Thursday 28 June 2018

Jackie Jackson (1973) In My Dreams - LOST 70s GEMS

In the second of Jackie Jackson double bills, I look at the other highlight of Jackie Jacksons' 1973 solo album. While in the last post I already chose the best track, in light of the passing last night of Joe Jackson, the Family Patriarch and the manager of the Jackson Five it felt right to do another. The album is surprisingly underrated, check out the Philly inspired, electric sitar riff of Love Don't Want to Leave or the atmospheric piano chords, sample ready drum beat and Jackie's sensual spoken word intro in the opening of Is It Him or Me. Other sonic moments is the huge airy vocals of It's So Easy or Do I Owe's mix of tricky piano, soothing doo wop vocal backings and warm electric guitar all swaying along to the tempo.


But I chose In My Dreams for my second pick from this featherlite album with it's bracing hook of "Every night, Stars come out to play, Moving slight down the milky way, As we fly by they stop and wave", sung with blunt statements while the verses counteract that with longing in a yearning melody complete with sweet harmonies. There are also nice doo wop vocals singing 'Dreams' against a familiar background of piano, twangs of electric sitar and cosmic strings as they are present on most tracks to provide a suitably soft yet tough aural landscape for Jackie's angelic voice. This was definitely a strong solo effort form the elder Jackson, it's a shame only Michael and Jermaine ever got notice.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Jackie Jackson (1973) Bad Girl - LOST 70s GEMS

The oldest Jackson brother released a solo album on Motown records inspired by little brother Michael and younger sibling Jermaine's solo outings and its a doozy. It's filled with that masterful Motown meets Philly early 70s magic that you heard all over at the time, particularly in the Jackson Five's own recordings, Chi Lites and the Stylistics. Full of incandescent musicianship and all the tracks graced with Jackie's clean falsetto that marked so many Jackson albums, the best of the bunch is Bad Girl a long drawn out romantic sweep of a song. Jackie swoons endlessly in his super high voice over a standard Jackson Five use of Harpsichord; the lyrical beautifully stating over and over again 'She's not a bad girl because..'.

 Jackie Jackson may not have a distinctive vice, or capability to deliver the same weight as his famous younger brother but he sure as one hell of a smooth and clear falsetto voice still strong in concert today.The swirling production of call and response vocals, sweeping strings, perky string plucks and insistent drums that climaxes in a very high note by Jackie. The song has a incredibly melodic hook going for it that sets it up as a potential classic soul hit due to the album's poor sales. It's just a shame as when Jackie hits those high notes singin 'she wants to be freee' while a flute swoops alongside him in a a fairy tale package of a song.
I also do love the eye catching 70s Marvin Gaye/ Shaft swagger of the album cover featuring Jackie with a leather jacket slung over one shoulder in a photo cutout of his own silhouette; very Blaxploitation!


Monday 4 June 2018

JIgsaw (1972) Ready to Ride - LOST 70s GEMS

With it's awesome colourful front cover of blue and red pixies pairing off into the sunset, the album bears Ready to Ride a blueprint for their future successes with it's stirring strings sweeping along with wah-wah guitar pick attacks and Des' superb soaring high tenor vocals and a very 70s mellow bridge with its ghostly reverbed disco strings. The throbbing bass moog synthesizer reveals how they were already on the cutting edge of the 70s disco and soul scene focusing on mixing the rhythmic and the lush.  Come With Me starts with a short echoed, sweet string part before a pause and a double bass drum strike into a easy listening soul ballad; it's sweet dreariness and lyrics about come and walk with me must have inspired the designs on the front and back of the album with little man and woman characters walking off into the distance with their backs to us like exiles from the side of some Disney fairground ride.