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The Jacksons (album)

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The Jacksons
Studio album by
The Jacksons
ReleasedNovember 5, 1976[1]
RecordedJune–October 1976
StudioSigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[2]
GenreSoul, R&B, funk, Philadelphia soul
Length39:27
Label
Producer
The Jacksons chronology
Joyful Jukebox Music
(1976) 		The Jacksons
(1976) 		Goin' Places
(1977)
Singles from The Jacksons
  1. "Enjoy Yourself"
    Released: October 22, 1976[3]
  2. "Show You the Way to Go"
    Released: March 1977
  3. "Dreamer"
    Released: July 29, 1977 (UK)[4]

The Jacksons is the eleventh studio album by the Jacksons, the band's first album for Epic Records and under the name "the Jacksons," following their seven-year tenure at Motown as "the Jackson 5". Jackson 5 member Jermaine Jackson stayed with Motown when his brothers broke their contracts and left for Epic, and he was replaced by youngest Jackson brother Randy. The album was released in 1976 for Epic Records and Philadelphia International Records as a joint venture.[5]

History

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[7]
Rolling Stonemixed[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Uncut[10]

Philadelphia International heads Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff produced and executive produced the album, including their first top ten hit in two years, "Enjoy Yourself", but had a difficult time focusing on a sound for the now-grown-up boy band. However, the group was able for the first time to record their own material, something that had been denied to them at Motown. The Jacksons composed "Style of Life" and "Blues Away" on their own. "Blues Away" was the first published song written by lead singer Michael Jackson, who began to take a more percussive vocal approach on this album. The album also spawned a second successful R&B single, "Show You the Way to Go" (UK no. 1). Though never released as a single, "Good Times" became a popular album cut from regular quiet storm airplay.

The album was the Jacksons' first gold album, despite their having sold more than 10 million albums while at Motown (Motown's sales and financial records were not presented for auditing by the RIAA until 1976).

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Enjoy Yourself"Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff3:24
2."Think Happy"Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff3:07
3."Good Times"Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff4:57
4."Keep on Dancing"Dexter Wansel4:31
5."Blues Away"Michael Jackson3:12
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Show You the Way to Go"Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff5:30
7."Living Together"Dexter Wansel4:26
8."Strength of One Man"Gene McFadden, John Whitehead, Victor Carstarphen3:56
9."Dreamer"Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff3:05
10."Style of Life"Tito Jackson, Michael Jackson3:19
Total length:39:27

Personnel

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Lead vocals

Michael leads the tracks 4–6 and 9–10 on his own while he and his brother Jackie lead the vocals on tracks 1–3 and 7. All the brothers (except Tito) sing lead on track 8.

Arrangements

Producers

  • 1–3, 6, 9 – Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff
  • 4, 7 – Dexter Wansel
  • 5, 10 – Gamble, Huff, Wansel, the Jacksons, Gene McFadden and John Whitehead
  • 8 – McFadden, Whitehead and Victor Carstarphen[11]

Music

Technical

  • Jay Mark, Joe Tarsia – mixing
  • Joe Tarsia – recording
  • John Berg – album design
  • Harou Miyauchi – cover drawings
  • Norman Seeff – photography

Charts

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Chart performance for The Jacksons
Chart (1976–1977) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (RPM)[12] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 53
US Soul Albums[14] 6
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape[15] 36

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for The Jacksons
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Roberts, Chris (2018). The Complete Michael Jackson. Carlton Books. ISBN 978-90-447-5507-7.
  2. ^ Cogan, Jim; Clark, William (2003). Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios. San Francisco, United States: Chronicle Books. pp. 151–163. ISBN 0-8118-3394-1.
  3. ^ "promo disc with release date".
  4. ^ "Jacksons singles".
  5. ^ "The Jacksons". The Jacksons. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  6. ^ Elias, Jason. The Jacksons: The Jacksons > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  8. ^ "The Jackson 5: The Jacksons : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  9. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. ISBN 9780743201698.
  10. ^ Stubbs, David (October 1997). "Freak beats". Uncut. No. 5. p. 92.
  11. ^ "The Jacksons – the Jacksons (1976, Gatefold, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1976.
  12. ^ "RPM: The Jacksons (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  13. ^ "The Jacksons Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  14. ^ "The Jacksons". Billboard.
  15. ^ "The Jacksons US Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  16. ^ "American album certifications – The Jacksons – The Jacksons". Recording Industry Association of America.
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