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ABC

 

  • Artist: Jackson 5
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1970 04
  • Total Time: 35:45
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

Not even six months after the Jackson 5 -- Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, and Tito -- issued their debut long-player, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 (1969), the vocal quintet returned with ABC (1970), arguably the brothers' most solid effort of the early '70s. The Jacksons' collective (and respective) talents, coupled with exemplary material and the finest behind the scenes crew Motown had to offer, were directly responsible for the enormous success that placed the LP at the crest of the R&B chart and into the Top Five of the pop survey, while the title track and the double-sided hit single "The Love You Save" b/w "I Found That Girl" all went directly to the number one position across the board. Not too shabby for a group whose oldest member was barely in his teens. Granted, the familiar tunes are undeniably the focal point, making it easy to overlook some of the other stellar selections. As was customary, Motown's cache of house composers provide the lion's share of the songs, most notably the Holland-Dozier-Holland-penned "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need" -- brought to prominence by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles -- and Stevie Wonder's "Never Had a Dream Come True," which Wonder himself had recently included on his own Signed, Sealed & Delivered (1970). There are also a few contemporary nuggets from beyond the boundaries of Detroit, as "La-La (Means I Love You)" is derived from the up-and-coming Philly soul movement and "I'll Bet You" was gleaned from George Clinton's incipient incarnation of Funkadelic. However, the cuts credited to "the Corporation" -- with Bobby Taylor and instrumentalists Deke Richards (guitar), Freddie Perren (keyboard), and Fonce Mizell (keyboards), as well as Motown founder Berry Gordy -- were of primary significance not only on the ABC album, but within the entire Jackson 5 oeuvre. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
The Love You Save The Corporation The Jackson 5 (2:59)
One More Chance The Corporation The Jackson 5 (2:56)
ABC (Lyrics) Deke Richards, Berry Gordy, Jr., Alphonso Mizell, Freddie Perren The Jackson 5 (2:55)
2-4-6-8 Pam Sawyer, Gloria Jones The Jackson 5 (2:55)
(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland The Jackson 5 (2:46)
Don't Know Why I Love You Lula Mae Hardaway, Don Hunter, Stevie Wonder, Paul Riser The Jackson 5 (3:47)
Never Had a Dream Come True Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy, Henry Cosby The Jackson 5 (2:58)
True Love Can Be Beautiful Bobby Taylor, Leonard Caston The Jackson 5 (3:24)
La-La (Means I Love You) William "Poogie" Hart, Thom Bell The Jackson 5 (2:52)
I'll Bet You George Clinton, Sidney Barnes, Patrick Lindsey The Jackson 5 (2:26)
I Found That Girl The Corporation The Jackson 5 (2:57)
The Young Folks George Gordy, Allen Story The Jackson 5 (2:50)

Credits

Paul Slaughter (Photography), Joe Hernandez (Photography), Hal Davis (Producer), The Corporation (Producer)
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Wikipedia: ABC (album)
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ABC
Studio album by The Jackson 5
Released May 8, 1970
Recorded 1969-1970
Genre Bubblegum pop/soul
Length 35:45
Label Motown
MS 709
Producer The Corporation
Professional reviews
The Jackson 5 chronology
Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5
(1969)
ABC
(1970)
Third Album
(1970)
Alternate Cover
2 Classic Albums/1 CD 2001 Re-release
2 Classic Albums/1 CD 2001 Re-release

ABC was the second studio album by The Jackson 5, issued on May 8, 1970 on Motown Records. It featured the number-one singles "ABC" and "The Love You Save". Also present on the LP are several notable album tracks, including a cover of Funkadelic's "I'll Bet You", "I Found That Girl" (the only lead song from brother Jermaine - Michael takes most of the leads on the album), and "The Young Folks", originally recorded by the Diana Ross-led version of The Supremes. It peaked at number-four on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart, and at number-one on the Billboard Black Albums chart. It was named number ninety-eight on the VH1 All Time Album Top 100. It remains of one of their most popular efforts selling over 5.7 million copies worldwide.[1]

Contents

Track listing

# Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Love You Save"   The Corporation 2:59
2. "One More Chance"   The Corporation 2:56
3. "ABC"   The Corporation 2:55
4. "2-4-6-8"   Jones/Sawyer 2:55
5. "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need" (The Miracles cover) Holland/Dozier/Holland 2:46
6. "Don't Know Why I Love You" (Stevie Wonder cover) Hardaway/Hunter/Riser/Wonder 3:47
7. "Never Had a Dream Come True" (Stevie Wonder cover) Wonder/Moy/Cosby 2:58
8. "True Love Can Be Beautiful"   Caston/Jackson/Taylor 3:24
9. "La-La (Means I Love You)" (The Delfonics cover) Bell 2:52
10. "I'll Bet You" (Funkadelic cover) Clinton/Barnes/Lindsey 2:26
11. "I Found That Girl"   The Corporation 2:57
12. "The Young Folks" (The Supremes cover) Gordy/Story 2:50

Bonus tracks

In 2001, Motown Records remastered all J5 albums in a "Two Classic Albums/One CD" series (much like they did in the late 1980s). This album was paired up with Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. The bonus track was an outtake, "Oh, I've Been Blessed," a song also released on the rare 1979 outtakes album Boogie.

Singles: 1. ABC 2. The Love You Save 3. 2-4-6-8 (Cancelled)

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1970 Top R&B Albums 1 (12 weeks)
1970 Billboard 200 4

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1970 "ABC" Billboard Pop Singles 1
"The Love You Save"

Notes

  1. ^ Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collecters Edition, page 99. American Press.



 
 
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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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