Customer Reviews

Jacksons

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There was a time, many, many years ago, long before he became known as the king of pop, when Michael Jackson was simply regarded as an incredibly gifted soul singer. He and his brothers had had several years of international success (and a bucket load of number one singles) as the Jackson 5 but as the boys grew older, they hankered for more control over their music and their destinies. Reportedly, Berry Gordy wasn't so keen on letting them have it.

So they quit Motown - sadly, Jermaine couldn't join them as he'd gone and married the boss's daughter - and with youngest brother Randy, joined CBS and changed their name to The Jacksons. CBS brought in super-producers Gamble & Huff, McFadden & Whitehead and Dexter Wansel. Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff had founded Philadelphia Records in 1971 as direct competition for Berry Gordy's Motown and in fact, had enjoyed huge success with their 'Philadelphia Soul' sound with acts like Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, The O'Jays and BillyPaul. Wansel at the time was relatively new but he made his mark on this album and also worked on the Jacksons' follow-up, "Goin' Places".

This album is the end result and it spawned the hits "Enjoy Yourself" and "Show You The Way To Go" - a tune that still gets played on my local radio station to this very day. The producers wrote all the songs, except for the beautiful mid-tempo Blues Away, which was penned my Michael Jackson himself. Other Jackson brothers shared in the lead vocals but it's always Michael's voice that rings clear and true. He and his brothers sound like they're having a really good time doing what they do. Songs like "Think Happy", "Good Times", "Living Together" and "Dreamer" are simply joyful to listen to.

This is one of the best soul records of that era and people who use albums like "Thriller" or/and anything that came after it to assess Michael's prowess as a singer have no idea. Personally, I believe it was on "Off The Wall" that he last did soul. He was one of the best soul singers of our generation and if you need proof, you need look no further than this gem. Still worth a gander after 30 years.

PS. And if you do like this, may I suggest you check out the box set, "The Philly Sound 1966 -1976: Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff". It's not cheap but it's worth every penny.

The Jackson's 1976 self-titled album was their first release for Epic records after leaving Motown. With youngest brother Randy replacing Jermaine who stayed with Motown, the band moved from the Motown production machine to the Philly Soul engineers Gamble & Huff. The band recorded the album at the famed Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and the original album actually was released on the famed Philadelphia International Records imprint. Mr. Gamble & Mr. Huff provide a more mature sound with their trademark lush orchestration. The album's opener and first single "Enjoy Yourself" is a bubbly and kinetic number with a popping guitar riff that is accentuated by horn bursts. The song was a big hit peaking at number six in the early part of 1977. Michael shows off a more mature side of himself on strong numbers "Blues Away", "Strength Of One Man" and the swirling and gorgeous "Style Of Life". The Jacksons was an attempt to move the band away from their teenybopper image towards a more adult sound and it succeeds on every level.

A thread of Jacksons albums from the 70's were made on epic records starting with this disc followed by Goin' places, Destiny, Triumph and victory. The first disc is produced by Gamble and Huff: two of the greatest producers of the 20th century! They wrote "Mrs. Jones"! The sounds on this album is playful and cohesive the disco era is in full effect the sonic blurps and marred vocals are here and are put to work on Michael's falsetto. The disc moves at a fast pace the opening track "Enjoy Yourself" is as light and infectious as the sun on a winter's day. The stand outs on the disc are easy to find it's the slow jams Gamble and Huff had a knack of shutting out some of the best vocals from the artist they worked with The Jacksons vocal range as a family has never been better since their hay day on Motown. "Good Times" is a gem of pure melody and just raw emotion and Dreamer is the Jacksons at thier best just open, free and superior to the backing track behind them. This album is all about the vocals and lyrics and the emotions forced out is top notch!

MThis album was such a big step for the Jacksons. Their first release on the Epic Records label, this is a classy effort including two songs written by the group, both among the best on the disc: "Blues Away" by Michael and "Style of Life" by Tito. While typical Jackson messages are here (love, music, being happy), there are some fresh, adult songs. For example, Michael's "Blues Away" deals with depression; "Living Together" confronts the need for people to unite as one; "Strength of One Man" is about growing up. That song grooves so hard with its piano-driven intro and vocal swapping among the brothers, it almost sounds like something from a Blaxploitation film. Here we get a chance to hear Randy for the first time, replacing Jermaine who stayed at Motown. Randy was only 14 at the time of this release! Each member of the Jacksons has more vocal presence here than on many J5 records. Their harmonies are strong and so are their individual solo lines. The music is lush, with fluid guitar, pecking congas, flashy horns, and breezy strings. One of the best jams I have ever heard is "Show you the way to Go." It was a top 30 hit in 1977 but should have done much better. Listen closely for some of Michael's vocal nuances that would eventually develop into his trademark style. All in all, a terrific set!

In 1975, Joe Jackson was tired of Motown Records controlling his childrens' careers. So he moved them over to Epic Records. The newly Christened "Jacksons" had to prove themselves to not only CBS Records, but to the world that they could produce, write, and perform their own records with plausible credibility.So instead of being controlled by Henry Cosby, Hal Davis, and to a lesser extent, Berry Gordy at Motown, their direction was handed over by Epic to Philidelphia Phunk-Meisters Kenneth Gamble, and Leon Huff. They had a tremendous string of success, with Teddy Pendergrass, MFSB, Harold Melvin, and The Blue Notes, and McFadden and Whitehead to name just a few. They took the Jacksons' original songs, brought them into the studio, worked their Philly majik, and out came one of the greatest Soul records ever cut on wax. From Start to finish, "The Jacksons" takes you from one Phunkified Phunk Phest top the next, starting with "Enjoy Yourself" and Culminating in the Phunkadelic "Style Of Life". When I was a child I heard this record, and originally thought that "Good Times" was the Jackson's remake of the theme from that TV show. But it was pure slow Phunk. Phunk-da-fied-, Phunkalicious, or just just plain Phantastic, The Jackson's Epic Debut is Phat.

This is the first music CD I ever baught and a great way
to begin my collection!The Jackosons left Motown for Epic records
and could now begin writing some of their own songs.But those two
songs are only the highlite of a very enjoyable album."The Jacksons" is quantum leaps in quality over some of the groups
Motown records and the members now sound very adult.The upbeat
"Enjoy Yourself","Keep on Dancing" and "Think Happy" are superb
funky soul numbers while "Good Times" and "Dreamer" are lovely
Philly-style ballads which Michael and Jackie sing with great
care and conviction.The strange "Blues Away" seems to be speaking
of a man in a state very much as Michael is in now-a very
depressed person crying for help but denying his sadness at the
same time;a contridiction in song-Michael wrote it of course.
"Living Together" and the self-written "Style Of Life" are
excellent teddy O'Jays-style uptempo Philly soul that suit these
brothers to a tee while "Show You The Way To Go" is the only
Motown-like light pop piece-not bad though.Overall this is
very much worth the price of admission-I would like to hear bonus
cuts from these sessions though.

You can never go wrong with the Jacksons. My favorite song on here is "Let me Show You". The other top 4 are Good Times, Enjoy Yourself, and Blues Away.

As everyone already knows, 'The Jacksons' (1976) marked the begining of a new era for Michael & his Brothers (With Randy & minus Jermaine!). This debut on the legendary Philadelphia International Label was very interesting because Gamble & Huff were the KINGS of the then fledging Phily Sound (incl. acts like The O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, Blue Notes, The Three Degrees, Billy Paul, and a host of other acts).

'The Jacksons' was a moderate success, spawning 2 well known hits ('Enjoy Yourself' & 'Show You The Way To Go'), and it was a nice start for the Jacksons in 1976 after leaving Motown. The Brothers would end up recording one more album in 1977 under Gamble & Huff's direction ('Goin' Places'), and it didn't do as well as expected, but the album had some nice moments ('Different Kind Of Lady' & 'Find Me A Girl' for example!).

As I listened to the 1st 2 albums by The Jacksons, it became apparent that they sound better when playing them back to back, and that the sound quality REALLY needed to be improved. For some reason Epic/Sony won't remaster the original CDs, so I cleaned them up for a fanstatsic 2 on 1 collection featuring BOTH 'The Jacksons' (1976) & 'Goin Places' (1977) on a single CD! Fans can do the same if they have decent remastering software (Magix for example), and the sound is incredible. Come on Sony, remaster & release the 1st 2 Jacksons albums on a single CD..it makes all the sense in the world!
Peace, SD
(of 'Chaka's World')

The Jackson 5 remain a classic, timeless group. The Jacksons may not be as timeless as the 5, but in my honest opinion, the Jacksons had better quality of music. The team of Gamble and Huff brought a new sound to the brothers, and they do an outstanding job. Although many of the songs on this Epic debut were not penned by Michael and his brothers, they were nonetheless performed by them, which makes the songs on here nothing short of beautiful. The standout tracks: ENJOY YOURSELF (energetic, fast-paced dance fest, featuring lively vocals of Michael), GOOD TIMES (gorgeous song), BLUES AWAY (deep song with a nicely-paced melody), SHOW YOU THE WAY TO GO (the guitar and Michael's voice shoot this song straight up there), LIVING TOGETHER (beautiful song), STRENGTH OF ONE MAN (very nice song with vocals from nearly all of the brothers), and DREAMER (yet another nice song). If you want a nice mixture of dreamy classic R&B tunes as well as great dance tunes, get this album.

I recently bought this reminicsing about the good ole days. Standouts are Good Times, Blues Away, and of course Let me show you the way to go.