The Jackson 5 were a group made-up of five brothers from Gary, Indiana, USA –Michael, Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Randy (with Jermaine instead of Randy pre-1976)– under the leadership of their father Joseph Jackson…
As the progressive movement was making more and more adept in La Belle Province, more and more groups got contracts and as Celebration record lost Harmonium to CBS, they offered a contract to Opus 5. This band can be seen as a good cross in between Harmonium and Maneige or Sloche. Some Gentle Giant and Jethro Tull influences are also evident. Their first album is full of delicious melodies with soft yet incisive vocals and great flute passages all on 5 superb compositions by five superb musicians.
Looking at the cover, which shows Michael and none of his four brothers, one wouldn’t get the idea that this three-disc set is two-thirds Jackson 5 material. While Michael obviously features prominently in the Jackson 5 songs on The Motown Years, he gets one disc to himself. Altogether, this box collects all the essential J5 and Michael singles and more, including 'ABC', 'Never Can Say Goodbye', 'I Found That Girl', 'I Am Love', 'The Love You Save', 'Ben', 'Rockin’ Robin', and 'I Wanna Be Where You Are'. Released in the U.K., it retails for the price of a single disc and is a convenient way to scoop up a large quantity of high-quality ‘70s pop-soul.