When all is said and done, there is no doubt that Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of the greatest live performances in the history (or HIStory) of recorded music. From his early days coming up on the chitlin’ circuit of black musicians in the 60’s to his official coming-out party at Motown 25 in 1983, the King of Pop is a master stageman.

In the early-80’s, The Jacksons were probably second to earth, Wind & Fire as the best live R&B band. Flawless choreography matched with light shows and sci-fi/magic effects designed by the late Doug Henning, made the “Triumph” tour of 1981 a successful jaunt for the brothers. This CD documents that particular tour, recorded right before Michael went into the studio to record what would become “Thriller”.

Due to Mike’s recent solo success with “Off The Wall”, a little less than half the concert originates from that album. Most of the songs are sped up a bit from their original versions, with the highlights being an electric version of “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”, and an emotional reading of “She’s Out of My Life”, on which MJ unveils the “can I come down there and sing to you?” routine later lampooned by Eddie Murphy in “Delirious”.

Most of the other material comes from the Jacksons’ albums “Triumph” and “Destiny”, although the show is basically all Michael. The brothers do little other than contribute “ooh”’s and “”ahh”’s and background harmony, punctuated by the odd little fey scream. The only brother that really makes a contribution is Randy, as evidenced by his vocal turn in “Can You Feel It?” (he opens the show by screaming the title line, most notably sampled on the Jungle Brothers’ hip-house classic “I’ll House You”), and a stint at the piano for a medley of the brothers’ Motown hits.

There’s very little stage patter by the guys except for occasional shouts of “How you feel?” or “Thank you!”, except for a little staged dialogue that appears before the aforementioned medley. A reel is shown of the one of the J5’s “Ed Sullivan” appearances, which culminates in Michael voicing his disagreement with playing the “old songs”, at which point Randy argues that the fans wanna hear the old songs (crowd screams its approval). The exchange goes back and forth before Michael decided he’ll perform a medley “but I’m only doing it for you (the fans), not for you (the brothers)”. This exchange was cute and funny when I first heard it when I was eight or nine, hilariously corny twenty-two years later. They then proceed to tear up a medley of “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There”, essentially the medley they performed at the Motown special (minus Jermaine).

Anyway, this CD is pretty good (although the early 80’s sound quality could use a remastering). It’s cool not only to hear the brothers performing Michael’s solo material, but also to hear an “adult” Michael singing J5 classics. It’s also good to hear Michael’s strong, soulful singing voice, before it got affected by his many vocal tics, not to mention Michael’s other neuroses. I’m not usually much for live albums, but “The Jacksons Live” is a must have for any Jackson fan.

Rating: 4 stars

Key tracks: "Motown medley", "Rock With You", "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)"


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out