the BAD LP instead of keeping it for the History album. After all it was performed in the 80's via (Moonwalker) film. Also instead of the girl is mine they should have had Say Say Say on thriller quite personally as Michaels vocals are absolutely fire MJ the goat of music 🤩🙌🏽✨️🩷💚💯🔥🐐👑
I know a lot of Michael's fans love it. I don't even hate it, really. I just think there are stronger songs on the rest of the album and certainly on Bad.
I absolutely love Thriller but I’m going with Bad because on Moonwalker. I use to watch moonwalker every day as a kid and watching smooth criminal, speed demon & come together. I had the tape then eventually CD and man oh man Dirty Diana takes on the almighty billie Jean, loved that song too much. MJ best artist of all time past, present & definitely future.
I agree. Both albums are excellent, there's no denying that, but I do think Bad is the better of the two. On the topic of Moonwalker, I really love the intro sequence to that film too. It really gives you a good idea of everything he accomplished up to that point.
As always, great content. Both albums are great. Thriller was the best selling album of all time, the choice is a no-brainer. However, bad had lots of classic hits, namely Man in the Mirror, Bad, Smooth Criminal, The way you me me feel and so on. Love the t-shirt! Have you seen the show?
For me it’s Thriller hands down. I bought that album on cassette when it came out. I remember cranking it during a birthday party sleepover at my house when I was in 6th grade. Great memories! I never bought Bad and haven’t listened to it in a long time so I may have to give it another listen. Great video Russ! Keep up the good work!
Thank you. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts if you pick up Bad and give it a full listen. I really do get eveything involved with the greatness of Thriller, but I do think he outdid himself with Bad
Yes, i mostly agree with your explained choices. I also like Bad way more, its richness of styles, and the imaginative power of the songs in it. For example i always liked Smooth criminal, and the short film i've seen it way later, thus the video itself didn't influenced me in liking so much this song. I like Speed demon, his voice is just on a roller coaster. And glad that you've mentioned IJCSLU, absolutely a beautiful perfect love song. I consider this album being, from vocally point of view, an endless source for all his followers, be it female performers or male ones. They are all trying to emulate his vocal technique but they forget one thing: MJ was totally immersed in his song-stories, mind-heart-soul. Duplicate that.
Thanks for going back to check this one out. What's funny is that I havent seen this video in years since we don't re watch our own stuff. It would be interesting for me to re watch this now and see if I agree with myself still 😂
I enjoy both Thriller and Bad! Thriller is the Best selling album of all time but I perfer Bad over Thriller because Bad has more number one hits than Thriller and has Smooth Criminal one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs!
I really like both albums too and I've always owned both in some form since they were released. What's interesting for me is that my all time favorite Michael Jackson song is Will You Be There which isn't on either of these albums lol
Hey Russ I enjoyed this Video. I have MJ's Thriller Album & Off The Wall. Both Album's are Awesome. Having said that. I am completely digging his cover of Come Together By The Beatles on MJ's History Album.
Isn't that a cool hidden gem of sorts? HIStory is actually my favorite album of his (the section from Scream to Smile) and that cover of Come Together is just sort of hidden in plain sight on that album.
"Baby be mine" was my favorite from Thriller. It's boogie and rather soulful with it's horn arrangement. I would have placed "Carousel girl" on the album over "PYT." In recent years, I've come to love the comical "The girl is mine" with McCartney. Three of Jackson's top five songs to my ears are on "Bad". "Man in the mirror" was a perfect song with and "I just can't stop loving you" introduce us to Siedah Garrett. Beautiful! "The way you make me feel" is one of the few times Michael employs a shuffle to great effect which was also done on "Leave me alone." "Just good friends" while not a standout has grown on me over the years. They should have used Stevie's harmonica instead of electric guitar. I wasn't thrilled when Jackson yanked most of the horns off of "Bad" for future releases. The rest of the uptempos don't really inspire me with their hard edge. "Another part of me" has a strong hook but some unnecessary effects. He needed a "back to basics" track that sounded like it could have been left off Thriller. Off the Wall though is his most consistent long player. More hooks and more boogie which was big in Black circles.
That's a fair, in depth analysis. I've tried so hard to like Baby Be Mine and Just Good Friends more. They just haven't grown on me. I totally agree about Carousel too. I also wish Streetwalker had made Bad even if it meant Leave Me Alone had to be left off. Thanks again for the detailed comment. I love reading through comments like this.
Haha, I'm definitely trying to work him in as much as I can. I love so many different types of music and artists but Michael is definitely one of my favorites. I'm also fiercely defensive of his innocence, so I mention it whenever possible :)
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast i see lol , Michael is forever innocent in my eyes ! you should do maybe “Ben” and “Got to be there” to show the difference or comparison in his music since they both released in 1972 , or maybe posthumous albums “Michael” and “Xscape” even tho Michael didn’t come out on vinyl , still would be a great vid if you can find one “bootleg” lol.
I think there was one official release on Michael on vinyl, wasn't there? I'm not sure on that one because I initially wouldn't ever listen to it because of the vocal issues. I love songs like Much Too Soon though. I do have a few more MJ videos available now. There's one on HIStory, Blood On The Dance Floor & Invincible and an interview with Taj too. There might be one other I'm not thinking of right now
I vividly remember the long 5 year wait between those albums. Imagine the pressure to follow up Thriller, and yet Bad was close to perfection. I would have left Just good friends off the record, and replaced it with Streetwaler. I would have preferred Leave me alone as a main track instead of a bonus track only on the CD version. I didn’t love Speed Demon until I heard the Nero Mix - it’s fire 🔥
I feel very much like you about Bad and Thriller, I think some tracks Quincy decided to keep in Thriller sound quite outdated, and Bad sounds atemporal. I wonder what would happen if somebody could make a slower, more like a ballad-version of “just good friends” only with MJ’s vocals (I like to think the whole song was sung by him and there are hidden recordings on the Estate vault somewhere 🥲) I bet that song would be a HIT even today!! Well everything Michael touched he turned it into gold… thank you very much for your fair and objective review!!
The dated sound on Thriller really is what holds a lot of it back for me. Totally agree on your Just Good Friends idea. And yeah, I'm certain there's so much good stuff that the estate could give us and they just don't. Thank you for watching and the compliments. I cover a LOT of different artists and genres, but there's definitely more Michael on the channel with more on the way in the future.
Short answer: ‘Thriller’ is the biggest ever; ‘Bad’ is the better album. No album by any artist has come close to matching the scope of ‘Thriller.’ But album sales and chart positions don’t tell the whole story. ‘Bad’ is a musical Halloween with the production value of an Oscar-worthy motion picture. Each track shows us an artist at play in his creative toy box, throwing on different styles and personas.
I agree overall (obviously), I just don't think Bad gets the recognition it deserves. People seem to give the automatic win to Thriller based on sales alone.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Well said. Thanks for doing this video. Everything you said is what I explained in the Medium article I sent you last night. Keep up the great work!
@@chrislacy1990 thanks and it was funny: I shot this video about a week and a half ago. Then when I read that article last night, I was like "see what I mean?!" haha
For some reason Bad has been getting alot of Hate. BAD is my favorite michael jackson album. You should do a Bad vs Dangerous comparison. Alot people have been liking Dangerous more than Bad. I personally find Dangerous very disappointing because of his approach.
Someone reached out and wants to do a Bad Vs Dangerous discussion and video. I'm totally down to do it, I just need to find the time. It will happen eventually though!
Dangerous what do you mean approach ,maybe you are not a fan of New Jack Swing to me Dangerous is indeed better than Bad he was his most creative and artistic there the height of his talent
@@stevejackson8878 I do like New Jack Swing, but I was just surprised to hear Michael Jackson follow a trend instead of setting them. I love Dangerous overall and my favorite MJ song is on it (Will You Be There) but for me, I just feel like Bad is more original overall.
“Bad” has huge hits, I’d even argue that it was his true prime. especially his dancing. it’s just something about “Thriller” that I love. I love OTW too. I just feel like those two are Michael in his truest/purest form. the passion, the hunger. “Bad” is amazing, gigantic record. it just doesn’t have that feel for me. the other two feel personal, “Bad” feels more commercial
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Quincy would often opt for his own songwriters material over MJ's hence why only 4 MJ penned tracks made Thriller, while Bad was pretty much all MJ material , he didn't even want to work with quincy on Bad, but contractually he was bound. Quincy's contributions was the stellar Man in the Mirror, and the complete misfire of Just Good Friends lol. There's a couple of great podcasts with MJs team for the Bad album where they all state that what you hear on that record is exactly what it sounded like before they were forced to hand everything over to quincy's team who basically just re-recorded everything. Dangerous is actually his best album imo.
I was ten when bad came out thriller I was five so I experienced bad more in depth and saw mj at Wembley as well but truth is bad all the tracks bang and thriller is better layed out as a journey image wise bad was better
I've heard that opinion and I do agree the track layout is probably better on Thriller. I just happen to like a lot more songs on Bad as opposed to Thriller, so that's why it's the better overall album for me.
Personally, I feel jaded by Jackson's 80's stuff, as I do prefer the raw Michael from the 1990's. I think they are both great. Though I was born in 1989, I didn't really get to explore music until I got my first laptop in 2008, and thus had the ability to download iTunes. I am part of that generation who didn't listen to albums front to back, instead choosing songs that I liked from many different albums. So, the concept of listening to a vinyl record front to back remains a bit alien to me.
I hear ya on that. I really do like listening to his albums straight through, whether on vinyl or streaming. He put a lot of thought into what he did, including the running orders of the albums. So when you listen to the tracks in order, it makes total sense where each one is.
Ok lets first get the sales part out of the way. Thriller sold a lot because of all the hype from the motown 25. And don't get me wrong it's a brilliant pop record. Bad was always going to get a raw deal coming after a monster record. But nobody can point to a better follow up than Bad. Track for track, Bad was definitely better with Smooth Criminal, Dirty Diana. Only one track was kinda weak was Just good friends. And remember, Leave me alone was a B side of a single that was included later on as a bonus track. I can go track by track but u get the picture. Always and everyday, Bad is far far superior.
And on a personal note. I couldn't afford cassettes back in the old country. So I didn't own Thriller but heard all the singles. In the case of Bad , I took part in a newspaper quiz and won it. First prize was Bad and Faith - George Michael...so those 2 have a special place in my life.
Honestly I don't know why just good friends gets so much hate? Michael's and Stevie's vocals are absolutely powerful and to be honest I think it's a better collaboration than it's brother from thriller (The girl is mine). Say Say Say would have been a better fit for the album instead of that. Still the duet between MJ and SW is very underrated and always gives me goosebumps when Michael belts out his signature adlibs and soulful voice. Just saying Lol 💖🎶🔥💯🎯
I do like PYT, I just don't love it as much as others. I think Beat It gets a lot of love for me because it's the first song I ever heard by Michael as a kid. I was just blown away by it, so I probably connect with it way more because of that.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast I think it is great that we can have our favorites for very personal reasons that go beyond the actual technical or reviewable elements of each song. Thanks for your video!
I totally agree! And you're very welcome. One thing about Michael's music is that he left SO much for us and it's such a diverse catalog. If one thing doesn't move someone in particular, another thing certainly will.
3:15 What do you think of the PYT demo? My best friend and I were talking about this a few months ago; he feels that Bad is the better album and was shocked when I told him that Mike never won any Grammys for this album (except for sound engineering). It's been speculated that the higher ups didn't want a repeat of what happened with Thriller (winning 8 Grammys) so they decided to have other artists recognized for their work. If you ever watch his reaction during the Grammys he looks agitated, but calm.
I just listened to the PYT demo more than a few times last week. I dig it. If nothing else, it's a different version for me to go to every now and then. As far as the Grammys go, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the higher ups held Bad down. Disappointing, but it wouldn't surprise me if true.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Do you think the demo should've been released as a B side to one of the singles? Yeah it is disappointing, but I understand why that would be the reason.
Oh that's good to know. For all of the Michael Jackson I've listened to, I don't think I've ever heard the PYT demo. I will look it up and take a listen :)
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast heard it for the first time about a year ago. Went on a Michael Jackson demo binged. Cool to listen to some of those demos being a fan that I am and never got to listen to those demos until now lol.
I disagree, Thriller is the superior album. It has better quality songs compared to that of Bad, and Thriller's production is of a greater calibre with no disrespect to Bad. Beat It, The Lady in My Life and Human Nature triumph over Liberian Girl, Another Part of Me and Speed Demon. (My top three favourite songs from both albums). I struggle to comprehend how some fans see Bad as an upgrade from Thriller. Bad is a good album, but TWYMMF has a terrible chorus, and Just Good Friends tampers with the albums groove. The Girl Is Mine and P.Y.T. are the weakest songs on Thriller in my opinion, but the album doesn't suffer as much because the quality that surrounds it overshadows those dents.
That's a great comment. I hear what you're saying for sure and it's all up to personal taste, of course. I happen to like Bad quite a bit more than Thriller, but I understand how and why someone else would like Thriller more. Sometimes I just sit back and think about how fortunate we are to have bother albums anyway.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast I forgot to mention that Thriller has a timeless element to its sound. It can literally be played today and still ring fresh. Bad sounds like an album just for its era, a late eighties sensation. But doesn't transcend into the time of later generations. Another reason why Thriller takes the W. I'm glad we have both of these albums though.
@@bronzebuenoI hear what you are saying you do make some valid points. Although each to their own as I don't completely agree with everything. We are just fortunate that we got these amazing masterpieces from the greatest ever 💖👑🎯
WANNA BE STARTIN SOMETHING VS BAD WINNER: WANNA BE STARTING SOMETHING BABY BE MINE VS THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL WINNER: THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL THE GIRL IS MINE VS SPEED DEMON WINNER: THE GIRL IS MINE THRILLER VS LIBERIAN GIRL WINNER: THRILLER BEAT IT VS JUST GOOD FRIENDS WINNER: BEAT IT BILLIE JEAN VS ANOTHER PART OF ME WINNER: BILLIE JEAN HUMAN NATURE VS MAN IN THE MIRROR WINNER: MAN IN THE MIRROR PYT VS IJCSLU WINNER: PYT LADY IN MY LIFE VS DIRTY DIANA WINNER: DIRTY DIANA SMOOTH CRIMINAL CANT BE COMPARED.. TO ME THATS MICHAELS BEST SONG AND FILM EVER.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast ‘Bad’ vs. ‘Dangerous’ would be a more fascinating debate. If you’re up for it, let’s talk! I’ve appeared on The MJCast and wrote about both albums on Albumism and Medium.
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Bad is the perfect pop record to me. It's like a greatest hits record from start to finish. It was actually the first MJ record I ever heard and it made me a fan immediately. Thriller is Thriller, of course. Great, legendary. But my favorite MJ album is Bad. Not to mention, it was such a fun era. The tour, the music videos, everything about it was so much fun.
Couldn't agree more with you. It was the first thing I heard from him, but I was BLOWN away that he managed to come up with a collection of songs even better than Thriller.
Bad is my favorite as well 💯💪🏽
'''Bad'' for me sounds more like an expanded version of Thriller so that's why I prefer them both.
I can totally understand how Bad sounds that way. I truly love both albums. I do prefer Bad to Thriller, but I'm so thankful we have both.
I personally like Thriller more because a lot of its songs have more of an R&B vibe, I love almost all of the tracks on Bad, I just like the style of Thriller and Off the Wall more.
That's a very fair point too.
🎯
It's really hard to say which album is better, but I can definitely say that they are both in the top 15 of my favorite records of all time
Agreed, they're probably way up there on my all time list too
BAD might be better than thriller. But slightly . For me it depends on the day. I have both on vinyl… but still. Dangerous and Off the wall are pretty strong themselves
I agree for sure. When it comes to Michael Jackson music, it's all really strong material. So it's splitting hairs really but I like talking about it anyway :)
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast same here!! Loved that man’s music since I was 5!
These are two records I need to buy. I was 9 years old when Thriller was released and I was a huge Michael Jackson fan. I had posters on my bedroom wall. With my small weekly allowance I couldn’t afford to buy Thriller, but I could afford the singles. I had all of the 7” singles from Thriller which gave me the whole album in pieces. I think there were 6 singles and the B sides were the deep cuts. In fact, I remember Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ had an instrumental version as the B side probably because there weren’t enough tracks left over for B sides. To this day I’ve never owned a copy of Thriller. That was a great time to be a kid, I’m glad I got to experience that time in music history. It was my generation’s version of Elvis. You realized at the time it was something special. It wouldn’t happen again until Nirvana in 1991.
TOTALLY agree. I was 7 when Thriller was released, so I'm right there with you. I sound like a grandpa telling stories to younger poeple but I always try to express what am EVENT Thriller and MJ as a whole was. There's no real way to describe it unless you were there.
Having said that, as good as Thriller is, I truly believe Bad is the better of the two albums. There was no way he could reproduce the cultural impact of Thriller, but he did come damn close. Speaking just to the quality of songs though, I believe it's a much better album overall.
i like thriller better , i like the sound textures of the early 80s a lot more than the late 80s sound selections of the late 80s bad , the lm1 drum machine and the organic blend of acoustic instruments and synthesized instruments is a perfect blend on thriller , thriller is more timeless in that regard its produced a lot better ..... bad sounds too late 80s and doesn't have the soul like thriller does ..... i love bad , but bad has very synthetic drums sounds and very late 80s style synth sounds and and doesn't have that good blend of human elements and machine elements.... thats honestly what lets bad down for me ..... its very close but for that reason i lean towards thriller ..... its got more funk flavour , thriller could come out today and not sound out of date ..... bad hasn't aged as well...
but don't get me wrong I love both albums , I always seem to just lean towards thriller ....its mj coolest album imo
I totally hear what you're saying. My personal opinion changes on this all the time lol. It's been a long time since I amdr this video. I should sit down and listen to both albums again, then reevaluate how I feel about them now.
Both albums were Michael Jackson at his peak.
Neither are my personal favorite MJ albums, but overall they're probably him at his best.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcastwhat’s your favorite?
HIStory Continues is my personal favorite
I am also of the opinion that bad is the superior album. Both albums are good, but song to song bad separates it self from MJs catalog. Thriller has that "vintage" sound while bad is near timeless.
Totally agree on the production aspect. Thriller does sound good but Bad sounds wayyyyyy more modern from a production standpoint.
Can you do a debate about Bad vs Dangerous?
That's been suggested before. I would like to get to it soon. I'll put it on our list.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Okay thank you! 🙂
Definitely love both albums but Bad has more punch in production wise. That being said I wish Michael left come together on the BAD LP instead of keeping it for the History album. After all it was performed in the 80's via (Moonwalker) film. Also instead of the girl is mine they should have had Say Say Say on thriller quite personally as Michaels vocals are absolutely fire
MJ the goat of music 🤩🙌🏽✨️🩷💚💯🔥🐐👑
I'd say Baby Be Mine is one of my fav. song!
I know a lot of Michael's fans love it. I don't even hate it, really. I just think there are stronger songs on the rest of the album and certainly on Bad.
I absolutely love Thriller but I’m going with Bad because on Moonwalker. I use to watch moonwalker every day as a kid and watching smooth criminal, speed demon & come together. I had the tape then eventually CD and man oh man Dirty Diana takes on the almighty billie Jean, loved that song too much. MJ best artist of all time past, present & definitely future.
I agree. Both albums are excellent, there's no denying that, but I do think Bad is the better of the two. On the topic of Moonwalker, I really love the intro sequence to that film too. It really gives you a good idea of everything he accomplished up to that point.
As always, great content. Both albums are great. Thriller was the best selling album of all time, the choice is a no-brainer. However, bad had lots of classic hits, namely Man in the Mirror, Bad, Smooth Criminal, The way you me me feel and so on. Love the t-shirt! Have you seen the show?
Yeah, I've seen the show a few times now. They really did a great job with it. I plan to go catch it again soon.
I agree am not into quantity but into quality but I won't pick one over other because I love so many track from both albums .
That's definitely how I look at it. Thanks for the comment :)
For me it’s Thriller hands down. I bought that album on cassette when it came out. I remember cranking it during a birthday party sleepover at my house when I was in 6th grade. Great memories! I never bought Bad and haven’t listened to it in a long time so I may have to give it another listen. Great video Russ! Keep up the good work!
Thank you. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts if you pick up Bad and give it a full listen. I really do get eveything involved with the greatness of Thriller, but I do think he outdid himself with Bad
Yes, i mostly agree with your explained choices. I also like Bad way more, its richness of styles, and the imaginative power of the songs in it. For example i always liked Smooth criminal, and the short film i've seen it way later, thus the video itself didn't influenced me in liking so much this song. I like Speed demon, his voice is just on a roller coaster. And glad that you've mentioned IJCSLU, absolutely a beautiful perfect love song. I consider this album being, from vocally point of view, an endless source for all his followers, be it female performers or male ones. They are all trying to emulate his vocal technique but they forget one thing: MJ was totally immersed in his song-stories, mind-heart-soul. Duplicate that.
Thanks for going back to check this one out. What's funny is that I havent seen this video in years since we don't re watch our own stuff. It would be interesting for me to re watch this now and see if I agree with myself still 😂
I enjoy both Thriller and Bad! Thriller is the Best selling album of all time but I perfer Bad over Thriller because Bad has more number one hits than Thriller and has Smooth Criminal one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs!
I really like both albums too and I've always owned both in some form since they were released. What's interesting for me is that my all time favorite Michael Jackson song is Will You Be There which isn't on either of these albums lol
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast That's cool
@@InfectiousGroovePodcastvery interesting lol
Hey Russ I enjoyed this Video. I have MJ's Thriller Album & Off The Wall. Both Album's are Awesome. Having said that. I am completely digging his cover of Come Together By The Beatles on MJ's History Album.
Isn't that a cool hidden gem of sorts? HIStory is actually my favorite album of his (the section from Scream to Smile) and that cover of Come Together is just sort of hidden in plain sight on that album.
Technically that song would have made more sense to be on the BAD album. MJ's cover is the best ever!!!!! 👊🏽💯❤️🔥
"Baby be mine" was my favorite from Thriller. It's boogie and rather soulful with it's horn arrangement. I would have placed "Carousel girl" on the album over "PYT." In recent years, I've come to love the comical "The girl is mine" with McCartney.
Three of Jackson's top five songs to my ears are on "Bad". "Man in the mirror" was a perfect song with and "I just can't stop loving you" introduce us to Siedah Garrett. Beautiful! "The way you make me feel" is one of the few times Michael employs a shuffle to great effect which was also done on "Leave me alone." "Just good friends" while not a standout has grown on me over the years. They should have used Stevie's harmonica instead of electric guitar. I wasn't thrilled when Jackson yanked most of the horns off of "Bad" for future releases. The rest of the uptempos don't really inspire me with their hard edge. "Another part of me" has a strong hook but some unnecessary effects. He needed a "back to basics" track that sounded like it could have been left off Thriller.
Off the Wall though is his most consistent long player. More hooks and more boogie which was big in Black circles.
That's a fair, in depth analysis. I've tried so hard to like Baby Be Mine and Just Good Friends more. They just haven't grown on me. I totally agree about Carousel too. I also wish Streetwalker had made Bad even if it meant Leave Me Alone had to be left off.
Thanks again for the detailed comment. I love reading through comments like this.
Love the Michael Jackson content .. Do wayyyyt more
Haha, I'm definitely trying to work him in as much as I can. I love so many different types of music and artists but Michael is definitely one of my favorites. I'm also fiercely defensive of his innocence, so I mention it whenever possible :)
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast i see lol , Michael is forever innocent in my eyes ! you should do maybe “Ben” and “Got to be there” to show the difference or comparison in his music since they both released in 1972 , or maybe posthumous albums “Michael” and “Xscape” even tho Michael didn’t come out on vinyl , still would be a great vid if you can find one “bootleg” lol.
I think there was one official release on Michael on vinyl, wasn't there? I'm not sure on that one because I initially wouldn't ever listen to it because of the vocal issues. I love songs like Much Too Soon though.
I do have a few more MJ videos available now. There's one on HIStory, Blood On The Dance Floor & Invincible and an interview with Taj too. There might be one other I'm not thinking of right now
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Best believe i’ve already watched them 😂
Awesome :)
Off The Wall, Triumph, Thriller, Bad! What a glorious run. Destiny is an underrated classic.
Totally agree. Destiny is one I spin for other people and they're always shocked they've never heard the whole thing before.
An the Triumph album, along with the Live one. 👍
I feel like with bad he got more of his self into his music
That's a good way of putting it. I totally agree with you.
I vividly remember the long 5 year wait between those albums. Imagine the pressure to follow up Thriller, and yet Bad was close to perfection. I would have left Just good friends off the record, and replaced it with Streetwaler. I would have preferred Leave me alone as a main track instead of a bonus track only on the CD version. I didn’t love Speed Demon until I heard the Nero Mix - it’s fire 🔥
Couldn't agree more about replacing Just Good French with Streetwalker!
I feel very much like you about Bad and Thriller, I think some tracks Quincy decided to keep in Thriller sound quite outdated, and Bad sounds atemporal. I wonder what would happen if somebody could make a slower, more like a ballad-version of “just good friends” only with MJ’s vocals (I like to think the whole song was sung by him and there are hidden recordings on the Estate vault somewhere 🥲) I bet that song would be a HIT even today!! Well everything Michael touched he turned it into gold… thank you very much for your fair and objective review!!
The dated sound on Thriller really is what holds a lot of it back for me. Totally agree on your Just Good Friends idea. And yeah, I'm certain there's so much good stuff that the estate could give us and they just don't. Thank you for watching and the compliments. I cover a LOT of different artists and genres, but there's definitely more Michael on the channel with more on the way in the future.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast I’ll have the notifications on for your take on other artists as well!! Keep up the good work!!! 👍🏼👏🏼
Awesome, thanks so much!
Short answer: ‘Thriller’ is the biggest ever; ‘Bad’ is the better album.
No album by any artist has come close to matching the scope of ‘Thriller.’ But album sales and chart positions don’t tell the whole story.
‘Bad’ is a musical Halloween with the production value of an Oscar-worthy motion picture. Each track shows us an artist at play in his creative toy box, throwing on different styles and personas.
I agree overall (obviously), I just don't think Bad gets the recognition it deserves. People seem to give the automatic win to Thriller based on sales alone.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Well said. Thanks for doing this video. Everything you said is what I explained in the Medium article I sent you last night. Keep up the great work!
@@chrislacy1990 thanks and it was funny: I shot this video about a week and a half ago. Then when I read that article last night, I was like "see what I mean?!" haha
That's a fair argument too. In the end, I love both albums. This was a just a fun video to do on why I personally prefer Bad
Well said. I couldn't agree more
I agree with you, except that I love speed demon. But of course, smooth criminal is the best.
For some reason Bad has been getting alot of Hate. BAD is my favorite michael jackson album. You should do a Bad vs Dangerous comparison. Alot people have been liking Dangerous more than Bad. I personally find Dangerous very disappointing because of his approach.
Someone reached out and wants to do a Bad Vs Dangerous discussion and video. I'm totally down to do it, I just need to find the time. It will happen eventually though!
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast It would be cool if you'd review and compared each album in the discussion.
@@jadenalvarado4912 we plan on it for sure. I hope to get to it very soon.
Dangerous what do you mean approach ,maybe you are not a fan of New Jack Swing to me Dangerous is indeed better than Bad he was his most creative and artistic there the height of his talent
@@stevejackson8878 I do like New Jack Swing, but I was just surprised to hear Michael Jackson follow a trend instead of setting them. I love Dangerous overall and my favorite MJ song is on it (Will You Be There) but for me, I just feel like Bad is more original overall.
“Bad” has huge hits, I’d even argue that it was his true prime. especially his dancing. it’s just something about “Thriller” that I love. I love OTW too. I just feel like those two are Michael in his truest/purest form. the passion, the hunger. “Bad” is amazing, gigantic record. it just doesn’t have that feel for me. the other two feel personal, “Bad” feels more commercial
I totally hear where you're coming from. Michael Jackson made so much incredible music that it's all good for different reasons.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast 100% agree with you
Bad Is a pure MJ record , while Thriller is MJ + Quincy Jones collaboration
That's a good way to look at it.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Quincy would often opt for his own songwriters material over MJ's hence why only 4 MJ penned tracks made Thriller, while Bad was pretty much all MJ material , he didn't even want to work with quincy on Bad, but contractually he was bound. Quincy's contributions was the stellar Man in the Mirror, and the complete misfire of Just Good Friends lol. There's a couple of great podcasts with MJs team for the Bad album where they all state that what you hear on that record is exactly what it sounded like before they were forced to hand everything over to quincy's team who basically just re-recorded everything. Dangerous is actually his best album imo.
@@AirWalkerDJ great points and I couldn't agree more that Just Good Friends is such a misfire lol
Everything Thriller did good was done better on Bad
That's a great way to put it
I was ten when bad came out thriller I was five so I experienced bad more in depth and saw mj at Wembley as well but truth is bad all the tracks bang and thriller is better layed out as a journey image wise bad was better
I've heard that opinion and I do agree the track layout is probably better on Thriller. I just happen to like a lot more songs on Bad as opposed to Thriller, so that's why it's the better overall album for me.
Personally, I feel jaded by Jackson's 80's stuff, as I do prefer the raw Michael from the 1990's. I think they are both great. Though I was born in 1989, I didn't really get to explore music until I got my first laptop in 2008, and thus had the ability to download iTunes. I am part of that generation who didn't listen to albums front to back, instead choosing songs that I liked from many different albums. So, the concept of listening to a vinyl record front to back remains a bit alien to me.
I hear ya on that. I really do like listening to his albums straight through, whether on vinyl or streaming. He put a lot of thought into what he did, including the running orders of the albums. So when you listen to the tracks in order, it makes total sense where each one is.
Ok lets first get the sales part out of the way. Thriller sold a lot because of all the hype from the motown 25. And don't get me wrong it's a brilliant pop record.
Bad was always going to get a raw deal coming after a monster record. But nobody can point to a better follow up than Bad.
Track for track, Bad was definitely better with Smooth Criminal, Dirty Diana. Only one track was kinda weak was Just good friends. And remember, Leave me alone was a B side of a single that was included later on as a bonus track. I can go track by track but u get the picture. Always and everyday, Bad is far far superior.
Right on, I totally agree with your assessment
And on a personal note. I couldn't afford cassettes back in the old country. So I didn't own Thriller but heard all the singles. In the case of Bad , I took part in a newspaper quiz and won it. First prize was Bad and Faith - George Michael...so those 2 have a special place in my life.
That's so cool, thanks for sharing that story.
I totally agree with you that Bad has a better track list than Thriller as I like more songs from Bad even though I enjoy both albums
Honestly I don't know why just good friends gets so much hate? Michael's and Stevie's vocals are absolutely powerful and to be honest I think it's a better collaboration than it's brother from thriller (The girl is mine). Say Say Say would have been a better fit for the album instead of that. Still the duet between MJ and SW is very underrated and always gives me goosebumps when Michael belts out his signature adlibs and soulful voice. Just saying Lol 💖🎶🔥💯🎯
Love your videos
Thanks!
State of shock beat it dirty Diana give into me all kinda follow
Thriller for me
I hear ya. What did you think about my reasoning for Bad?
Whaaaat? I adore PYT. And The Lady in My Life is amazing. I could totally live without Beat It....
I do like PYT, I just don't love it as much as others. I think Beat It gets a lot of love for me because it's the first song I ever heard by Michael as a kid. I was just blown away by it, so I probably connect with it way more because of that.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast I think it is great that we can have our favorites for very personal reasons that go beyond the actual technical or reviewable elements of each song. Thanks for your video!
I totally agree! And you're very welcome. One thing about Michael's music is that he left SO much for us and it's such a diverse catalog. If one thing doesn't move someone in particular, another thing certainly will.
3:15 What do you think of the PYT demo?
My best friend and I were talking about this a few months ago; he feels that Bad is the better album and was shocked when I told him that Mike never won any Grammys for this album (except for sound engineering). It's been speculated that the higher ups didn't want a repeat of what happened with Thriller (winning 8 Grammys) so they decided to have other artists recognized for their work. If you ever watch his reaction during the Grammys he looks agitated, but calm.
I just listened to the PYT demo more than a few times last week. I dig it. If nothing else, it's a different version for me to go to every now and then.
As far as the Grammys go, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the higher ups held Bad down. Disappointing, but it wouldn't surprise me if true.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Do you think the demo should've been released as a B side to one of the singles?
Yeah it is disappointing, but I understand why that would be the reason.
That's a good idea. It definitely could've been released as a B side.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Looking back on it, Thriller could've been a double disc album considering the 10 songs that weren't used.
That's fair. I do like a lot of the demos on Thriller 40, but I can honestly see why Michael chose the songs he did for the final track list.
For me bad is better
I definitely feel the same way. They're both great, but Bad really is better. Thanks for watching :)
I'm late. But I agree with you
Better late than never! :)
Can you do dangerous vs history disc 2?
For sure. I love both of those albums so I will put that on our list and get to it soon!
I actually found pyt demo to be better than the official song and so did Michael but Quincy felt like it didn’t fit with the album.
Oh that's good to know. For all of the Michael Jackson I've listened to, I don't think I've ever heard the PYT demo. I will look it up and take a listen :)
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast heard it for the first time about a year ago. Went on a Michael Jackson demo binged. Cool to listen to some of those demos being a fan that I am and never got to listen to those demos until now lol.
I disagree, Thriller is the superior album. It has better quality songs compared to that of Bad, and Thriller's production is of a greater calibre with no disrespect to Bad.
Beat It, The Lady in My Life and Human Nature triumph over Liberian Girl, Another Part of Me and Speed Demon. (My top three favourite songs from both albums).
I struggle to comprehend how some fans see Bad as an upgrade from Thriller. Bad is a good album, but TWYMMF has a terrible chorus, and Just Good Friends tampers with the albums groove.
The Girl Is Mine and P.Y.T. are the weakest songs on Thriller in my opinion, but the album doesn't suffer as much because the quality that surrounds it overshadows those dents.
That's a great comment. I hear what you're saying for sure and it's all up to personal taste, of course.
I happen to like Bad quite a bit more than Thriller, but I understand how and why someone else would like Thriller more.
Sometimes I just sit back and think about how fortunate we are to have bother albums anyway.
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast I forgot to mention that Thriller has a timeless element to its sound. It can literally be played today and still ring fresh.
Bad sounds like an album just for its era, a late eighties sensation. But doesn't transcend into the time of later generations.
Another reason why Thriller takes the W. I'm glad we have both of these albums though.
@@bronzebuenoI hear what you are saying you do make some valid points. Although each to their own as I don't completely agree with everything. We are just fortunate that we got these amazing masterpieces from the greatest ever 💖👑🎯
WANNA BE STARTIN SOMETHING VS BAD
WINNER: WANNA BE STARTING SOMETHING
BABY BE MINE VS THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL
WINNER: THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL
THE GIRL IS MINE VS SPEED DEMON
WINNER: THE GIRL IS MINE
THRILLER VS LIBERIAN GIRL
WINNER: THRILLER
BEAT IT VS JUST GOOD FRIENDS
WINNER: BEAT IT
BILLIE JEAN VS ANOTHER PART OF ME
WINNER: BILLIE JEAN
HUMAN NATURE VS MAN IN THE MIRROR
WINNER: MAN IN THE MIRROR
PYT VS IJCSLU
WINNER: PYT
LADY IN MY LIFE VS DIRTY DIANA
WINNER: DIRTY DIANA
SMOOTH CRIMINAL CANT BE COMPARED.. TO ME THATS MICHAELS BEST SONG AND FILM EVER.
We recently did a reaction video for the Smooth Criminal short film, too
I love both albums hands down.
We do too. Did you agree with the points we made about each?
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast Of course.
What were your favorite points?
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast how you compared each song to the other. Bad had six number one pop releases. Thriller had three number one pop releases.
Right on, thank you for the feedback and so glad you enjoyed the video. We have a HIStory Vs Dangerous video coming soon too :)
Nah...Thriller vs Off the Wall.
I may do that debate eventually, but for me it's Bad over Thriller. Just wanted to have fun with the topic :)
@@InfectiousGroovePodcast ‘Bad’ vs. ‘Dangerous’ would be a more fascinating debate. If you’re up for it, let’s talk! I’ve appeared on The MJCast and wrote about both albums on Albumism and Medium.
Absolutely! I would be totally down for that.
Speed demon is a classic hard hitting instrumental kinda powerful but the lyrix jus don't resonate well
I agree. I don't really dislike the lyrics but I don't love them either. They're just sort of there for me.
Bad has a more commercial sound than Thriller if that makes sense.
That makes total sense to me. Thanks for watching and for the comment :)
Bad
That's our pick too. Hopefully you enjoyed the points we made between the two albums.
Bad is better than thriller
We agree