Anthology
AMG REVIEW: When a teenage Michael Jackson was known
primarily for his membership in the Jackson 5, rock critics
tended to dismiss him as bubblegum. But even at his most waifish,
the pre-Thriller, pre-Quincy
Jones Jackson could be soulful. Spanning 1971-75, this two-CD set
shows us how inviting some of Jackson's early solo recordings
were. Major hits like "Ben" (his oddly poignant ode to
a rat), "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and "Got To Be There"
are included, along with noteworthy album tracks like Bill
Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and the standard "All
the Things You Are." Anyone who doubted that he was a
serious R&B/pop singer should have examined Jackson's moving
version of the Philly soul classic "People Make the World Go
Round" (which is heard with different lyrics than on the
Stylistics' much better known version). The package also contains
a handful of Jackson 5 hits, including "Never Can Say
Goodbye" and the infectious "Dancing Machine." To
be sure, Jackson's solo albums of the early to mid-1970s had
their share of filler, something this package isn't devoid of
either. But thankfully, Anthology has a lot more pluses than
minuses. For an introductory overview of Jackson's early
accomplishments on his own, Anthology is the most logical choice.
1. Got to Be There (Willensky) - 3:32
2. Rockin' Robin (Thomas) - 2:31
3. Ain't No Sunshine (Withers) - 4:08
4. Maria (You Were the Only One) (Brown/Glover/Gordy/Story) - 3:40
5. I Wanna Be Where You Are (Ross/Ware) - 2:56
6. Girl Don't Take Your Love from Me (Hutch) - 3:47
7. Love Is Here and Now You're Gone (Dozier/Holland/Holland) - 2:51
8. Ben (Black/Scharf) - 3:45
9. People Make the World Go 'round (Bell/Creed) - 4:03
10. Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day (Cosby/Moy/Wonder) - 4:13
11. With a Child's Heart (Basemore/Cosby/Moy) - 4:32
12. Everybody's Somebody's Fool (Adams/Adams/Hampton) - 3:58
13. In Our Small Way (Berdi/Yarian) - 4:38
14. All the Things You Are (Hammerstein/Kern) - 3:55
15. You Can Cry on My Shoulder (Gordy) - 3:32
16. Maybe Tomorrow (Corporation) - 5:39
17. I'll Be There (Davis/Gordy/Hutch/West) - 4:57
18. Never Can Say Goodbye (Davis) - 3:59
19. It's Too Late to Change the Time (Sawyer/Ware) - 3:55
20. Dancing Machine (Davis/Fletcher/Parks) - 3:18
21. When I Come of Age (Davis/Fletcher/Parks) - 2:39
22. Dear Michael (Davis/Willensky) - 2:31
23. Music and Me (Cann/Fencenton/Larson/Marcellino) - 2:36
24. You Are There (Brown/Meitzenheimer/Yarian) - 3:23
25. One Day in Your Live (Armand/Brown) - 4:15
26. Love's Gone Bad (Dozier/Holland/Holland) - 3:09
27. That's What Love Is Made Of (Moore/Robinson/Rogers) - 3:24
28. Who's Looking for a Lover (Hillard/Ware) - 2:51
29. Lonely Teardrops (Carlo/Gordy/Gordy) - 2:41
30. We're Almost There (Holland/Holland) - 3:41
31. Take Me Back (Holland/Holland) - 3:21
32. Just a Little Bit of You (Holland/Holland) - 3;09
33. Melodie (Larson/Marcellino/Richards) - 3:19
34. I'll Come Home to You (Perren/Yarian) - 3:03
35. If N' I Was God (Sherman/Sherman) - 3;04
36. Happy (Love theme from "Lady sings the blues"(Legrand/Robinson) - 3:25
37. Don't Let It Get You Down (Larson/Marcellino/Richards) - 2:58
38. Call on Me (Mizell/Mizell) - 3:36
39. To Make My Father Proud (Crewe/Weiss) - 4:04
40. Farewell My Summer Love (Lewis) - 4:21
