Jacksons - Essential Jacksons

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Free Music Notes for Essential Jacksons

Free Music Review: Great Stuff, Too Bad All The Singles Weren't Included
Hit: 5 Stars

Having lost their Jackson 5 moniker and brother Jermaine to a solo career when they left Motown, the newly christened Jacksons - with youngest brother Randy now in the fold - were assigned to legendary Philly soul writer-producers Gamble & Huff for their first two Epic albums The Jacksons (1976) and Goin' Places (1977). These albums showcased a significant maturation in the group's sound, led by their more intricate harmonies. But aside from the snappy "Enjoy Yourself," the hits ("Show You The Way To Go," "Goin' Places," and "Find Me A Girl") are indistinctive pleasantries that could have just as easily been performed by Gamble & Huff's primary act, The O'Jays.

Starting with their third Epic album Destiny in 1978, the Jacksons - especially Michael, Jackie, and Randy - began writing and producing their own material. Destiny was, amazingly, a vast improvement over the Gamble & Huff albums. Its two hit singles "Blame It On The Boogie" and "Shake You Body" (Down To The Ground)" stand among the most potent hits of the disco era, highlighted by Michael's sunny lead vocals, smooth backgrounds from the brothers, and a supple bass line. Unlike most dance hits from the late '70s, these recordings still sound fresh today.

Michael followed up Destiny with his megastar-making solo vehicle Off The Wall in 1979. The confidence brought on by that project's success was immediately evident when he re-teamed with his brothers for Triumph in 1981. Triumph, on which Michael had a hand in writing nine of its ten tracks, was a topically diverse, sonically exciting masterpiece. The dramatic epic "This Place Hotel" - with its shrieking and slamming door sound effects - offered a small taste of the theatrics that Michael would later meld into the title track of his landmark solo album Thriller. Meanwhile, "Can You Feel It" delivered Michael's first save/improve the world anthem - a topic he would revisit on his subsequent solo projects.

After Thriller's release in 1982 made Michael one of, if not THE most famous musicians on the planet, he cut back on his musical involvement in the Jacksons. He contributed only three compositions to their slight, over-hyped 1984 album Victory that featured the return of Jermaine to the act. Victory's lead-off single "State Of Shock" - a lyrically empty riff - owed its success primarily to the vocal event pairing of Michael and Mick Jagger. It's the only recording from Victory included on this set.

With the Jacksons' next project, 1989's 2200 Jackson Street, Michael limited his participation to one track: the sweet, autobiographical title hit that featured vocal contributions from all of the Jackson siblings except the then-ostracized LaToya. It's other single, the Jermaine-led "Nothin (That Compares 2 You)" was a slice of new jack swing that recalls - far too much - producers LA & Babyface's work with Bobby Brown. Dropped by Epic after sluggish sales, 2200 Jackson Street remains the Jackson brothers last collaborative effort to date.

This Essential collection concludes with the brothers' live rendition of Michael's solo hit "Don't Stop `Til You Get Enough." Had this murky recording's spot been filled by Victory's haunting "Torture" and the Caribbean flavored "Body" (the only Epic singles excluded here), this retrospective of the most underappreciated phase of the Jacksons' illustrious career would have earned its Essential name.

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