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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Album But...., May 22, 2001
This was a good album except that it sounded too disjointed. There only seemed a few songs in which all 6 brothers (yes, all 6 are together) participate. As a result, one gets the feeling that some of them (probably Michael and Jermaine) were reluctant participants and the album comes off as a Various Artists album. However, with that being said there are still some awesome tracks here. Torture with lead vocals being shared by Michael and Jermaine is an awesome R&B song and one of my all-time favorites. State of Shock is the song that did the best on the pop charts as Mick Jagger gives a good and funny performance on this one. However, my favorite song besides Torture has become the 2nd track, Wait. Produced by and featuring lead vocals by Jackie, I just love the overall feel to this song. Several members of the band, Toto, play on this song and they do a good job.All in all, pick this album up if you love R&B or if you like anything done by Michael Jackson. It's not a bad buy.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Victory? Well, That Depends on Your Definition., November 25, 2002
It was the spring/summer of 1984, and the global hoopla surrounding "Thriller" was finally on its last legs. Not one to disappear from the spotlight completely, Michael Jackson reunites with his brothers for "Victory." Featuring only 8 songs (3 of which have Michael on vocals), the album teases--but never completely satisfies--the listener. The recording doesn't sound like a brotherly project, and you get the impression that Michael thought he did his siblings a favor by showing up in the studio. "Victory," at times, comes across like a rushed job to capitalize on the success of "Thriller," and it shows through the second-rate material. "State of Shock," featuring a duet between Michael and Mick Jagger, is the worst song I've ever heard from the Jacksons. It's a discordant hybird of 80s funk and low-wattage rock that never takes off the ground. "We Can Change the World" is pretty much forgettable, and new adjectives will need to be created to replace "sappy" when describing Michael's ballad "Be Not Always." But there's some really good stuff, here, and most of it doesn't even involve Michael. Randy stands out pretty well in "One More Chance" (which Janet would later cover as a b-side); "Body" is a funky uptempo stomper, and I really loved "Torture," which features lead vocals from Michael and Jermaine (The video features all Jackson brothers sans Michael. Go figure). If for nothing else, "Victory," gives me incredible childhood memories of the 1980s, but on its own merits, it's a mixed bag. It's not a bust, but I'd hesitate to call it a victory.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
For those who don't know..., March 17, 2007
...the final Jacksons album was 2300 JACKSON STREET (1989), NOT VICTORY. It featured Janet, Rebbie and Jermaine Jackson along with their brothers and was being promoted as a family reunion-type album, but this was not the case. Except for one song, 2300 was recorded without the participation of both Michael and Marlon, who were disenchanted with all the drama surrounding the 1984 Victory Tour. 1984 seemed to be the beginning of the end for them. All these things happened that year:
*Michael's accident with his hair catching on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial with his brothers that January;
*The recording of the VICTORY album which even long-time Jackson fans thought was inferior to their earlier works;
*High ticket prices for the promotional tour (courtesy of Don King, who was the promoter) and as a result, the Jacksons were accused of being greedy;
*Reports of violent arguments amongst the brothers;
*And finally, Michael announced onstage during the very last concert on that tour in Los Angeles that he was leaving the group, and later vowed he would never work with his brothers again. A couple of years afterward, Marlon exited as well, having tired of the many disagreements in the group.
When 2300 JACKSON STREET came along in 1989, it didn't sell very well, but not because it was terrible - it was listenable, but nothing on it really grabbed at you and made you say, "Hey, this is really hot." The solo careers of Michael and Janet were so phenomenal at the time, they simply overshadowed anything else the other family members were trying to do musically. This is not to discount the talents of the other brothers, because they ARE talented, but face it - they didn't have the spectacular appeal that Michael did. This CD featured the remaining Jacksons (Jackie, Tito, Randy and Jermaine) going into New Jack Swing territory. Except for the title song, which all the Jacksons (save for LaToya) sang on and New Jack Swing king Teddy Riley had a hand in, and "Nothin' That Compares 2 U" (an L.A. & Babyface offering), it's pretty much forgettable. To be totally honest, I have been a fan of these guys since they first came out in the late '60s and this is the only album of theirs that I can't even name any of the other songs, simply because they weren't worth remembering. In 1990, after 27 years as a group, the Jacksons officially disbanded.
On the subject of VICTORY (1984), it is probably the next-to-the-weakest album in the Jacksons catalog, but it still has some tracks worth hearing, so don't dismiss it altogether. Jermaine rejoins his brothers here for the first time since 1975, so there is some historic relevance to this album, plus the talents of the other brothers are finally showcased. Michael, by choice, had limited his involvement. Obviously he had other things on his mind (like the groundbreaking success of his THRILLER album and being on the fast track to becoming the biggest star in the world), so collaborating with his brothers again wasn't exactly what he wanted - and it shows.
The best cuts are "Torture", one of the three hit singles from VICTORY, written by Jackie and featuring Michael and Jermaine; "Wait", another uptempo song written by Jackie where he also has the lead; Randy's easy solo on the ballad "One More Chance", and Marlon out in front on the funky dance number, "Body", which is my favorite song on this album. Okay, so it does sound like "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", but it's just as appealing. "State of Shock", the funk/rock duet between Mike and Rolling Stones' frontman Mick Jagger, is just alright, nothing groundbreaking but listenable. It doesn't sound like it even belongs on this album, nor on ANY Jacksons album at all! I agree with another reviewer - it was probably something Michael was working on independently with Jagger and as a "favor" to his brothers, he decided to let them have the song and call it a Jacksons release to help boost the album sales. That way he couldn't be accused of being selfish and not being down for the family cause. As for everything else on VICTORY, there are no gray areas - you either love it or hate it, pure and simple. If you love the Jacksons, odds are that you have all their other releases and this is one you'll want to add to your collection. But if you're a casual fan, you might want to pass this by and settle for THE ESSENTIAL JACKSONS instead.
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