Customer Reviews

The Jacksons Live

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having seen this concert live at NYC's Madison Square Garden back in 1981, it just brings back so many good memories to hear it coming through my stereo. It was a truly magical night - teen singing sensation Stacy Lattisaw was the opening act, and I was lucky enough to be seated behind Katherine Jackson, the mother of the guys, little sister Janet Jackson, and comedian Nipsey Russell. The excitement of that evening can definitely be felt coming through on this recording. There was so much energy in the guys' performance, and although it was pretty much the Michael Jackson show (he brought down the house when he sang "She's Out of My Life" and asked "Can I come down there?"), it was plain to see that all of these guys were born to entertain. All of the brothers had the audience going crazy. One of the happiest moments of my life was being in the audience that night to witness this concert, because it was an unforgettable experience! If you are a Jackson fan, you MUST own this!!!

A collection and melodies of classic hits. A Jackson fan cannot go wrong with this. And because it is live...it is even better. You hear the crowd but the crowd doesn't drown out Michael and his brothers.

A wonderful collection...a must have...

This album is technically a Jacksons' release, but as evident by the songs included, it is really Michael's show. Of the album's thirteen tracks, five of them are from Michael's Off The Wall album (a sixth solo song, the chestnut "Ben" is also included) and the remaining tracks are dominated by his presence. This isn't a bad thing as the album provides early proof of the electricity Michael could create from the stage. The remaining Jackson brothers are no slouches either as they provide perfect harmonies and vocals while leading us through a mostly uptempo selection of songs like the blazing "The Things I Do For You" and a funky "Lovely One". A real treat is to hear the band dive into the vaults for a rousing medley of "I Want You Back/ABC/The Love You Save" and a sweet "I'll Be There".

Overall, this is one of the best live albums I've ever owned. If you are a fan of the Jacksons, Michael Jackson, the Jackson 5, of whatever other variation, the you will enjoy this. From "Can you Feel It" to "Shake Your Body Down to the Ground", you will find one of the best collections of Jacksons hits - all sung live. You will dance to "Heartbreak Hotel" and feel like your heart is breaking with "She's Out of My Life". You can listen to this the entire way from beginning to end and enjoy every little moment in between. The only drawback is that, when listening to it, you will wish you could see everything as well.

I have had this Set for so long.I think this set Captures the Group at it's Artistic peak,however you can see the shift with Michael Coming fully into His own&that alone is what kinda seperates the vibe going on here.but overall this is a Real Good Set.I would have given this set a 5 if it were a two disc set and if it included more songs from "Destiny","Triumph"&songs like "Let me Show you the Way to Go"&Michael's "You Can't Win" from the Wiz.I think playing it too safe hurts the Set a bit.we all know the Hits are coming but if they made this a Double Set&thrown in more newer Material then this would have been a ELite Live Set.still it's really Good to me nevertheless.and after seeing the Michael 30 Year Tribute Show last Year it's time for a updated Live set with MJ&Family.

As soon as thls CD arrlved l tossed away my old vlnyl album, put lt on and l jammed ya'll! From the openlng blast of the fantastlc band wlth those psycho sound effects l was transported back to 1981 on the Jacksons' "Trlumph" Tour, l felt llke l was rlght there ln the front row, caught up llke the rest of the audlence ln the maglc of MJ and the the Jacksons. l LOVE to dance, and as l grooved to "Can You Feel lt", "Thlngs l Do For You", and "Off The Wall" (dlfferent sound wlth the brothers backlng hlm up, but MJ was ln command...PERFECTlON!)l closed my eyes and lost myself ln the crowd. "Ben", means tlme to run and get a cold soda and catch my breath. "Thls Place Hotel", one of my favorltes, me and MJ got lt golng on! "She's Out Of My Llfe"...OMG! Hls VOlCE ls sendlng shlvers up and down my splne, he asks, "can l come down there?" and he's looklng rlght at me, l see the sweat on hls brow and the tears ln hls eyes, l reach out to comfort hlm as he passes by on hls way back onto the stage. He drops to hls knees and we're all golng crazy 'cause hls volce cuts through our emotlons llke a knlfe..."Mlchael, we love you!" and when he sobs that last note tears are streamlng from my eyes too. l hurry and get myself together because here comes the part where they go back and forth about the old songs vs. Mlchael's new songs. Mlchael looks and sounds so ANNOYED, thls ls another more adult, domlneerlng slde of hlm, but he glves ln to hls brothers and to us, the audlence. The old songs brlng back such wonderful memorles, so of course we want to hear them Mlchael! "l Want You Back", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Got To Be There". And then as l go through the dance steps to "l Want You Back", "ABC", and "Stop The Love You Save" l'm taken back to the evenlng of June 19, 1970 when l saw them for the flrst tlme at the Cow Palace ln San Franclsco. And all thelr other shows ln the 70's ln San Franclsco, Oakland, and San Carlos that l attended. Mlchael was a young teenager then and l remember how scared he looked when all the screamlng glrls stormed the stage and he and hls brothers had to run off the stage. And now here they are, grown up and successful beyond bellef. 23-year old Mlchael takes us on home wlth the so sexy "Rock Wlth You", hls volce and showmanshlp are whlpplng us lnto a frenzy, he has us ln hls grlp, and every "whoooo", "he-he", scat, call back & forth wlth hls brothers (Tlto ls cuttlng up on the gultar and drums, Jackle ls struttln' round wlth hls shlrt off showlng off hls washboard abs, Randy ls glvlng a shout out to every clty but the one they're ln) and the audlence has us up and danclng to the 6:28 mlnute "Lovely One", 6:53 mlnute "Worklng Day and Nlght", 4:22 mlnute "Don't Stop 'Tll You Get Enough" and the flnale, 8:34 mlnutes of let's dance, shout, "Shake Your Body Down To The Ground". As the Jacksons take thelr bows and sald thank you and good-bye, the audlence sounds just as hot and sweaty and tlred as the performers (l sure am) as they scream thelr love and appreclatlon for 67:33 mlnutes of SMOKlNG HOT entertalnment by one of the most popular groups ln pop muslc led by the greatest front man ln the WORLD! WOOOOOW! Back down to earth!

People, even lf you don't have such a vlvld lmaglnatlon, lf you call yourself a Mlchael Jackson or Jacksons or Jackson 5 fan, then you slmply MUST add thls tape to your collectlon. Thls ls from when Mlchael's volce was ln top form, he was sooooo BEAUTlFUL, sooo TALENTED. Oh, and hls brothers aln't too shabby elther, backlng Mlchael wlth style and gusto. Grab a cool drlnk, put lt on and "GROOOOVE, let the maglc ln the muslc get to you". Too bad there lsn't a dvd, 'cause lt certalnly would have sold more than the 2 mll. coples worldwlde that thls album dld. The prlce ls rlght, Amazon's servlce ls great as usual, and the only problem l have ls wonderlng whether my tape ls defectlve because lt sklps all over the place playlng the selectlons out of order. Has anyone else had that problem?

I had actually purchased this after hearing about the sudden loss of the King of Pop! This was recorded during the Triumph Tour in two cities (from what I believe) and a really great live album! Here's the setlist:
1. Intro/Can You Feel It - A nice way to start the show. The intro is very reminiscent of Earth, Wind, & Fire!
2. Things I Do For You - I never really knew this song existed until I saw MJ perform it on the Bad Tour in Japan. I enjoy the live version over the original.
3. Off The Wall - one of my favorite songs! Michael takes control while his brothers are singing background.
4. Ben - I have to admit that I didn't really care too much for the song, but after hearing this version I immediately enjoyed it! Michael's vocals are amazing!!
5. This Place Hotel (a.k.a. Heartbreak Hotel) - The Jacksons perform this haunting jam from the Triumph album.
6. She's Out Of My Life - Mike takes control as you can feel the emotion of the song as he's singing.
7. Movie & Rap with Excerpts from I Want You Back/Never Can Say Goodbye/Got To Be There - Basically, a movie is playing of the Jackson 5 performing I Want You Back. Michael stops the movie & wants to perform the songs from the Triumph album while Randy sings some lines from Never Can Say Goodbye & Got To Be There urging Mike to perform the old school hits! Mike doesn't, but his brothers urge him to perform the Jackson 5 material for the fans!
8. Motown Medley: I Want You Back/ABC/The Love You Save - The Jacksons performing the classic motown medley
9. I'll Be There
10. Rock With You - Mike kicks off the classic yelling "I think I wanna Rock!" Another one of my favorites as Mike takes center stage!
11. Lovely One - The Jacksons perform Lovely One from the Triumph album. Not one of my favorites, but it's worth listening to & very reminiscent of "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)."
12. Workin' Day & Night - A great song from Mike's solo album Off The Wall. Once again, Mike is in control!
13. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Mike performs the first single from his Off The Wall album.
14. Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) - the finale of the concert as the Jacksons perform an extended version of the song & thank the fans for coming out!
Overview: A great live album from the Jacksons that's definitely worth the money! If you're a fan of Michael or any of the Jacksons, this album is a keepsake!
RIP Michael Jackson: Forever the King of Pop!

I was very glad that I purchased this unique material because I had it when I was young and I lost it. I was happy when I found it on Amazon.com! This CD is a must have for everyone who likes MJ and the live version of the songs is even better than the original cd version!

Thousands of fans spent one or more special evenings in the company of Michael,Jermaine,Marlon,Jackie and Tito Jackson. The brothers were promoting their TRIUMPH album and Michael was promoting his solo megahit OFF THE WALL. Listeners,present or not at these performances,can get down and get funky to songs like CAN YOU FEEL IT and THIS PLACE HOTEL from TRIUMPH and ROCK WITH YOU,WORKING DAY AND NIGHT and the title track from OTW. Michael had just risen to fame as a solo performer although he had a few solo hits prior to OFW. Jermaine was enjoying success as a solo performer also. Get down and funky also to SHAKE YOUR BODY DOWN TO THE GROUND from 1978's DESTINY. There's also a few Jackson 5 hits such as I'LL BE THERE. BEN,Michael's inaugural solo hit,would be recycled for the 2003 compilation,NUMBER ONES. If you heard and loved the Bee Gees' ONE NIGHT ONLY,you'll love this album! So play this one and SHAKE YOUR BODY DOWN TO THE GROUND!

I wish I could see this whole concert on dvd or tv or something,because by the way it sounds on cd,it sounded like it turned out really good. The opening intro to Can You Feel It is a great way for the brothers to come out and sing. All of the "fast" songs are....well....fast paced as I noticed that the beat to Can You Feel It sounds almost like a church song ('scuse me Lord). While the songs,"Things I Do For You" and "Off The Wall" go hand-in-hand pretty good together on this album,it's a suprise to me that Michael slips a little on his performance of "Ben",i think they should've put either "Push Me Away" or the remixed version of "Blame It On The Boogie" (which is a really really good remix by the way). "Heartbreak Hotel" is also on here but it doesn't sound as good as it does on the Triumph album or the later live version that Michael did on the 1987 Bad Tour - but oh well. The funniest moment on this album is when Michael sings "She's Out Of My Life" and you can hear the ladies just lose their minds and slide right out of their panties when he gets closer to the edge of the stage and cries. Whether it was staged or not,Michael Jackson knows how to entertain his fans anyway he can. Then they go into a brief argument about the old days and interact with crowd as well. I was suprised to even hear Tito Jackson do an outburst cause he seems so quiet. After the brothers bicker with Michael,they finally break into the infamous J5 Medley of "I Want You Back","ABC","The Love You Save",and "I'll Be There". But in this medley (which you get to hear for the first time) Michael and Marlon do the vocal trade just like Michael and Jermaine use to do in the early years. Marlon Jackson does a good job of not trying to sound like Jermaine in the medley and pretty much holds his own on it. After "I'll Be There" comes the best version of "Rock With You" I've ever heard. Thanks to the extended ending on the song where Tito,Marlon,Jackie,and Randy follow Michael's ever-changing lead in the ending until he decides to hold a note for a little bit then runs behind his microphone stand to breakout another good follow-up song to "Rock With You" - the infectious "Lovely One". This is absolutely THE BEST done over single on the Live album. The album - to my suprise - begins to slack up when the brothers do "Working Day and Night" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough",I'm not sure why but it just didn't sound fitting,but hey feel free to disagree with me. Finally,we reach the end of the album as the brothers close the show out with "Shake Your Body Down To The Ground",and then it's time to say goodbye to all their company. T-H-E J-A-C-K-S-O-N-S,GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY!!!