The Jackson 5: ABC : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

This is the Jackson Five's first fully realized album. Their own previous album consisted mainly of earlier Motown songs done over with arrangements which were generally good, but which failed to express the spirit of the Jackson Five any more than they expressed the spirit of the original versions. ABC, however, is an album wholly in the spirit of those great Jackson Five singles, two of which, the title cut and the incredible "The Love You Save," are included. Catchy melodies, explosive rhythm backgrounds and energetic vocals are the rule here, especially on the first side, which is as strong as anyone could want.

The second side does get into some slow stuff; "La La" and "I Found That Girl" aren't really the type of material this group should be doing, though the arrangement of the latter (unlike that of "La La," where the Delfonics' understated force is replaced by Michael Jackson's wonderful screeching) has some interest insofar as it shows Motown looking back over its shoulder at the Delfonics and at Gamble-Huff cuteness in general. But it took just the right exercise of imagination to borrow Funkadelic's "I Bet You," the most substantial song this minor Detroit group has done and one that would be a credit to any Motown group, and the result is a superlative arrangement.

The basic limitation of the album has to do, of course, with the fact that its material is necessarily the kind that can be handled by young voices. The only really heavy cut is "Don't Know Why I Love You," and this is the one for which a more mature vocalist would be most desirable. But aside from that, I like the album. A good Jackson Five song is one that is not only fast, with heavily accented rhythms, but also loose and playful, with built-in irregularities and breathing spaces that Michael and the others can fill with their delightful vocal improvisations. I'm happy to report that almost all the songs on ABC fit this description.