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Michael Jackson: Bad 25th Anniversary Deluxe (Bassists: Nathan East, Don Boyette)
RICK’S PICKS: Michael Jackson: Bad 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (MJJ/Epic Records) / Bassists: Nathan East, Don Boyette
The Album: The essence of Michael Jackson’s solo career is his trilogy of work with Quincy Jones, where in less than a decade they unleashed three wildly successful albums on the world: Off The Wall, Thriller (the biggest seller in history) and Bad. This week sees the release of the 25th anniversary edition of Bad, a box set that includes an additional bonus CD of demos and remixes, and a DVD of Jackson’s 1988 sold out concert at London’s Wembley Stadium at the height of Michael-mania.
Perhaps emboldened by the success of his own songwriting on Off The Wall and Thriller, Jackson seemed intent on writing the entire Bad album himself. What he failed to realize was that his previous writing worked so well because it was heard in full-album context with other songs written by some of the best in the business. Therefore, while Wall and Thriller featured a full six tunes written by Rod Temperton, and a bunch more by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Quincy Jones and others, that successful formula was all but missing on Bad, and the result was a fairly one-dimensional sounding album. Yes it did sell 8 million copies, and musically it certainly has its moments– “Man In The Mirror” (one of only two songs on Bad that Michael didn’t write) remains one of his best ever– one could argue that Michael could have sequeled Thriller with a CD of white noise and still reached platinum status. It would seem Quincy took a backseat for this outing, perhaps understandably so considering MJ’s global explosion at the time, but artistically questionable in hindsight.
Sonically, the new Bad 25 offers a well-done remastered version of the original, yet for all it’s clarity and punch there is a still a rather dated quality to the heavy synth and drum machine arrangements. A nice surprise is the additional CD of bonus tracks, as we hear unreleased songs in various stages of completion that Jackson had been working on for possible inclusion on Bad. These too are all written by Michael, but his songs like “Free”, “Abortion Papers” and “I’m So Blue”, had they been finished, probably would have been better choices than several of the songs that appear on the original. There are also three brand new remixes, the best of which is a “Bad” remix by AfroJack featuring Pitbull. Of course, what’s a dance mix without Pitbull these days, but to hear him on a 25 year-old Michael Jackson track is truly something else indeed.
The real bonus of this deluxe set is the DVD concert at Wembley. The show was taped in July 1988, in the middle of MJ’s 16-month global tour in support of Bad. The concert is filmed well, the audio is excellent thanks to the original multi-track recording of this show and the 5.1 audio version included in this release. Michael and his band are on fire (no, not Coke-commercial fire), and the concert is a spectacular event, as the gang run through songs from every era of Michael’s career from early Jackson 5 hits to the then-current radio staples of Bad.
The Bassists: Synth bass dominates here, with much of the work expertly handled by Greg Phillinganes. Only one track uses bass guitar, which is “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, and as always Nathan East offers a perfect supporting low end performance. The Wembley DVD features bassist Don Boyette, and he delivers big time. Boyette also gets the opportunity to stretch out for an extended solo midway through the set, as the band takes a 10-minute jam while Michael is backstage for a wardrobe change.
Best New Tracks: “Abortion Papers”, “Don’t Be Messin Round”, “Free”, Bad remix (Afrojack feat. Pitbull).
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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