Recently I read that I am not alone in this opinion! The writer and cultural critic Joe Vogel has characterized it as "a hidden gem" on the album "Bad", and found also other reasons why this song is not only beautiful, but also meaningful. Here an exerpt from his article "Michael jackson - Man in the music part 3"
(Source http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-vogel/michael-jackson-man-in-th_b_222860.html)
Liberian Girl -- (from Bad)
Once Jackson has successfully sped the listener out of society's world of control, discrimination, hypocrisy and limitations [in "Speed Demon"], we are suddenly transported into the faraway, primal jungles of Africa. The juxtaposition is striking (and quite bold and artistic for an album accused of being commercially calculated). The sounds shift from mechanical to natural as the noises of engines dissolve into the distant cries of birds and animals. For Jackson, this imagined Africa seems to represent a purer, simpler, richer world. It is as if he is returning to the birthplace of music's origins to explore what it can teach us, to recover some essence that has been lost. In this way, "Liberian Girl" seems to be as much a love song to Africa and what it signifies as it is to any one woman.
The song begins with the beautiful Swahili intro (spoken by Letta Mbulu), "Naku penda piya, naku taka piya--mpenziwe (which translates: "I love you too, I want you too--my love). The lush arrangements, including deep drum sounds and exotic instruments, beautifully support Jackson's passionate, yearning vocals, which are arguably his best since "Human Nature." Indeed, like "Human Nature" on Thriller (and "I Can't Help It" from Off the Wall) "Liberian Girl" is the hidden gem on Bad, often overlooked on an album of numerous well-known hits. The song is yet another "dream capsule," a cinematic fantasy in which Jackson transports the listener to a vivid paradise of possibility.
Listen to the songs referred to in the article!
