Jan 2, 2016

RhoDeo 1552 Grooves

Hello I hope you had a great old & new, why not on a daily basis and if you lack the stumach for that intense an celebration of life you could at least try monthly old & new parties..start a facebook action !


The Jacksons is an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana. Formed in 1964 under the name the Jackson Brothers, the founding members were Jackie, Tito and Jermaine. Marlon and Michael would later join, and the band's name would be changed to The Jackson 5. After participating in talent shows and the chitlin' circuit, they entered the professional music scene in 1967 as The Jackson Five, signing with Steeltown Records and releasing two singles. In 1969, they left Steeltown Records in order to sign with Motown. They were among the first groups of black American performers to attain a crossover following. In 1976 they left Motown and were reborn as "The Jacksons" ... N'joy

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Jackie (b. Sigmund Esco Jackson, 4 May 1951, Gary, Indiana, USA), Tito (b. Toriano Adaryll Jackson, 15 October 1953, Gary, Indiana, USA), Marlon (b. Marlon David Jackson, 12 March 1957, Gary, Indiana, USA), Michael (b. Michael Joseph Jackson, 29 August 1958, Gary, Indiana, USA) and Randy Jackson (b. Steven Randall Jackson, 29 October 1962, Gary, Indiana, USA) changed their collective name from the Jackson Five to the Jacksons in March 1976, following their departure from Motown Records. At the same time, Randy Jackson replaced his brother Jermaine Jackson, handling percussion and backing vocals. The group’s new recording contract with Epic offered them a more lucrative agreement than they had enjoyed with Motown, although at first they seemed to have exchanged one artistic strait-jacket for another. Their initial releases were written, arranged and produced by Gamble And Huff, whose expertise ensured that the Jacksons sounded professional, but slightly anonymous. ‘Enjoy Yourself’ and ‘Show You The Way To Go’ were both major hits in the US charts, and the latter also topped the UK sales listing.

The group’s second album with Gamble And Huff, Goin’ Places, heralded a definite decline in popularity. Destiny saw the Jacksons reassert control over writing and production, and produced a string of worldwide hit singles. ‘Blame It on The Boogie’ caught the mood of the burgeoning disco market, while the group’s self-composed ‘Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)’ signalled Michael Jackson’s growing artistic maturity. The success of Michael’s first adult solo venture, Off The Wall in 1979, switched his attention away from the group. On Triumph, they merely repeated the glories of their previous album, although the commercial appeal of anything bearing Michael’s voice helped singles such as ‘Can You Feel It?’, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and ‘Lovely One’ achieve success on both sides of the Atlantic. The Jacksons’ 1981 US tour emphasized Michael’s dominance over the group, and the resulting Live included many of his solo hits alongside the brothers’ joint repertoire. Between 1981 and the release of Victory in 1984, Michael issued Thriller, which regularly heads the bestselling album of all time list. When the Jacksons’ own effort was released, it became apparent that he had made only token contributions to the record, and its commercial fortune suffered accordingly. ‘State Of Shock’, which paired Michael with Mick Jagger, was a US hit, but sold in smaller quantities than expected. Hysteria surrounded the group’s ‘Victory Tour’ in the summer of 1984; adverse press comment greeted the distribution of tickets, and the Jacksons were accused of pricing themselves out of the reach of their black fans. Although they were joined onstage by their brother Jermaine for the first time since 1975, media and public attention was focused firmly on Michael.

Realizing that they were becoming increasingly irrelevant, the other members of the group began to voice their grievances in the press; as a result, Michael Jackson stated that he would not be working with his brothers in the future. The Jacksons struggled to come to terms with his departure, and it was five years before their next project was complete. 2300 Jackson Street highlighted their dilemma: once the media realized that Michael was not involved, they effectively boycotted its release. Randy Jackson was sentenced to a one-month jail sentence in November 1990 for assaulting his wife. In 1992, ABC aired the five-hour mini-series The Jacksons: An American Dream.

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After the commercial reprieve of the innovative "Dancing Machine" single (and album of the same name), the Jackson 5's successful five-year relationship with Motown and Berry Gordy ended. Their last Motown effort, Moving Violation, had barely made a dent. After an acrimonious split, brother Jermaine Jackson stayed at Motown, and Gordy fought and won, keeping the Jackson 5 moniker. The Jacksons isn't only their Epic label debut, it's the first album to feature youngest brother Randy Jackson. To ensure chart success, the group was teamed with Philadelphia producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, as well as their staff of writers and players. Despite the promise, The Jacksons is hampered by derivative tracks and a lack of knowing what to do with the group, particularly lead singer, Michael Jackson. The big hit here, the jerky "Enjoy Yourself," perfectly captured Michael Jackson's late adolescence, with his newfound vocal tics and inflections. "Show You the Way to Go" best captures the Philly sound, with a pretty melody and a great vocal from Michael, but it's a weak lyric. The Dexter Wansel-written and -produced "Keep on Dancing" matches a substandard discofied track to Michael Jackson's singular vocals. The last track, the graceful "Blues Away" marks the writing debut of the group and is a great match between artists and producers. For the most part, The Jacksons gives the guys by-the-numbers Philly tracks that could have been easily done by Lou Rawls. Despite the best songs, The Jacksons misses more than it hits.



The Jacksons - The Jacksons  (flac 219mb)

01 Enjoy Yourself 3:23
02 Think Happy 3:07
03 Good Times 4:57
04 Keep On Dancing 4:30
05 Blues Away 3:12
06 Show You The Way To Go 5:29
07 Living Together 4:25
08 Strength Of One Man 3:56
09 Dreamer 3:04
10 Style Of Life 3:18

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The Jacksons' move to Epic regenerated their enthusiasm and spirit for several years. The Gamble & Huff team brought them fresh material and new production ideas, as well as better tracks and arrangements than they'd gotten in quite a while on Motown. This album got them R&B and pop hits and kept the family act in the spotlight for a little while longer.



The Jacksons - Goin' Places  (flac 208mb)

01 Music's Takin' Over 4:36
02 Goin' Places 4:35
03 Different Kind Of Lady 3:36
04 Even Though You're Gone 4:35
05 Jump For Joy 4:34
06 Heaven Knows I Love You, Girl 3:59
07 Man Of War 3:13
08 Do What You Wanna 3:32
09 Find Me A Girl 4:35

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The brothers' third post-Motown album as the Jacksons was their most successful release, both commercially and creatively, since 1974's Dancing Machine. Their first two Epic albums, where they aligned with Gamble, Huff, and other Philly soul stalwarts, had some strong singles but were very uneven and somewhat awkward in stretches, and this time out, they wrote and produced on their own. Backed by an arsenal of up-and-coming and veteran L.A. session musicians -- including guitarists Michael Sembello and Paul Jackson, Jr., drummer Rick Marotta, arranger Thomas "Tom Tom 84" Washington, and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, the last of whom played on just about everything involving a Jackson family member through the early '90s -- Destiny did much more than set the stage for Michael's Off the Wall. The sunny "Blame It on the Boogie" and the dazzling Off the Wall prelude "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" were the album's only singles, upbeat numbers that peaked at number three on the Black Singles chart, but the mature Michael showcase ballad "Push Me Away" (pointing toward "I Can't Help It" and "Human Nature") and the alternately somber and uplifting "Bless His Soul," containing a startling confession from Michael ("There is no life for me at all/'Cause I give myself at beck and call") added an impressive level of depth to the Jacksons' discography.



The Jacksons - Destiny  (flac 395mb)

01 Blame It On The Boogie 3:36
02 Push Me Away 4:19
03 Things I Do For You 4:06
04 Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) 8:01
05 Destiny 4:53
06 Bless His Soul 4:57
07 All Night Dancin' 6:10
08 That's What You Get (For Being Polite) 4:59
Bonus Tracks
09 Blame It On The Boogie (John Luongo Disco Mix) 7:01
10 Shake Your Body (John Luongo Disco Mix) 8:38

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Released during the summer of 1980, just as the hits from Michael's Off the Wall were sliding off the charts, Triumph became the Jacksons' first Top Ten pop album since 1972's Lookin' Through the Windows. This despite the album-opening "Can You Feel It," promoted with a spectacle of a video that made the Jacksons into gigantic superheroes capable of transforming bridges into bendable rainbow tubing, stalling at number 77 on the Hot 100. It didn't make much of an impact on the R&B chart either, but then again, its supernatural anthemic stomp is more a fireworks program finale than something as small scale as a mere single. As on 1978's Destiny, the Jacksons wrote and produced the material, this time with keyboardist Greg Phillinganes bumped up to associate producer, and with an uptick in star backing -- including but not limited to Ronnie Foster, Phil Upchurch, Webster Lewis, Michael Boddicker, and Ollie Brown, as well as Triumph holdovers Michael Sembello, Thomas Washington, and Nathan Watts. The other singles, including "Lovely One" (very nearly "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" reheated) and "This Place Hotel" (an elaborate six-minute affair, written and arranged by Michael, that could have easily swollen to greater length) propelled the album into sales greater than that of Destiny, and it's equally durable (and markedly slicker) all around.



The Jacksons - Triumph  (flac 436mb)

01 Can You Feel It 5:58
02 Lovely One 4:51
03 Your Ways 4:32
04 Everybody 5:00
05 This Place Hotel (A/K/A Heartbreak Hotel) 5:44
06 Time Waits For No One 3:24
07 Walk Right Now 6:29
08 Give It Up 4:21
09 Wondering Who 4:19
Bonus Tracks
10 This Place Hotel (A/K/A Heartbreak Hotel) (Single Version) 4:54
11 Walk Right Now (John Luongo Disco Mix) 7:37
12 Walk Right Now (John Luongo Instrumental Mix) 6:58

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4 comments:

the saucer people said...

Happy New Year! Great selection of Jacksons albums, especially the latter two with the extra John Luongo mixes (such an incredible disco remixer that often gets passed over in disco history).

A few of Jackson 5 albums over this same seventies period as the Jacksons releases that are really killer are Dancing Machine, Moving Violation and Joyful Jukebox Music (unfortunately my copies are long gone).

Anyway, I hope 2016 is everything you and your readers wish for - While so many blogs have come and gone, it is incredible how you retain your enthusiasm and diversity of posts.

Anonymous said...

Great post, Rho!

Thank you!

- 313

Anonymous said...

Hi Rho

Can you please re-up Triumph?

Many thanks

Anonymous said...

Oooo
Nice
Thanks