It was the start of a new era.
Jackson's 7th solo album, Bad was the catalyst in his remarkable transformation. As the highly anticipated (and long awaited) follow-up to the Thriller album, the LP, and Jackson himself had an enormous standard to live up to.
First, the 29-year old icon debuted a brand new physical appearance. The last time the world saw him, he was fighting off evil forces in outer space in the made-for-Disney short film "Captain EO." That had been a year in the past when MJ still (mostly) resembled his Thriller-era self, with the exception of slightly lighter skin. Now with the release of Bad, his skin had taken on an even lighter hue, his curled hair was now shoulder length and of course, he now sported a much talked about cleft in his chin. Personally, I was very enthusiastic about Michael's new appearance when I first saw it back then and I now see it as another inventive aspect of his singular style.
The best part of MJ's new look was his hip, street-styled attire. Gone were the sparkly glove and jackets that was his signature style during "Era Thriller," and "in" was multiple belts, buckles and boots. Fitting in with the theme of the new album's title track, Jackson certainly took on a pseudo-"bad" persona.
The lead single from the LP, a syrupy duet with Siedah Garrett called, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," had been released nearly two months prior to the full release and built on the public's thirst for a new MJ offering. Since it had been almost five full years since his last album, interest was sky high.
Naturally, Michael delivered.
Massive support for Bad was achieved with the outrageously successful "Bad World Tour" which began in September '87 and continued all the way until January '89. This is when Michael truly became a global figure of reverence as it was his first tour as a solo artist. Crowds all around the planet were mesmerized by his dancing, singing and overall showmanship and the gigantic press it garnered expanded his popularity to even more unthinkable heights. Pepsi Co., who sponsored the tour and had enjoyed a very successful partnership with Jackson since 1983, even produced a series of television ads complete with special effects, story-line and cliffhangers. This was yet another example of the legendary creativity that was a hallmark of Michael Jackson's special qualities as an entertainer.
Jackson, in addition to the 10-track album (11 tracks on the CD), released 7 highly memorable short films for their respective songs as well as an autobiography in spring 1988 called, "Moonwalk." He later released a VHS anthology film entitled, "Moonwalker" which featured an extended version of the short film for "Smooth Criminal." He was certainly the most ambitious, imaginative entertainer in the world at this time and I gained a new level of admiration for his work.
Of course, the seismic achievements of Bad's predecessor Thriller could never be topped, not even by Jackson himself, at least in terms of sheer numbers. But in terms of scope and substance, nearly everything about the Bad era at least challenged (and in some cases surpassed) the Thriller era. No, the album didn't sell 100 million copies worldwide like Michael had hoped. No, it didn't dominate the awards shows the way Thriller did (and with the enormous surge in public interest in hip-hop at that time, how could it?). What it did do, however, was take the evolution of a classic entertainer to even greater heights of artistic craftsmanship. It also raised the bar in the industry and proved once again that Michael Jackson was a peerless visionary of the highest order.
What a legacy.
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