The main concept was to highlight the new image of Michael Jackson as a tough guy, and so a white background was used so that nothing hindered his figure. In the short film for “Bad,” Michael appeared dressed in a set of trousers, a black jacket covered in belt buckles, buttons, and metal contraptions. Critics continue to swoon over how the patterned lace frames Swanson’s lips and chin. Here, Steichen employs his best techniques to great effect: strong light-dark contrasts, sharp focus, and detail. Steichen hung a piece of black lace in front of Swanson’s face near the end of a photo shoot immediately grasping Steichen’s intent, Swanson assumed the role of femme fatale, ready to pounce and devour - the lace seems too flimsy to contain her gaze, highlighting the mysterious, flimsy power of glamour itself. Steichen’s 1924 portrait of Gloria Swanson in black lace remains one of the most powerful photographs ever taken. The initial photograph chosen for the cover of Bad was inspired by a portrait of actress Gloria Swanson by famed photographer Edward Steichen. Photographer Sam Emerson was personally chosen by Michael for the album cover. On July 13, 1987, company executives at CBS met to discuss putting the final touches to Michael Jackson’s Bad album, the successor to the record-breaking and Grammy Award winning Thriller. Songs like ‘Al Capone,’ titles like that, even as working titles, show that Mike had a tremendous cinematic approach to the making of his music.” Eventually, the song was rewritten as “Smooth Criminal” and restructured into its final form. Elements of “Chicago 1945” made their way on to a subsequent track titled “Al Capone.” As Greg Phillinganes remembers: “By the time we were working on Bad, Mike’s ideas became stronger and clearer. The song traces its history back to “Chicago 1945,” a song Michael wrote in 1985 and recorded 1986. The Bad album started out its life as, Smooth Criminal, after the title of its tenth track. Following up the most successful record in the history of the music industry, however, was not an enviable task.
Three years had lapsed since the release of Thriller, and fans were waiting anxiously for the sequel. Michael Jackson began work on what would become the Bad album in 1985.
Cover Art Direction: Tony Lane & Nancy Donald
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