Michael Jackson's live recordings capture something the studio could not fully contain: the physical, almost confrontational electricity of a performer who had synthesised fifty years of popular entertainment into a single act. Drawn from three landmark broadcasts — the Bad World Tour's opening nights in Yokohama in September 1987, a landmark performance at the 30th Grammy Awards in New York in March 1988, and the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show at the Rose Bowl in January 1993 — this collection traces the arc of an artist at the summit of his powers. From the explosive opening of 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' to the closing authority of 'Billie Jean,' Greatest Hits Live documents the work of a musician who, across Thriller, Off the Wall, and Bad, produced arguably the most sustained run of commercially and critically significant pop records of the twentieth century.
Side One
1. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ 5.10 *
2. Rock With You 4.01 *
3. The Way You Make Me Feel 3.08 **
4. Human Nature 4.26 *
5. She’s Out Of My Life 4.18 *
6. Black or White 2.44 ***
7. Off The Wall 3.39 *
Side Two
1. Man In The Mirror 6.22 **
2. Thriller 4.14 *
3. Bad 6.04 *
4. Beat It 6.26 *
5. Billie Jean 6.07 *
* Yokohama Stadium, Japan on September 27th 1987, broadcast by Nippon TV
** Grammy Awards, Radio City Music Hall, New York City on March 2nd 1988, broadcast by NBC-TV
*** Super Bowl, Rose Ball, Pasadena, California on January 31st 1993, broadcast by NBC-TV