LP Review: ABC
Previous LP: Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 (C) Next LP: Third Album (C+)
Released: 1970
LP Charts: #1 R&B (12 weeks), #4 pop
ABC was a blockbuster and a drastic improvement over the Jackson 5’s debut album. ABC spent an incredible 12 weeks atop the R&B charts in 1970. At that point in time only the Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin) and the Emperors of Soul (the Temptations) had albums that had spent more time at the top than these little kiddos from Indiana.
The success of this album was thanks to the Jackson 5 quickly reaching the apogee of what I call sugar funk.
Sugar funk: maintaining the hard instrumentation of a funk track, but creating lyrics and hooks suitable for pop radio. Think basically of the Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” but processed by James Brown.
Sly & the Family Stone pioneered it with “Dance to the Music”. The Temptations adopted it to a degree with songs like “I Can’t Get Next To You”, but the Jackson 5 perfected it with “ABC” (#1 R&B, #1 pop).
Oh sure, their previous smash “I Want You Back” was definitely sugar funk material (and a perfect song), but it wasn’t a perfect SUGAR FUNK song. “ABC” is perfect sugar funk. The lyrics are absolutely ridiculous and juvenile (in a good way) and the vocal performances from Michael and Jermaine deserve a chef’s kiss.
But my God, have y’all ever listened to just the instrumental of this song? This track is funky as fuck. The fuzz guitar goes hard as a motherfucker. Funkadelic easily coulda made this a hard core psychedelic funk-rock song with very minor arrangement changes and if the lyrics went a different direction. Actually, knowing George Clinton and the gang, they coulda pulled off “ABC” as a tongue-in-cheek performance.
And unlike their debut album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 (C), Motown had several originals primed for the fellas as the production and songwriting team known as the Corporation was fully activated.
“The Love You Save” (#1 R&B, #1 pop) was yet another sugar funk chart-topper and their most underrated megasmash. Michael carries the song through its first two minutes, but then Jermaine gets to bring it on home during the final minute as the song approaches—dare I say, gleefully—proto-disco territory as sharp string stabs, insistent foot stomps, and loud handclaps drive an intense dance beat.
If “The Love You Save” was a then-megasmash that is now somewhat forgotten, “2-4-6-8” is a hidden gem of the era. It was never issued on a single, either as an A-side or B-side, so the only way to get it was to get this album. And it’s what helps make this LP worth the price. Clearly built as a sequel to “ABC”—the songs are literally back-to-back on the album—“2-4-6-8” is a slower paced take on schoolyard love. And once again Michael and Jermaine fucking own this track.
They really were a perfect pair operating like the next incarnation of Sam & Dave.
We get three more originals for a total of six—yes SIX—on ABC. That’s half the album! A far cry from 10 covers from their debut.
“True Love Can Be Beautiful” is another sugar funk song that points the way toward proto-disco. “I Found That Girl” is Jermaine’s solo showcase. It’s a good ballad. Not setting the world on fire, but well sung. Less impressive is “One More Chance”. Second weakest song on the album and a bit too drab. It’s still above average and better than most of the stuff found on their first album.
More Covers!
The most proto-disco songs yet on this album comes in the form of the Miracles’ classic “(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need” and Stevie Wonder’s nearly contemporaneous “Never Had A Dream Come True”. I complained a lot about the Motown cannibalism on their first album, but I’ve lowered my guns here because these covers are actually almost as good as the originals. Almost, not quite. But you’ll keep these in regular rotation if you’re fan of Black pop from the ‘60s and early ‘70s.
The balladeering covers are also much better than before.
The Jackson 5 acquaint themselves very well on their cover of Wonder’s “Don't Know Why I Love You”, even if Michael is too young to be singing about cheating women. The Delfonics are once again included as J5 take on “La La (Means I Love You)”. This is the cover that most pales in comparison to the original. Not because the Jacksons take is bad, it’s pleasant, but the original falsetto of the Delfonics’ version is impeccable.
The less said about “The Young Folks” (first done by the Supremes), the better. That song absolutely sucks.
But let’s end on a high note… The Jackson 5 covered Funkadelic!
On the one hand, it’s not too surprising, since Funkadelic got their start in Detroit and George Clinton even had a writing credit for a Supremes album a couple years earlier. But still… this kiddie group covers Funkadelic?!
And they did a good job with “I’ll Bet You”! Naturally it’s truncated from the original 6:10 version by Clinton’s band of funky freaks, but it’s still keeps most of the psychedelic freakout nature. The Jackson 5 wouldn’t do a song this freaked out again until their Get It Together album in 1973.
ALBUM GRADE: B
Huuuuuge improvement from their first album. I’m settling for a B grade despite feeling it’s too low. But then whenever I wrote in a B+, I thought that was being too generous.
The overall message though is that this is the album to pick if you’re interested in the Jackson 5’s early period. Two big hits and plenty of great, solid songs filling out the album. Except “The Young Folks”. For the love of God, don’t listen to that. It’s what truly stops me from giving the album a B+.
Song Score
The Love You Save: 9/10
One More Chance: 6/10
ABC: 10/10
2-4-6-8: 8.5/10
(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need: 7/10
Don't Know Why I Love You: 7/10
Never Had A Dream Come True: 7.5/10
True Love Can Be Beautiful: 7.5/10
La La (Means I Love You): 6.5/10
I'll Bet You: 7/10
I Found That Girl: 7/10
The Young Folks: 3/10
Previous LP: Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 (C) Next LP: Third Album (C+)