Teen

The Jackson 5 release a Christmas album!  This Christmas “compilation” is really NOT a Christmas compilation CD from The Jackson 5.  This is more a reissue of their Christmas album from 1970, titled simply Christmas Album.  This reissue, I mean compilation, comes to us from Motown Records, the original issuing label, through UMG Recordings, Inc.  And boy did they do a great job with this!

The Jackson 5 was a musical family from Gary, Indiana.  Through stern leadership from their father Joe, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael became superstars.  They started playing together as a group in 1965.  They entered local talent contests and won many competitions.

In 1967, their father secured for them a recording contract on a small label called Steeltown Records.  That was short lived, and The Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records in 1968.  The rest is history.  The Jackson 5 became the number one teen group in the world.

As times changed and musical styles changed, The Jackson 5 grew bored with Motown and signed a new record contract with Epic Records.  Because Motown owned the name The Jackson 5, they changed their name to The Jacksons.  They released a few successful albums with Epic and Michael Jackson started his solo career.

This CD contains all of their Christmas album from 1970 plus a bonus track from Michael Jackson singing Little Christmas Tree from 1973.  All the songs on the CD are in their original track order as well.

Again, Motown / UMG Recordings, Inc. did a great job.  This time, with the artwork.  The cover of the CD is the same exact cover from the original album except the CD title covers where the title of the album was.  It is presented as a gold wrapped gift with a large red bow.  Placed under the bow are autographed promotional pictures of the individual members.  Other than the 20^th Century Masters logo at the top, it is an exact copy.

The back of the CD resembles the back of the album greatly.  The artwork is exactly the same, just the lettering of song titles and copyright notices are placed differently.  The back cover is…, I’m not sure what it is.  It looks like it’s supposed to be the underside of the Christmas gift presented on the front cover, but it looks more like a close-up of a rock.  I don’t know what it is.  The red ribbon on the front continues around the back to make it look like a wrapped Christmas gift.  There is a numerical track list along the left side of the back cover.

The front cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out.  Inside, a gold band runs along the top and on the right side are the same five PR photos from the front cover.  The rest of both sides features a numerical track list with time signatures and below the song titles are writer / arranger credits.  Also, reissue copyright credits are on the right side.

The back of the CD cover is a gold background with a red bar across the top.  The only graphics are first name autographs of The Jackson 5 group members.

So, we get the original artwork from the front and back of the album except for some lettering.  We get all the original 11 songs in their original order, and we get a bonus song from a Michael Jackson single in 1973.  So far, so good.

The one thing missing from the CD is the name of the orchestra leader.  Even though The Jackson 5 did play instruments, and I’m not sure if they played them on their own albums or relied on studio musicians, but I know for sure they did not provide all the lush orchestrations presented here.  When Motown signed The Jackson 5, Barry Gordy, Jr. set up a production team called The Corporation to do all the song writing and arranging for The Jackson 5, including this album.

The CD begins with Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.  It is presented as a soft, lush, string laden arrangement.  And if I knew my Jackson 5s better I would know who is taking the lead vocals on this.  Whomever it is, they do a terrific job while the rest of The Jackson 5 provide the chorus.  Just when you think the song fades away, the tempo doubles and features “The Jackson 5 Sound” of syncopated harmonies featuring Michael’s high pitch and R&B rhythms to take the song to the end.

Now, the 2^nd song is The Jackson 5 Sound.  Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town is a jubilant song that starts with Rock guitar and snare drum while Michael Jackson sings the lead vocals.  His voice was strong for as young as he was.  The rest of the group provides a layered chorus.  This song is in my list of Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.  I still hear it on the radio every year.

The whole group opens the 3^rd song, The Christmas Song, with a soft chorus.  Once again, I’m not sure who is singing the lead vocals.  The arrangement is a studio group with orchestral backup.  The rest of The Jackson 5 continue their close harmonies.  This is a good Christmas song from them.

The tempo picks up again with Up On The House Top.  It starts with a snare drum and trumpets before the rest of the band joins in.  Michael Jackson delivers a rousting version of this Christmas classic.  Trumpets introduce the middle break while all the Jacksons tease one another about the whereabouts of Santa Claus.  It all returns for the finish.

The 5^th song, Frosty The Snowman, is a traditional orchestral arrangement with The Jackson 5 sharing the lead vocals.

The Little Drummer Boy opens with traditional drums and reed instruments while Michael sings the lead.  The rest of The Jackson 5 provide harmonic bass calls.  As the song progresses and the full orchestra comes in with strings and brass instruments, Michael continues his endearing rendition of the lyrics.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer uses a flute and Latin percussion to set the rhythm.  All The Jackson 5 share the vocals.

The 8^th song is an original Christmas song, probably written for this album.  Christmas Won’t Be The Same This Year.  It opens with Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Michael wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, but Jermaine is not having a good season, and they discuss his recent break up with his girlfriend.  Suddenly the song breaks open with the classic Jackson 5 Sound.  Mixed harmonies are presented against a rollicking rhythm while Jermaine sings about all the reasons Christmas won’t be the same this year without his girl.

The 9^th song is Give Love At Christmas, written at Motown, (one of the writers is Barry Gordy, Jr.), and it is a soulful ballad, (sung by Michael, I think).  It speaks of love as the greatest gift to give this Christmas.  It is all presented over a traditional orchestral arrangement.

I believe the 10^th song is also an original out of Motown.  Someday At Christmas first showed up on Stevie Wonder’s Christmas album from 1967.  The Jackson 5 stay true to the original arrangement.  It speaks of someday at Christmas, perhaps mankind will have solved all its world problems.  Someday.

The final Jackson 5 song on the CD is the 11^th song, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.  Since the song was written from a child’s point of view, Michael Jackson sounds perfect on this traditional arrangement.  The rest of The Jackson 5 provide strong harmonies.  There is a nice Latin percussion solo during the middle break.  This too is still heard on the radio every year at Christmas.

The CD finishes with a bonus track not included on the original album.  It comes from a Michael Jackson single released in 1973.  Little Christmas Tree is a soulful ballad about a lonely boy who only sees more loneliness in a single Christmas tree left for sale and all the surrounding Christmas cheer brings his sadness even closer to him.  I’ve heard a lot of original Christmas songs in my time, and this is not one of the great ones.  It sounds like it was cranked out to sell a Michael Jackson song at Christmas.  But if not for this CD, I probably wouldn’t have it in my collection, so there’s that.

This is a terrific Christmas CD for what it was, not for what it is.  It was recorded for the teen market, but the parents had to like it to.  The songs had to be classics everyone would be familiar with.  It has its place in time, and that time was 1970.  If you weren’t there for the 1970s, I can tell you they were very different than they are now.

The orchestral arrangements are traditional, so it blends in well with all the other Christmas songs from the Classic Christmas Music Era.  It has wonderful strings, brass and reed instruments that all blend together beautifully.  In all the songs, no matter who sings the lead vocals, the rest of The Jackson 5 is there to provide their trademark upbeat, syncopated harmonies.  It is the mix of the ages of the members that gives them their unique sound.  At the time of this recording, they ranged from 12 to 19.

I give this CD

****