What of those Jacksons? Although they're now pretty much a national punchline, let's not forget that The Jacksons are America's first family of music. Katherine & Evilass Joe's 9 kids have all made their mark in pop culture, whether it's been Michael's near-superhuman talent (and subsequent colossal flame-out), LaToya's Playboy centerfold & psychic adventures, or Janet's right titty, the Gary, Indiana-born family has stayed on radio waves and in the headlines for 35 years now.

Lost in Michael's success over the years has been the fact that he made some solid albums with his brothers up until and even past the record-breaking success of “Thriller”. Although most people remember MJ performing with his brothers in the early Motown days of “I Want You Back” and “ABC”, a lot of people forget that from 1976-1984, The Jacksons were one of R&B's most successful acts. After bolting Motown for Epic Records in 1975, the quintet (Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Toto & Randy, with Jermaine re-joining in 1984) recorded seven albums. All except for 1977's “Goin' Places” went Gold, three went Platinum-a rarity for any black act pre-”Thriller”.

At any rate, the family group has been way overdue for a Greatest Hits collection. Their Epic albums, while solid, are not remastered, resulting in fairly tinny sound. After Michael put the kibosh on several proposed hits compilations, Sony Music finally released “The Essential Jacksons”, now that Michael is no longer an Epic artist. While there's no denying the funk/pop/disco goodness of these songs, Sony definitely dropped the ball on the packaging tip. One would have hoped that the brothers deserved more than this carelessly put together package. While I can't totally fault the song selection, I can't say I wholeheartedly enjoy this album any more than I enjoy the Jacksons' mixtapes I put together.

One thing that I enjoy about this album is that it's pre-freak Michael. There he is in the booklet's fold out, dark skinded with a big ol' 'Fro and a whopping schnozz. Looks aside, that schnozz also has to do with his vocal talents. While Michael still occasionally shows us that he is a jaw-dropping vocalist (“Butterflies”), his vocal arsenal has regressed to a series of grunts and shouts sung through half a nose. All of the tracks on this collection reveal Michael to be one of the last of the great soul singers, with a vocal style that suggest some bizarre hybrid of Jackie Wilson's purity and James Brown's guttural growl. The earliest tracks on this album date back to the beginning of the Jacksons' tenure at Epic, where they were paired with legendary Philly International producers Gamble & Huff. “Enjoy Yourself”, in someone else's hands, would've been just another well-played disco song, but Michael's vocal is forceful and playful at the same time. The ballads-”Show You The Way to Go” and “Find Me A Girl” feature great harmonizing by the brothers, as well as classy backing from the Philly International house band, MFSB. Both also feature excellent vocal performances by MJ, easy and relaxed (and seductive!) on “Find Me A Girl”, and propulsive on “Show You The Way To Go”, especially on the ad-libs which end the song, where he sounds like a young Teddy Pendergrass.

After the two albums with Gamble & Huff proved to be only moderately successful, the brothers begged Epic to finally let them produce themselves. The result-1978's “Destiny” was an unqualified success which turned out to be a dry run for the pop/dance/soul synthesis Michael mastered a year later with “Off The Wall”. Again, in anyone else's hands, “Blame It On The Boogie” and “Shake Your Body (Down to The Ground)” would have just been good disco songs. “Boogie”'s strength lies in Mike's playful vocal and the brother's sublime harmonizing. “Shake” goes on for just a wee bit too long (7:57), but the track's rubbery bass groove and addictive chorus is irresistible. Shortly after “Shake Your Body” hit, Mike went nuclear with “Off The Wall”, but while most artists would have spent most of 1980 counting cash or resting on their laurels, Mike was back in the studio with his brothers, crafting “Triumph”, the album which wound up becoming the brothers' greatest commercial and artistic success.

'This Place Hotel” (retitled from “Heartbreak Hotel” to avoid confusion with the Elvis tune) was probably the very first instance of the Michael Jackson production style that would later work it's way into songs like “Billie Jean”. Moody strings and a scream (provided by La Toya) begin this pensive, unsettling song. Michael sounds alternately confused and scared out of his wits, and the track remains the group's defining moment. Unfortunately-that same album's “Can You Feel It” marked the beginning of Michael's messiah complex. I remember hearing this song all the way through the 1984 Olympics (in the midst of Michaelmania), and what amazes me is that, despite it's cheeziness, I'm still not sick of it after all these years. It was also one of the first special-effects laden music videos ever made. And they finally managed to slow “Lovely One” down enough so that Mike just sounds breathless as opposed to sounding like the tape was sped up.

Then came “Thriller”. If the balance of power in the Jacksons was already quite uneven, “Thriller” tipped the scales so much that a reunion was almost completely out of the question. Almost. The brothers got Jermaine (who'd left the group acrimoniously after they switched labels) back and recorded 1984's “Victory” album. In hindsight, “Victory” was a halfway decent album, but it suffered critically & commercially in comparison to “Thriller”. The only tune from that album included on this compilation is the flaccid “State Of Shock”, Michael's amusing stab at cockrock with none other than Mick Jagger sharing lead vocals. The song itself is fun in a kind of silly way, although it has next to no lyrics and contains some ostentatiously dumb vocal back-and-forth among both men towards the end of the song. There were two other singles from this album (the electrifying “Torture” and the mildly funky “Body”). Why those songs aren't included here is beyond me. Especially in light of the fact that there are two songs here from 1977's “Goin' Places”, easily the brothers' biggest flop and a Jacksons album that most people don't even know exists.

Then, it was over. Michael left. Then Marlon left (although no one really cared about that one). The band appeared done, but they managed to put out one last album (� Jackson Street”), that went Gold and spawned 2 Top Ten R&B singles even without Michael. However, the group had lost it's individuality, and instead of being a self-contained unit, they were stuck performing halfway decent songs by the era's hottest producers. Although “Nothin' (That Compares 2 U)” is one of the best early L.A./Babyface compositions (and boasts a hot guitar solo by 'Face), it could've been sung by anyone. Randy & Jermaine are obviously good vocalists, but there's not the fireworks that pop whenever Mike grabs the mic. �”'s title track was a mellow family-reunion type track produced by New Jack wiz kid Teddy Riley, and featured lead vocals by 7 of 9 Jackson family members, including Michael & Janet (family outcast La Toya wasn't invited and Marlon sat the track out). After this album, Epic (which had been swallowed up by Sony), dropped all the Jacksons except Michael-marking the end of the family group.

This compilation includes one “treat”-a live version of “Don't Stop Til You Get Enough” taken from the group's 1981 “Triumph” tour. Unfortunately, it's not like a rarity or anything-this version appears on the group's live album, which is readily available.

And that's where my beef lies: The Jacksons were a pretty important group for their time. They deserved something a little more elaborate than just having their songs snatched in chronological order and placed on an album as part of Sony's midline “Essential” series. The booklet is super-skimpy, there are barely any photos, there's no essay, no incredibly detailed track annotation, no remixes, no key album cuts (hell, not even all the singles). Shoot, I have all the Jacksons albums (except for the borderline horrid “Goin' Places”. I could've almost made the CD myself. Part of being a music lover and collector is being able to enjoy the whole package of music in addition to the music itself, and I gotta say I was disappointed with Sony's execution here.

But I digress. If you don't own a Jacksons album, and enjoy “Off The Wall” and “Thriller”, you should have this. If you're a total MJ geek like I am, you should DEFINITELY have this. “The Essential Jacksons” serves a purpose as the first compilation of the music that the group made as adults, but, quite frankly, they deserved better.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars (downrated for not-great song selection & shoddy booklet)

Key Tracks : "This Place Hotel", "Enjoy Yourself", "Blame it On The Boogie"

Skip : "Goin' Places"

Great Music to Play While : Looking at the picture of Michael in the center of the booklet and wondering how that much melanin could disappear from one human being.

Recommended: Yes