Michael Jackson ~The Complete Album Guide~

I’ve jumped way ahead with Sugar Daddy and a few other mentions, so I’ll move it along to J5’s next album ABC which was released a mere 6 months after their stunning debut. ABC produced two more #1 hits, both of which were written by The Corporation; a group of songwriters and record producers assembled in 1969 by Motown label head Berry Gordy to create hit records for the label's new act, The Jackson 5.

Any guess which two were mega hits? 😃

The Jackson 5: ABC



Release date: May 8, 1970
Billboard 200 Peak Position: #4 (12 weeks at #1 on the R&B albums chart)
Length: 35:45

1. The Love You Save (3:01)
2. One More Chance (2:59)
3. ABC (2:56)
4. 2-4-6-8 (2:55)
5. (Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need (2:46)
6. Don't Know Why I Love You (3:47)
7. Never Had A Dream Come True (2:58)
8. True Love Can Be Beautiful (3:24)
9. La-La (Means I Love You) (2:52)
10. I'll Bet You (2:26)
11. I Found That Girl (2:57)
12. The Young Folks (2:50)

Singles released:
"ABC" b/w "The Young Folks"
Release date: February 24, 1970
Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks) (4 weeks at #1 on the R&B singles chart)

"The Love You Save" b/w "I Found That Girl"
Release date: May 16, 1970
Hot 100 Peak: #1 (2 weeks) (6 weeks at #1 on the R&B singles chart)


Listen to the album here


So, after reading up on this album I’ve learned that actually the ABC album and the Temptations' album Psychadelic Shack (both from 1970) helped Motown move into the LP age and start to be taken more seriously as a label more worthy of putting out quality Long Players rather than vinyls filled with filler as vehicles for one or two hit singles, although the Marvin Gaye and Stevie albums -the albums that truly helped Motown evolve from a singles label to an albums label- were yet to happen. 

Brilliant! 😂🤣



What surprised me initially about the Steeltown material is how good it actually is and how polished J5 are by this early point. I know they had it very hard playing strip joints and clubs on the circuit but gawd they were pretty good. To think Berry Gordy wasn’t gone on the idea of signing them until he was persuaded to watch the audition tape. Imagine if J5 had never been signed by a major label and went under the radar and just stayed a group who never made it big?! 



From the same Ed Sullivan where they performed I Want You Back, a high quality version of ABC.





45 Years Ago: The Jackson 5 Release ‘ABC’ Album

By Bryan Wawzenek May 8, 2015 9:36 AM

It may have looked as easy as "ABC," but the Jackson 5 -- Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, and Tito -- were working extraordinarily hard in 1970. Immediately after scoring their debut No. 1 hit "I Want You Back" then releasing their Top 10 debut album Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, the boys from Indiana were back in the studio, toiling for the Motown factory and its constant desire for new music.

The debut LP had only hit shelves just before Christmas 1969 and "I Want You Back" had topped the charts a month later, but the Jacksons were back in February, releasing their next soon-to-be hit single. As with the band's first smash, "ABC" was written by The Corporation. This collective of writers and producers included Alphonzo Mizell, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards and Motown head honcho Berry Gordy. They would be responsible for nearly all of the brothers' big hits in the '70s.


"ABC" was crafted in the shadow of "I Want You Back," with the new single's verses loosely following the pattern of the first hit's choruses. The sound-alike qualities of the song proved only to be a benefit. Before long, the single also rose to the top of the charts, knocking the Beatles' "Let it Be" from the No. 1 spot (which has been perceived as a passing of the torch from one generation of pop stars to the next).

Of course, at the center of all of this remained the Jackson 5's lead singer. Little Michael Jackson was only 11 at the time, yet he wasn't merely a novelty. Michael sang with the conviction -- the soul -- of an adult musician, even when he was belting goofy school-related similes for romance.

On the heels of the smashing success of "ABC," the Jacksons released their second album, also titled ABC, on May 8, 1970. This release arrived just six months after their first LP. Like the group's debut, the album featured a smattering of Motown covers (as well as songs made famous by Funkadelic and the Delfonics). A listen through the 12 tracks on the project also finds their take on two Stevie Wonder songs: "Don't Know Why I Love You" and "Never Had a Dream Come True."

In addition to covers, the effort also featured a fair amount of new material from the Corporation, which has made ABC (arguably) the band's most consistent album. One of the Corporation's ditties was album-opener "The Love You Save." Michael and Jermaine shared lead vocals, while Marlon, Jackie and Tito provided the background, on the single that was released just after the album came out. It wasn't only the band's third single; it was their third No. 1.

The group's streak of hitting the top of the charts would continue through 1970, which would see the release of two more full-length Jackson 5 albums and one more blockbusting chart-topper. Jackson mania was in full force.



Read More: 45 Years Ago: The Jackson 5 Release 'ABC' Album | theboombox.com/jackson-5-abc/?trackback=tsmclip&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

One of my favorites too, I wish we had it in better quality. The Brand New Thing performance is crazy! The dance and everything. And of course Got to Be There live. Another performance that shows he was just born a genius performer.

Honestly, -and this, I believe is partly J5 fans frustration also with those who’ve not given the back catalog a proper go - Is the fact that Michael is already the full package from the moment they sign with Motown. Honestly, you can see at 11, 12 years old things he did later on as a solo performer that he was doing from the beginning because it’s just in him. He’s doing similar neck movements here he did so much of on the Bad Tour for instance, just grooving along to the rhythm. 

His sense of rhythm, timing, vocal inflection, nuance at that early stage is something that just cannot be thought. Perfected or improved perhaps, but not something any old performer can do. He’s doing things at 12 that many performers still can’t nail after decades.

His Got To Be There performance gives me chills.




The Jackson 5 First National Tour

May 2, 1970 – December 30, 1970 (United States)

14 concerts.

“The Jackson 5 embarked on their first ever tour on May 2, 1970. The brothers performed in US cities such as Daly City, Boston, Cincinnati and New York City, and broke venue attendance records along the way. One concert scheduled for Buffalo, New York had to be cancelled due to death threats being made on Michael Jackson's life. 9,000 fans were refunded as a result.”

Just look at that setlist!

"Stand!"
"I Want You Back"
"ABC"
"Feelin' Alright" (cover of the Three Dog Night version)
"Who's Lovin' You"
"I'll Be There"
"Mama's Pearl"
"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"
"Yesterday"
"Can You Remember?"
"There Was a Time"
"It's Your Thing"
"I Found That Girl"
"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
"Walk On" (Instrumental rendition of Isaac Hayes' "Walk On By")
"The Love You Save"


The Jackson 5 National Tour




Praise for ABC

“A fabulous album, arguably their best on Motown. While the debut LP established the group's sound, this one cemented it and also made it clear that Michael was going to be a huge star for a long time. His blend of gentility, soul, and innocence sparkled on the title cut and throughout the album, while the songs, production, arrangement, and musical support were superb. * * * * *”

- Ron Wynn, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.



“Released between the Golden Age of Soul and the funk fashions of the seventies, the Jackson 5's clean-cut image and catchier-than-thou tunes made them a very bankable part of the Motown hit machine. By the time the Jackson 5 story ran its bittersweet course, the teen heartthrobs had become a merchandiser's dream, rivaling KISS for which the seemingly endless stream of products to which they could lend their likeness, and they had racked up over a dozen Top 40 hits.

The quintet would serve as the blueprint for the likes of New Edition and Boys II Men (and later, the Backstreet Boys and 'NSync), helping usher in an era where black pop bands were just as acceptable and triumphant as their blue-eyed counterparts.

ABC was voted the 98th greatest album of all time in a VH1 poll of over 700 musicians, songwriters, disc jockeys, radio programmers, and critics in 2003.”

- Nevin Martell, VH1's 100 Greatest Albums, 2003.



“Five months after their December 1969 full-length debut Diana Ross presents the Jackson 5, the Jacksons return with some of the best material Motown's legendary in-house writing and production crew had to offer: the full-bodied funk of the title track; the groovy, George Clinton-penned "I'll Bet You"; the playful schoolyard-love jam "2 4 6 8." Though it may seem odd in retrospect to think of a 12-year-old singing songs of romantic passion and yearning, Michael does so here with astonishing emotional conviction. A”

- Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly, 7/10/09.

I definitely have no problem with any of the early stuff. I was lucky enough to find some vinyl copies of Diana Ross Presents and ABC and was relieved to find how cheap they are (Each album cost $10 our money) and appeared to be original Motown stock from 1970 (The sleeves had ads promoting other releases of the era). The albums are a lot better than I thought, the filler is decent and young Michael shows his versatility in the other cuts. If it helps I love the song "Standing in the Shadows of Love", the J5 version is good, but you need to hear the Four Tops original from 1966 (Levi Stubbs sang the shit out of that song - "Whhattt did I dooo, to mmaakkee you want to leave?").

That was Motown, a lot of their artists had to sing a bunch of standards before they got some new shit of their own. People always go on about how the J5 got exploited, maybe - but there would be no solo Michael Jackson or Jacksons if it wa snot for them. Motown made them stars, Motown gave them that exposure they would never have got. Remember this was a Black company serving Black artists.

Ok guys......

In the same fashion as The Jackson 5’s first ten months at Motown, I’m swiftly moving on to the next album. The Third Album was released right on the heels of ABC, meaning J5 released their first three albums all in less than 10 months!! That’s right!! Three. Albums. In. Less. Than. Ten. Months!! Having said that, The Beatles happened within eight years, so these were prolific times. And The Jackson 5 were now competing with The Beatles having knocked them off the #1 spot a few times! What a difference a year makes! Or in this case, 10 months!!

Add to that their first national tour while recording some of the tracks for this album. From what I understand, The Corporation wrote and gathered thirty tracks between the ABC and Third Album, so after the phenomenal run of Diana Presents and ABC, and the unprecedented demand for more Michael & Co, it only made sense to use the remaining tracks and release a “Third Album’!

I see the Steeltown recordings, and the first 3 Motown albums plus The Christmas Album -we’ll get to it- as Phase One of Michael Mania! These albums were part of Motown’s rejuvenation at the beginning of a new and exciting decade ahead where albums would take precedence over 45 singles and The Jackson 5 for a time were Motown’s most exciting and bankable stars whose faces adorned everything from lunch boxes to breakfast cereals, and eventually -in 1972- a cartoon series that Michael Jackson adored and watched religiously. But that’s jumping ahead.

The Jackson 5: Third Album


Release date: September 8, 1970
Billboard 200 Peak Position: #4 (#1 R&B albums)
Length: 37:23

1. I'll Be There (3:59)
2. Ready Or Not (Here I Come) (2:34)
3. Oh How Happy (2:16)
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water (5:52)
5. Can I See You In The Morning (3:09)
6. Goin' Back To Indiana (3:32)
7. How Funky Is Your Chicken? (2:41)
8. Mama's Pearl (3:09)
9. Reach In (3:28)
10. The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage (4:22)
11. Darling Dear (2:40)

Singles released:
"I'll Be There" b/w "One More Chance"
Release date: August 28, 1970
Hot 100 Peak Position: #1 (5 weeks) (#1 R&B singles, 6 weeks)

"Mama's Pearl" b/w "Darling Dear"
Release date: January 7, 1971
Hot 100 Peak Position: #2

Listen to the album here



From Wikipedia
“Third Album featured the group's fourth consecutive No. 1 single on the US pop charts, "I'll Be There", the Top 5 single, "Mama's Pearl", and album tracks such as the semi-autobiographical "Goin' Back to Indiana", and "Darling Dear". The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard album charts and No. 1 on the R&B album charts and also No. 1 on Cashbox. This is considered one of their best efforts and is their most successful album to date. It sold over 6 million copies worldwide.”





I LOVE this album! My favourite tracks are all the obvious ones; I’ll Be There, Going Back To Indiana, Mama’s Pearl, and the magnificent Delfonics track “Ready Or Not (Here I Come)” which was a favourite of mine from the 90’s when The Fugees released their version as a single from their album The Score. Mind you, The Fugees ended up having to pay Irish singer Enya royalties because they sampled her track Boadicea. But it’s one of my favourite 90’s tracks nonetheless.

Although Third Album follows the same magic formula as Diana Ross Presents and ABC, there’s -at least in my opinion- a maturing of sound, perhaps that’s more to do with the fact that the singles are more slightly understated and not as overtly Bubblegum pop al a I Want You Back, The Love You Save and ABC, and less Disney than Zip A Dee Doo Dah which opens Diana Ross Presents.

As good a song as Bridge Over Troubled Water is, I find it slightly laboured on Third Album. It’s a Jermaine moment and he does a decent enough job but I find it’s nearly 6 minutes somewhat awkward between his 2 minute Oh How Happy and the 3 minute Can I See You In The Morning which you’re glad to have Michael back giving a soul fulled reflective vocal over a wha wha style guitar and funky bass line, with refrained backing vocals. It’s almost like a precursor to the wonderful Going Back To Indiana which lifts everything to a more upbeat level that feels closer to the first two albums than any of the first 5 tracks, and How Funky Is Your Chicken keeps up the same momentum with a rolling bass and handclaps accompanied by a playful backing vocal from Jermaine.

The first 3 J5 albums are slightly misleading if you were to judge them solely on their singles -all undeniably superb pop singles mind you- but the album tracks are a mixture of moody soul infused funky R&B that at times sound quite adult in tone.

I’ll Be There Live At The Forum 1972