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Released in November 1976, the Jackson brothers' eleventh studio album was a turning point. For the first time, the band, which was slowing down a little, was no longer hosted by Motown, to which it was so deeply attached, but by CBS and its Epic subsidiary. Although four years earlier Michael had begun his solo career on Berry Gordy's label with Got to Be There, the standoff between Motown and the Jackson family, both financial and artistic, led to a thunderous divorce. Only Jermaine (who married the Motown boss's daughter and is replaced here by Randy Jackson, the youngest of the siblings) stayed with Berry Gordy, who was also able to keep hold of the Jackson 5 brand. Hence this 1976 début under the name The Jacksons. To mark all these changes, production was entrusted to the pair Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the brains of Philadelphia soul, the precursor genre to disco that made early-70s America dance, dousing it in silk and champagne. Only the Jackson brothers were no longer novices or obedient little soldiers. They wanted to assert their own artistic choices more and more. This all made for a rather heterogeneous record, clearly marked by soul and groove, but whose real essence is rather hard to discern, caught as it is between the Jacksons' own choices and the hedonistic wills of Gamble and Huff. The latter wrote half of the songs, and Michael made his entrance by composing his very first track, Blues Away. At 18, his voice has a new assurance and marks a clean break from his character of Little Michael. Alongside The Jacksons, MFSB, the Sigma Sound Studios band led by Gamble and Huff, provides a polished score with strings (as necessary) and some very sensual rhythms. It's something of a slalom run, though not at all unpleasant, between a soul that borders on pop (Enjoy yourself) and a rhythm'n'blues that is casting an eye towards disco (Show You The Way to Go). The album would strike gold in the charts, of course, but it did not yet give a hint of the worldwide success that Michael would enjoy, three years later, solo, with Off The Wall © Marc Zisman / Qobuz
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The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Bobby Martin, Performance Arranger - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Bobby Martin, Performance Arranger - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Jack Faith, Performance Arranger - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Executive Producer - LEON HUFF, Executive Producer - Dexter Wansel, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Performance Arranger - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Producer - John Whitehead, Producer - Gene McFadden, Producer - LEON HUFF, Producer - Michael Jackson, Composer, Lyricist - Dexter Wansel, Producer - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Executive Producer - Bobby Martin, Arranger - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Executive Producer - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Executive Producer - LEON HUFF, Executive Producer - Dexter Wansel, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Performance Arranger - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Executive Producer - John Whitehead, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Victor Carstarphen, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Gene McFadden, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - LEON HUFF, Executive Producer - Jack Faith, Performance Arranger - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Executive Producer - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Executive Producer - Jack Faith, Performance Arranger - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Producer, Executive Producer - Tito Jackson, Composer, Lyricist - John Whitehead, Producer - Gene McFadden, Producer - LEON HUFF, Producer, Executive Producer - Michael Jackson, Composer, Lyricist - Dexter Wansel, Producer - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MFSB, All Instruments - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Bobby Martin, Performance Arranger - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Joe Tarsia, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Pete Humphreys, Assistant Engineer - Jay Marks, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Stewart, Assistant Engineer
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1977 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Kenneth Gamble, Composer, Lyricist - Unknown, Producer - LEON HUFF, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1976 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
The Jacksons, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Dexter Wansel, Composer, Arranger - Dimitri From Paris, Re-Mixer
(P) 2010 Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Released in November 1976, the Jackson brothers' eleventh studio album was a turning point. For the first time, the band, which was slowing down a little, was no longer hosted by Motown, to which it was so deeply attached, but by CBS and its Epic subsidiary. Although four years earlier Michael had begun his solo career on Berry Gordy's label with Got to Be There, the standoff between Motown and the Jackson family, both financial and artistic, led to a thunderous divorce. Only Jermaine (who married the Motown boss's daughter and is replaced here by Randy Jackson, the youngest of the siblings) stayed with Berry Gordy, who was also able to keep hold of the Jackson 5 brand. Hence this 1976 début under the name The Jacksons. To mark all these changes, production was entrusted to the pair Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the brains of Philadelphia soul, the precursor genre to disco that made early-70s America dance, dousing it in silk and champagne. Only the Jackson brothers were no longer novices or obedient little soldiers. They wanted to assert their own artistic choices more and more. This all made for a rather heterogeneous record, clearly marked by soul and groove, but whose real essence is rather hard to discern, caught as it is between the Jacksons' own choices and the hedonistic wills of Gamble and Huff. The latter wrote half of the songs, and Michael made his entrance by composing his very first track, Blues Away. At 18, his voice has a new assurance and marks a clean break from his character of Little Michael. Alongside The Jacksons, MFSB, the Sigma Sound Studios band led by Gamble and Huff, provides a polished score with strings (as necessary) and some very sensual rhythms. It's something of a slalom run, though not at all unpleasant, between a soul that borders on pop (Enjoy yourself) and a rhythm'n'blues that is casting an eye towards disco (Show You The Way to Go). The album would strike gold in the charts, of course, but it did not yet give a hint of the worldwide success that Michael would enjoy, three years later, solo, with Off The Wall © Marc Zisman / Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 01:00:31
- Main artists: The Jacksons
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Epic - Legacy
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B Soul
(P) 2021 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
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