Just stop doggin' me around

Michael Jackson - 'Leave Me Alone' (Bad [CD version] - 1987)

‘Leave Me Alone’, is the final track off Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad….

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Let’s tackle the elephant in the room here, the song was not originally part of the global release but added later, serving as a bonus track for the CD version of Bad. This itself speaks to its particular importance, marking it as an essential appendage rather than a core statement of the album. As it was later a single and given that CDs overtook vinyl for total revenue in 1987 I’m going to call this the de facto closing track for this album. Normally writing about a CD bonus track rather than what is the last song on the vinyl record keeps me up at night, but I’m pleased that I am doing it on purpose….

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Musically, ‘Leave Me Alone’ signifies a departure from the core themes and styles that dominate Bad album. While tracks like ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ or ‘Man in the Mirror’ focus on love or the power of personal transformation, ‘Leave Me Alone’ delves into an angrier, paranoid and more confrontational tone. Produced by Quincy Jones, the song is an typical late 80s Jackson amalgamation of pop, rock, and funk, building on the winning formulae of 1982’s ‘Beat It’ It employs a complex interplay of instruments—synthesisers, guitar riffs, and horn sections—complementing Jackson's anguished and aggressive vocal delivery.