Calling you Baby Boomers! Just when your Motown J-Five 45s and LPs have become unplayably scratchy, now comes a bright red CD to the rescue for you and me. You who remember little Michael Jackson leading his brothers on black and white world TV shows like Shindig, Hullabaloo, or American Bandstand, this collector’s item is for you. So pay attention to what I’m about to review; like these songs, it won’t take long.
The Jackson Story/ Number 1s [Hip-O Records HIP-OB0009599-82] is here so you can relive the magic memories of this history-making sound from “I Want You Back” to “Billie Jean”; twenty songs in all. The concept is reminiscent of the Motown vinyl Anthology series of the mid-seventies, except all of these songs hit “number one” on either the Black Music/R&B or Pop music charts.
For younger fans who heard their parents and other elders play these tunes, this is your opportunity to get “coached-up” with clean versions as well! The one glaring error I noticed is in the labeling of track seventeen on the cover’s inside and back, as well as on the disc itself: the name of the song is “Heartbreak Hotel” not “This Place Hotel” (where’d they get that title from?) Also, they might have included a little more written or photographic history about these tunes as an insert. I enjoyed hearing the fantastic brassy intro to “Lovely One” from off of the 1980 “Triumph” LP – fantastic!
There is not much more that I can say that already hasn’t been; this would make a nice gift for the hit music fan on your list, and since they were all chart-toppers I can only deduct a half point for the proofreaders overlooking the blatant typo, making this one come in at four-and-a-half stars.
