The Jackson 5 - The Ultimate Collection

It's hard to think of a more quintessential pre-disco-era supergroup, and this really is the ultimate collection of the Jackson 5's finest. From the super-sweet "I'll Be There" (which went on to become one of the most-covered songs in recent history) to the peppy pop of "I Want You Back," the period's essence is in every single high note. The Afros, the bell-bottoms, Michael pre-identity crisis, it's all there and so much more fun than anything any of the clan has done since. This is a great party album: classics like "ABC," "Never Can Say Goodbye," and "Rockin' Robin" sit alongside more jazz-influenced tracks like a cover of the Isleys' "It's Your Thing," and are guaranteed to keep all feet on the dance floor. --Rebecca Wallwork Amazon.com essential recording

Just Misses The Mark As A Jackson 5 Collection

A search in Music under the heading Ultimate Collection will garner you over 2,000 hits, ranging from Benny Hill and George Formby to 10cc and The Who, and just about everyone in between. Even Motown uses Ultimate Collection on a number of their CDs, but the best of the lot where they are concerned is the series with similar cover art by David Irvin and involving Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Marvelettes, Martha (Reeves) & The Vandellas, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Mary Wells. Each has a comprehensive series of background notes and discographies of the contents and usually 25 tracks.

This one, also from Motown, is not part of that series, but it's still a pretty decent compilation of the 20 Motown hits registered by The Jackson 5 from late 1969 to 1975, with 3 pages of informative notes written by David Ritz, author of Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye (among other works), several more nice shots of the boys, and a discography of the contents. The sound quality is excellent.

If there's a fault to be found, it's the inclusion of four solo hits by Michael (tracks 10, 12, 15 and 20) and one by Jermaine (track 13) - all hits to be sure, but their inclusion came at the expense of these legitimate Jackson 5 charters: I Found That Girl, the B-side to the 1970 # 1 Billboard Pop Hot 100/R&B The Love You Save, and considered a "follow-along" hit on both charts; Little Bitty Pretty One, a # 8 R&B and # 13 Hot 100 in May 1972; Corner Of The Sky, a # 9 R&B/# 19 Hot 100 in late 1972 from the Broadway musical Pippin; Hallelujah Day, a # 10 R&B/# 28 Hot 100 in April 1973; Whatever You Got, I Want, a # 3 R&B/# 38 Hot 100 in late 1974; and their final hits at Motown, the two-sided Forever Came Today (# 6 R&B/# 60 Hot 100 in July 1975 and its flip-side, All I Do Is Think Of You, a # 50 R&B on its own.

You do get their very first hit for Motown, after coming over from Steeltown Records (no hits there), the two-sided I Want You Back (# 1 R&B for 4 weeks/# 1 Hot 100 for a week in late 1969/early 1970) and its B-side, Who's Loving You?, an R&B "follow-along" hit. Four of their next five were also R&B # 1 hits, starting with ABC, which also spent 4 weeks at the top of the R&B charts and two on the Hot 100 in spring 1970, then followed that summer by the above-mentioned The Love You Save, and in the early fall by I'll Be There (6 weeks at # 1 Hot 100 and 6 R&B, as well as # 24 on the Adult Contemporary charts. In early 1971, Mama's Pearl reached # 2 on both the Hot 100 and R&B charts, and a couple of months later they hit # 1 R&B again with Never Can Say Goodbye (as well as # 2 Hot 100).

In late summer 1971, Maybe Tomorrow peaked at # 3 R&B/# 20 Hot 100, and they then closed out a very successful year with Sugar Daddy, which rosew to # 3 R&B/# 10 Hot 100 early in 1972. Summer of that year saw Lookin' Through The Windows top out at # 5 R&B/# 16 Hot 100, and in late summer 1973, Get It Together made it to # 2 R&B/# 28 Hot 100. Dancing Machine then became their last # 1 R&B in spring 1974, and also # 2 Hot 100, and in February 1975, I Am Love (Parts I & II) finished at # 5 R&B/# 15 Hot 100.

The following year they moved to Columbia's Epic subsidiary where, from 1976 to 1989, billed as The Jacksons (and with personnel changes), they would add another 15 hit singles. Another, 1987's Time Out For The Burglar from the film Burglar (# 88 R&B in February), was released on MCA, while in 1992, a different version of Who's Loving You, recorded on May 29, 1971 in Gary, Indiana, was a # 48 R&B hit on Motown, again billed as The Jackson 5.

A very nice compilation, which includes two album cuts (tracks 5 and 18) and, at track 21, It's Your Thing (The J5 in `95 extended remix). A 5-star edition with those missing J5 hits. August 23, 2008

ALMOST perfect.

Here's how to make this a perfect J5 collection. Replace "It's Your Thing ('95 Extended Remix)" with "Ben" (how could they forget to include Michael's first number one single?) and "Goin' Back To Indiana".

Other than those two oversights, this collection is top notch. Awesome sound quality, great packaging. August 7, 2008

Must have for all Jackson fans

Love this album. If your a fan of any of the Jacksons this is a must have. May 17, 2008

Can It Get Any Better??

The Jackson 5 will always remain my favorite artists of all time. This album contains all of the hits from Motown. There all here, "I Want You Back,ABC,The Love You Save,I'll Be There,and so many many more. I grew up listening to songs and still love them today. An when the group disbanded, I did not being a fan. I am also a huge fan of Michael & Janet as well. Two of the greatest concert givers of all time. I wish I would of been old enough at the time to see the Jackson 5 live. Hopefully, they will do a reunion album and tour one of these days. I know Michael will be releasing an album later this year, so I am awaiting that. The only flaw I have with this album, is that it does not include the 1971 #1 hit "Ben". As for that, this is a perfect collection from the Jackson 5. I recommend this to you! April 17, 2008

The Jackson 5 is back!!!

This is a great CD. I had it before and it was taken away from me. I saw the great price on Amazon and had to get it. I enjoy playing it. It is filled with great songs. I wish it had more though:-) January 12, 2008

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