Michael Jackson
THE MOTOWN50 MIXES
Universal/Motown
UK Release Date:24th August 2009

I'm being totally honest here - back in 1968 when the first record of the Jackson 5 hit the shops I was horrified at what I was hearing. OK, so the song was a hit and the success of the Jackson 5 is unquestionable but the fact remains that I was rightly or wrongly still hooked on the 'traditional' sixties Motown sound and I did not like what I was hearing. It was obvious that Berry Gordy was changing the sound of Motown during the latter part of the 1960's but for me it still held that magical feel to it and I did not like 'I Want You Back' in any shape or form and dismissed it as a bubblegum pop record (even though I bought it to keep my collection up to date) convinced it would be a one hit wonder. How wrong I was to be even though the follow up singles and resulting LP's were of equal success. As the 1970's arrived and more singles/LP's from these guys appeared I still didn't change my mind and only after the Jacksons joined Philly International, and Michael Jackson started to release product from 'Off The Wall' onwards did I start to sit up and take notice of what they were doing and indeed achieving as a result.

Only a fool would dare to suggest that the late Michael Jackson was not a brilliant artist of the highest calibre, it's just that it took longer for me personally to recognise it. Anyway onto this recent release from Michael (along with the excellent Hello World CD) which there was a real danger of ignoring when my promo copy arrived recently. The Motown50 mixes are not just another collection of previously issued singles that we've all seen and heard before, but a collection of stripped down mixes produced much in the same way that we had with the deluxe version of the Funk Brothers' double CD 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown'.

To appreciate what is on offer here you need a good set of quality headphones before embarking on a journey through the Jackson 5 early catalogue where the producers have taken a number of classic tunes and stripped them down to the bear basics removing certain instruments and bringing out the vocal delivery in a way that you don't normally hear when playing the standard stock issues of these songs. It serves two purposes here - on the one hand you get to hear Michael's very young voice in a personal way even down to the point of each breath he takes, secondly the harmonising with the Jackson brothers on some tracks is stunning, and thirdly you get to hear individual instruments played by the studio band The Funk Brothers some of which invariably get lost in the overall production of these songs, so bonuses all round here.

There's no need to hark on about the songs in question as all the popular Jackson 5 tracks are here. I've decided to provide three audio samples for readers to judge for themselves before deciding whether to buy the CD. Highlight's for me include the Clifton Davis written 'Never Can Say Goodbye' which was the same song that disco diva Gloria Gaynor had a hit with as well as the Bill Wither's song 'Ain't No Sunshine' which I particularly liked in this format. You'll also find other songs such as 'With A Child's Heart' ''I'll Be There' and the million selling 'I Want You Back'

Easy to dismiss but give it a chance - I was pleasantly surprised and is a good companion to his other release 'Hello World'.

Tracklisting;

I'll Be There
Ben
Who's Loving You
Ain't No Sunshine
I Want You Back
ABC
We've Got A Good Thing Going
With A Child's Heart
Darling Dear
Got To Be There
Never Can Say Goodbye

Audio Samples;

Ain't No Sunshine
With A Child's Heart
Got To Be There