BAD Tour 1987 get's overlooked a lot

[Robbsaber01]

I think the ‘87 leg is extraordinary in terms of vocals, but ultimately the lackluster set list prevents me from ever wanting to revisit it. Quite literally recycling the Victory tour setup and throwing two songs on the end? Pft.

For me the setlist doesnt bother me that much. His performance more then makes up for it. He had the best vocals/energy in the first leg.

We all know he didnt want to do victory tour so I think he wanted to "get it right" the second time around. The sound was better, the choreography was also improved. He made it his own.

I'd still kill for Brisbane in full even though __ is in it. The first half of that show is solid. The crowd is engaged, full of energy etc. Bille Jean, Beat it, Bad with stevie wonder is just a bonus.

Osaka & Tokyo both need new rips to surface please lol.

 

[staywild23]

I'm 27 minutes in.... INCREDIBLE

@MJbr2 the vocals on Workin Day or Night are OMGGG!!!!

I'm not going to lie....watching MJ is a distraction from his vocals sometimes. At least for me lol. I mean a welcome and wonderful distraction, of course. But my point is just focusing on the incredible vocals right now is such an enormous treat.

 

[MJbr2]

@MJbr2 the vocals on Workin Day or Night are OMGGG!!!!

I'm not going to lie....watching MJ is a distraction from his vocals sometimes. At least for me lol. I mean a welcome and wonderful distraction, of course. But my point is just focusing on the incredible vocals right now is such an enormous treat.

Vocals on the 87 leg were solid, somewhat raspier than Victory some might say, but still great, especially if you consider the man had been touring non-stop for 20+ years.

 

[staywild23]

Vocals on the 87 leg were solid, somewhat raspier than Victory some might say, but still great, especially if you consider the man had been touring non-stop for 20+ years.

I really didn't notice the rasp. But I love that quality in his voice anyway, so I would never see that as a downside. Honestly, his vocals drive me crazy... I have zero criticisms. These vocals are making me lose my mind in the best possible way! No need to qualify them

 

[staywild23]

Vocals on the 87 leg were solid, somewhat raspier than Victory some might say, but still great, especially if you consider the man had been touring non-stop for 20+ years.

Ok, I promise I will stop live updating you on my feelings...

but his little giggle fit at 1:24:50 makes this ENTIRE listening experience worthwhile. I am slayed with love

 

[MJbr2]

Ok, I promise I will stop live updating you on my feelings...

but his little giggle fit at 1:24:50 makes this ENTIRE listening experience worthwhile. I am slayed with love

Feel free to update as much as you want. I love it!

 

[zinniabooklover]

For me the setlist doesnt bother me that much. His performance more then makes up for it. He had the best vocals/energy in the first leg.

We all know he didnt want to do victory tour so I think he wanted to "get it right" the second time around. The sound was better, the choreography was also improved. He made it his own.

I'd still kill for Brisbane in full even though __ is in it. The first half of that show is solid. The crowd is engaged, full of energy etc. Bille Jean, Beat it, Bad with stevie wonder is just a bonus.

Osaka & Tokyo both need new rips to surface please lol.

All of this.

 

[zinniabooklover]

Vocals on the 87 leg were solid, somewhat raspier than Victory some might say, but still great, especially if you consider the man had been touring non-stop for 20+ years.

This gets ignored way too much. That plus the lung inflammation.

I'm not making excuses. I'm hardcore about live vocals which is why I have zero interest in HWT. Don't much care for DWT, either. But these two factors (amongst others) surely must have some bearing on how his vocal performance changed so much (yes, yes, dancing etc).


"... somewhat raspier than Victory some might say,"

I see this crops up quite a lot on the board. Can't get my head around it but then my main thing is rock music so a 'raspy' (which I would argue with as a description) vocal delivery or sound doesn't bother me.

 

[MJbr2]

"... somewhat raspier than Victory some might say,"

I see this crops up quite a lot on the board. Can't get my head around it but then my main thing is rock music so a 'raspy' (which I would argue with as a description) vocal delivery or sound doesn't bother me.

They're not as clean, but it also doesn't bother me at all. I'm also a Queen fan and bear with Freddie's voice disintegrating during their 1979 tour, after his nodules started to kick in. MJs vocals compared to that are perfectly fine.

 

[zinniabooklover]

They're not as clean, but it also doesn't bother me at all.

OK. I think this is 1) bc I'm not a singer or musician so I have a completely 'pleb' understanding of music, lol. Which I am perfectly happy with, btw. Plus, 2) rock music is my first love and although there are def lots of different voices and vocal styles, a (male) rock singer is usually gonna have a different type of delivery than, say, Johnny Mathis. So when Michael does his rock songs, his different style of delivery will register with me but I don't try to drill down into *how* much it differs from, oh I dunno, LIML or PYT.

I'm also a Queen fan and bear with Freddie's voice disintegrating during their 1979 tour, after his nodules started to kick in.

Yeah, rock singers do beat up their voices more than most. Tbh, although I love, love, LOVE the rock songs Michael did, I'm not sure he did himself any favours. Maybe I did pay more attention than I thought, lol. I wouldn't be without those songs where his voice is 'rougher' but I have sometimes wondered if he was overstraining his precious voice. Since I'm not a musician I have no way of knowing, it's just an idle thought. Just to be clear, if he *was* overworking his voice, I'm not criticising him for that. If that's the decision he made as an artist, I'm OK with that. My job is to buy the music and enjoy it.

MJs vocals compared to that are perfectly fine.

Indeed.

 

[NeoGardiV8]

They're not as clean, but it also doesn't bother me at all. I'm also a Queen fan and bear with Freddie's voice disintegrating during their 1979 tour, after his nodules started to kick in. MJs vocals compared to that are perfectly fine.

Lol voice disintegrating, i don't know why that sounded funny haha

 

[MJbr2]

Lol voice disintegrating, i don't know why that sounded funny haha

Bro, it's painful. People who bitch about Wembley 14/07 should really listen to that.

 

[Hess]

I like the 87 leg very much. - Especially I enjoy Off The Wall live. - He never sang that again live after 87 did he? - Not counting the medley during HIStory tour.

Energy and vocals was insane in 1987. - Had the setlist just been like 1988 or 1989 it would have been perfect. But I actually really like the fact that the set-list changed so much during the tour. - I would have liked that to continue for his later tours. - That way it was not just the same all the time.

 

[MJbr2]

He never sang that again live after 87 did he? - Not counting the medley during HIStory tour.

No, sir.

But I actually really like the fact that the set-list changed so much during the tour. - I would have liked that to continue for his later tours. - That way it was not just the same all the time.

Actually, the setlist did change only once.

Only the order of some tracks changed throughout the 1988/89 tour: Human Nature and Smooth Criminal were initially placed between Another Part of Me and I Just Can't Stop Loving You, then replaced between Rock With You and Dirty Diana for the EU leg and brought back to the initial arrangement for the final US leg.

 

[8th wonder]

Energy and vocals was insane in 1987. - Had the setlist just been like 1988 or 1989 it would have been perfect.

The Bad tour concerts at Madison Square Garden were a good mix of the vocals & energy levels from the 1st leg & the setlist lighting, staging, outfits & dancing from the 2nd leg. They were also 95% live & used higher keys for some songs. Many people consider those concerts to be the best Michael ever did.

 

[Hess]

The Bad tour concerts at Madison Square Garden were a good mix of the vocals & energy levels from the 1st leg & the setlist lighting, staging, outfits & dancing from the 2nd leg. They were also 95% live & used higher keys for some songs. Many people consider those concerts to be the best Michael ever did.

This concert is the one where MJ kissed Tattiana (or what her name is) right? That's like the dream concert to have released. - If I remember correct even SC was sung live, right?

 

[MJbr2]

This concert is the one where MJ kissed Tattiana (or what her name is) right? That's like the dream concert to have released. - If I remember correct even SC was sung live, right?

MJ did three shows at the MSG: March 3, 5 and 6.

The kiss happened on the first night.
The Dirty Diana live video we have is also from the first night.
From the second night, there's the HQ audience audio recording shared by MJBeats years ago.

Yes, SC was sung live and, by the way, not only that. During the 1st US leg of the tour (Feb 23 in Kansas to May 6 in Minneapolis), everything but Man in the Mirror was sung live.
However, Michael suffered from a flu/laryngitis that messed up his vocals from mid-March to mid-April (and even caused some dates to be cancelled). So, a good portion of these sacred shows are not different to the EU leg in terms of his vocal condition.

 

[SmoothCriminal1995]

MSG 88, is the holy grail for concerts

I love the 87 leg, espicially the Japanese leg of the tour. MJ looked like he was back with a vengeance, his moves were more slick, the stage design was bigger, his voice was stronger.

He had so much stage presence in the 87 leg, Human Nature live is a phenomenal example of this because it's just him performing, no routines, no set choreography, he's just feeling it. Truly captivating to watch

I love the 1988 leg and would love to see more shows but the 87 leg feels like the last time MJ really allowed himself to be free and loose on stage. Everything after this was like precision clockwork after early 88.

 

[8th wonder]

There's a snippet of The Way You Make Me Feel being sung live in Kansas and of course a snippet of Tatiana kissing Michael in NYC. In addition to Dirty Diana we also have the performance of Another Part Of Me and snippets of This Place Hotel & Man In The Mirror from the 1st night.

MSG seems to have the best performances of Smooth Criminal, Dirty Diana, Thriller, The Way You Make Me Feel & possibly Human Nature. Also love the performance of Another Part Of Me (but to be fair the faster tempo used later on was an improvement). Overall it seems to be Michael's best concert.

Unfortunately after MSG Michael was sick for a while but the vocals in the 1st Minneapolis concert sound promising.

 

[zinniabooklover]

I love the 87 leg, espicially the Japanese leg of the tour. MJ looked like he was back with a vengeance, his moves were more slick, the stage design was bigger, his voice was stronger.

He had so much stage presence in the 87 leg, Human Nature live is a phenomenal example of this because it's just him performing, no routines, no set choreography, he's just feeling it. Truly captivating to watch

All of this. Captivating is the word.

... the 87 leg feels like the last time MJ really allowed himself to be free and loose on stage. Everything after this was like precision clockwork after early 88.

I agree. I find it kinda sad. Was it the 1993 thing? Or was the 1992 leg of DWT already different? I haven't watched very much DWT so I can't make the comparison. Something changed. He became more contained. Which makes sense if it only happened after the 1993 allegations. But if it happened before that ... I'm at a loss to understand. I know the DWT schedule was more punishing. They didn't have as much free time. Not sure if that plays a part.

 

[dethorro]

MJ did three shows at the MSG: March 3, 5 and 6.

The kiss happened on the first night.

That’s what I used to believe as well. However, after reading some newspaper articles mentioning the kiss happening on the 6th, I’m more inclined to believe that it happened on the last night.

I know the date in the Spike Lee documentary says March 3rd, and I know that was the general consensus for so long, however we have to keep in mind that there are quite a few wrong dates in the Spike Lee documentaries.

 

[MJbr2]

That’s what I used to believe as well. However, after reading some newspaper articles mentioning the kiss happening on the 6th, I’m more inclined to believe that it happened on the last night.

I know the date in the Spike Lee documentary says March 3rd, and I know that was the general consensus for so long, however we have to keep in mind that there are quite a few wrong dates in the Spike Lee documentaries.

I'm based on a NY Times article about the first night that mentions both the kiss and Steve Stevens appearance on Dirty Diana.