Same Old Song

Yesterday's mention of the two new compilation releases, coupled with the recent unpacking and organizing of all my Jackson 5 cds, got me thinking about compilations in general.

Motown compilation cds are a frequent pet peeve over in the Soulful Detroit forum, due to the company's habit of circulating the same old songs over and over in new packaging.

And when I say over and over again, I mean over and over again. Here, for example, are the two shelves of cds I have in my J5 collection:

The top shelf includes the cd version of every J5 and Michael solo LP ever issued, including all the two-fers, remastered, and Japanese releases, as well as all of the Jacksons' and Michael's post-Motown LPs. The shelf beneath it holds all the Motown compilation cds I own. I don't even own them all because, even though I am a completist collector, I've got to draw the line somewhere. They are all so much the same that any Motown fan could probably recite the track list of his favorite artist's compilation cd before he even saw it.

But I don't automatically dislike every compilation disc. Some of the ones in my collection I like a lot, for different reasons. Take this one, for example.

There's nothing particularly outstanding about the track listing or the artwork, but it's notable because it was the first Jackson 5 cd, a fact that was so unusual at the time, they named it after the format: Compact Command Performances. There was a whole series of these for Motown artists.

This next one is the first cd I ever bought. I bought it before I even had a cd player. In fact, I bought a cd player just so I could play it.


It was originally issued in August of 1986 and it's everything a good compilation disc should be. It has all the J5 singles (not just 1969-70, plus Dancing Machine and Michael's first four solo singles), as well as some great album tracks and a few rarities, like "Teenage Symphony" and "I Was Made to Love Her." It includes as many Jermaine solo songs as it does for Michael, and even has one Jackie solo, "Love Don't Want to Leave." (In fact, the only sour note here is that it credits Jackie's solo to Jermaine.)

The packaging was also great. It came in a custom longbox (seen to the left here -- of course, I saved it!) and it included a 32-page booklet that had extensive liner notes and many rare photos, all in the correct chronological order. There was also a Michael solo Anthology put out at around this same time that has the same features. (Note: These are not to be confused with other compilations called Anthology or Anthology or Anthology.) Whoever put these two collections together did an amazing job that was not topped until almost ten years later when the amazing Soulsation! was issued.

A compilation doesn't have to have everything in order to please me. All it has to do is surprise me. My all-time favorite compilation disc is a single disc collection from Japan called Free Soul: The Classics of Jackson 5.

First, the butterscotch-colored design fits perfectly with the original photo from Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, a brilliant photo that is under-utilized, in my opinion. And the track listing opens with a real surprise: "Christmas Won't Be the Same This Year" followed by "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Well... why not? As someone who listens to the Jackson 5 Christmas Album year round, it's a real treat to have these two cuts on a non-Christmas compilation.

They are followed with two upbeat album tracks, "E-Ne-Me-Ne-Mi-Ne-Mo" and "It's Great to Be Here" from Lookin' through the Windows and Maybe Tomorrow respectively before we get into the standard compilation fare "I Want You Back" and "ABC." But then it moves right on to two songs with Jermaine leads, "I Will Find a Way" and "Live It Up," something you hardly ever find on compilations. From there on out, we get a good mix of familiar hits with lesser known album cuts interspersed -- 25 tracks in all. Whenever I listen to this disc, I am reminded of how much I like particular albums, and it sends me back to listen to all the tracks on an LP, like Maybe Tomorrow.

A recent compilation I like is this 2009 release, Love Songs.


While about half of the tracks are the same ones that were on a 1984 vinyl release called The Great Love Songs of the Jackson 5, the cover art on the cd is a vast improvement over the original. It's also nice to see so many tracks from their later LPs, and some unusual ones at that, like "Breezy" and "Through Thick and Thin." But I confess that the real reason I bought this cd was for the photo on the back. It's one I had never seen before, although I've seen many others that were taken at this same time.


I bought this cd for its cover picture as well. I like it for its weirdness.


It's an undated Polish release, but I think it would be safe to say this came out before the wall came down. How else could it be that the artist they hired had never seen a photo of Michael Jackson, let alone the Jacksons? In fact, I'm not sure the artist had ever seen a real person of African descent.

And on the oddness scale, this one comes out near the top. The entire compilation is different remixes of "I Want You Back." Eighteen of them, to be exact.



I love the song, but I can't imagine listening to it eighteen times in a row, even with variations on a theme.