I’m suspending my random column this week to share this little tidbit from my (and maybe your) childhood.
Michael Jackson’s stellar entertainment career all but eclipsed his former life as a child wunderkind. As soon as Thriller hit, many folks forgot about his previous incarnation as a highly combustible impish pixie, all hot splits and high-tenor vocal explosions, on Motown. But kids my age will remember that baby Michael and his brothers, as The Jackson 5, were more than just a little family soul band from Gary, IN. They were real-life super-heroes with a fast-paced Saturday morning cartoon show, fighting supervillains, swearing off yucky girls forever, and making sure we learned our ABC’s and ate our Alpha-Bits. In other words, they were the COOLEST!
Now I suppose they still do this sorta thing with downloads, but pffft…gimme a break. NOTHING was as cool as the free, one-sided, cardboard Jackson 5 record that came pressed on the back of Rice Krinkles cereal. Yes, Rice Krinkles…you know your Mom bought them, and she also bought Hydrox cookies and RC Cola and you gobbled them up, right? Anyway, the record had a number carelessly stamped in or near a small circle placed next to the runoff groove, and that number indicated what song was etched onto the box. First you had to wait to finish eating the whole box of cereal (which was next to impossible; patience may be a virtue, but it’s sheer torture to a seven-year-old), then carefully cut out the record. I remember not wanting to slice through young Michael’s sternum.
Needless to say, these were top-quality pressings of the utmost fidelity. My copy featured “ABC.” I had to tape a 50-cent piece to the top of the record to keep it from slipping wildly all over the turntable, and it sounded like it was being broadcast over a Dixie-cups-&-string telephone. But who cared? My friends & I jumped around like maniacs to the tinny, bassless sound of our boundless hero and his band of brothers. Kids’ll be kids.
When people talk about the career of Michael Jackson, a lot of them forget the period between the Jackson 5’s amazing original success and the time Michael went supernova with “Off the Wallâ€. The reasons for that are somewhat valid. The hits weren’t exactly plentiful during that period, and Michael and his brothers were struggling to find their artistic identity. However, one shouldn’t give The Jacksons (as they were named following their departure from Motown Records) short shrift. In competition with bands like Earth Wind & Fire and former opening act The Commodores in the late Seventies, they bloomed once they were allowed to write and produce their own material, resulting in 1978’s “Destiny†and 1980’s “Triumphâ€. Those two albums come on either side of Michael’s solo breakthrough with “Off the Wallâ€, and are among the most solid albums of their time period. Both albums recently got the reissue treatment from Legacy Recordings, and both are well worth the time it takes to listen (or re-listen, as the case may be) to them.
“Destiny†proved not only to be the brothers’ (Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Randy) artistic breakthrough, but it was also their commercial breakthrough, becoming their first Platinum-certified album. It spawned two of disco’s most enduring tunes: the bubbly “Blame it on the Boogie†and the stone-cold “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)â€, but there’s plenty more to the album than the two hit singles. From a vocal standpoint, Michael’s rarely sounded better. At age 20, he was finally in full control of his voice, and had become an amazingly versatile singer, as evidenced by “Destinyâ€â€™s standout ballad, “Push Me Awayâ€. Michael navigates the sumptuous maze of guitar and strings beautifully, floating from his regular voice into an effortless falsetto. Conversely, he stakes his claim as one of the best rhythmic singers of all time with the frantic “All Night Dancin’â€. If anyone doubts that Michael is a true soul singer, they should try that song on for size.
It’s very easy, with thirty years hindsight, to listen to the songs on “Destiny†and play armchair psychiatrist. Many of the songs on the album have lyrics that seem to come directly from Michael’s dissatisfaction with his celebrity. “Things I Do for You†bemoans users and demands reciprocity, while the folky title track (which could have easily become a James Taylor track!) contains lyrics that, in light of Michael’s well-known flair for the ostentatious, can now be seen as ironic. “If it’s the rich life, I don’t want it†he sings. “Happiness ain’t always material thingsâ€. “Destinyâ€â€™s closing track, “That’s What You Get (For Being Polite)â€, is probably the most interesting and weird. Michael sings about a boy named Jack, a horribly insecure person who has built his own world around him. Again, it’s very easy to read and hear lyrics like the ones to this song and see a direct parallel to the person Michael has become. Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop “Destiny†from being the brothers’ most exciting album. The reissue adds two bonus disco mixes, including the classic dance version of “Shake Your Body†that must have rocked clubs back in ‘79.
After “Destinyâ€, Michael finally felt the confidence to go on his own, partnering with Quincy Jones and making musical history with “Off the Wallâ€. So The Jacksons’ 1980 effort, “Triumphâ€, is the aural equipment of a victory lap. The brothers’ chests are puffed out on this album, from the strtting save-the-world anthem “Can You Feel It†to Michael’s eerie, mysterious “Heartbreak Hotelâ€. In retrospect, it’s easy to see those two songs as precursors to songs like “Man in the Mirror†and “Billie Jeanâ€, respectively, and they are two of “Triumphâ€â€™s strongest tracks. However, the rest of the album’s no slouch. Michael graciously allows his brothers to contribute more vocally than they had on past albums, resulting in the itchy funk of Jackie’s “Wondering Who†and the easygoing vibe and pretty harmonies of “Give it Upâ€, on which lead vocals are shared by Michael and Marlon. Of course, being that “Triumph†followed “Off the Wallâ€, there’s a bit of similarity between the two. The lonely ballad “Time Waits for No One†should rightfully be compared to “OTWâ€â€™s “She’s Out of My Lifeâ€, while “Everybody†is a note-for-note rip of “Get on the Floorâ€, down to repeating some of the same lyrics. However, The Jacksons were so bright eyed and eager to make good music that you can forgive the occasional spots of laziness. Speaking of lazy, the folks that compiled this reissue couldn’t come up with any old photos to put in the booklet or come with bonus tracks better than the single version of “Heartbreak Hotel†and the 12†remix of “Walk Right Nowâ€? Come on guys!
If you were listening back when these albums came out, “Thriller†shouldn’t have surprised you. Along with “Off the Wallâ€, “Destiny†and “Triumph†are audio equivalents to a slow burning stick of dynamite that exploded when “Thriller†was recorded and released. These albums may not have been as big as Michael’s best solo material, but they deserve your attention just the same. Combining disco, funk, soul and pop into an irrestible stew, these albums established The Jacksons as worthy competition to any of the era’s popular R&B bands and killed the image, once and for all, of them as a teenybopper/bubblegum group.
If you already have these albums, buy them again. The remastered sound alone is worth the extra bucks you’ll be shelling out. If you don’t have these albums and you fancy yourself a Michael Jackson fan or a fan of disco-infused soul, you should grab these too. Not only are they worthy additions to your collection, but Tito probably needs the money.
My MHW brothers have been putting up mix tapes. I’m not really a big mix tape guy, except when it comes to slow jams. I think I’ve always connected better with slow jams. I’ve noticed that artists use slower songs to communicate real issues or possible heartbreak or happiness much better than in faster songs. I guess the reason to have faster songs is much different and when you’re making the crowd dance, they probably don’t care what you have to say. But with slower songs, it’s different. Artists emote biographically through their music as it is, and I think they do so more during slower songs.
When I was about 20 years old, I started making mix tapes of slow songs. I especially enjoyed the love songs. Call me soft or whatever. But just singing about love is inspiring. The first tape I created was called Jam Slow. Yep, that’s the title on the old cassette tape. I didn’t want to call it Slow Jams, so I went the other way.
I’ve always had an idea on what I wanted to do with these tapes. I never just wanted to throw a bunch of songs on a tape and go with it. I looked at how artists told stories with their songs. They fit into a few buckets. There are the courting type songs, the early love songs, the “we have a future together”songs, the marriage songs, and the most famous of them all, the break up songs. I put them in order, not by artist necessarily, but by what the content was in each song. The first songs would be the courting songs, and then next would be the early love kind of songs that would then segue into real relationship songs. After that, the break-up songs would come in, and then the “get back” songs, and usually at the end, I saved either the marriage songs or the songs about starting a family. I did this with all the impending tapes as well. Now before you start to notice how weird I am, I’ll get right to the music.
Look At Those Outfits
Jam Slow (circa 1996/97)
1. Falling – Montell Jordan
2. Knocks Me Off My Feet – Tevin Campbell
3. For Your Love – Stevie Wonder
4. Down Low (Nobody Has To Know) – R. Kelly
5. Nobody – Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
6. Stay Gold – Stevie Wonder
7. I’m Still In Love With You – New Edition
8. When Can I See You Smile Again – Bell Biv Devoe
9. Can You Stand The Rain – New Edition
10. Never Can Say Goodbye – Jackson 5
11. How Could You – K-Ci and JoJo
12. If You Think You’re Lonely Now – K-Ci Hailey
13. Lately (live version) – Jodeci
14. Everytime I Close My Eyes – Babyface
15. The Lady In My Life – Michael Jackson
16. Love U For Life – Jodeci
17. The Day – Babyface
Look At Bob Wear The Bandana Under The Hat
You can definitely see what kind of music I was listening to at that time. Lots of Jodeci, Steveland, NE, and MJ. I can remember being done with a relationship right around this time (and possibly sooner), but I don’t remember that being a large factor in the songs that I chose to be on the tape, like would happen during other times in my life. Some thoughts on it.
Falling by Montell Jordan is really the only song I’ve been able to get into by him. Of course, everybody has heard This Is How We Do It, but Falling is the only place where I’ve been able to truly get into his voice.
There are two Stevie Wonder songs on this list but also two Stevie Wonder covers by other artists – Lately and Knocks Me Off My Feet.
Stay Gold isn’t really a relationship love song per say, but it’s sort of a universal love song that I’ve always thought was magical.
New Edition, BBD, New Edition – I’ve always dug Ricky Bell’s voice.
Never Can Say Goodbye is definitely the oldest song on the list, but somehow it sounds just as fresh (at least in 1996) as the others.
I probably OD’d a bit on Jodeci at the time, but it was what I was listening to.
The Day is the song that probably describes the feeling of immediate fatherhood better than anything else I’ve ever heard.
Oh such tears of joy, I’ve never known
I can’t remember
It’s like a song, I’ve never heard
I’ve never sung, but know the words
I’ll be back soon with the next version of Jam Slow. I dropped the Jam and shortened it to J Slow.
