This is Jackson’s fifth album, but arguably his first “grown up” one – he was 20 when he made this, with Quincy Jones. He’s still technically part of The Jacksons, and required his father’s permission to make the album, but you can tell this is him finding his niche.
There’s R&B and soul on here, but mostly Jackson leans heavily into the funk and disco – the big hits Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough and Rock With Me are both very disco, but for me the best track was the super-funky Get On The Floor. There’s a great break-down in the middle where the drums (mainly toms, I think) seem to circle your head if you’re listening on headphones.
There’s a song written by Paul McCartney (Girlfriend, which sounds like a Wings song), one by Stevie Wonder (I Can’t Help It), and one by Carole Bayer Sager (It’s The Falling In Love) but Jackson’s own composition (Don’t Stop...) easily holds its own against these giants of songwriting, cementing his place in the pantheon of music, I think.
Jackson is one of those singers, like Sinatra, that makes what they do sound so smooth and easy that it’s easy to think that they’re not really trying. Although to be fair, he’s been performing for so long in his life already that a lot of this is second nature. All of his characteristic Woos, Heys, and Ows are here, interjecting off to the side throughout. Off The Wall starts with a witch’s cackle that feels like a prediction of Thriller, while She’s Out Of My Life is a slow ballad that sounds more like the little Michael of Ben fame.
On this alone, it’s a good bridge between the Jackson of the Jackson Five, and Jackson as a collosus of a solo artist. Here, all the weirdness of his personal life, Neverland, the plastic surgery, is yet to happen, so enjoy the innocence.
Comments
Post a Comment