It's one of my all-time favorite 45s, just because it was such a great 45 release. Judging from the scratches on the disc I have, Nancy in the Philippines agreed.
In Japan, "One More Chance," the B-side of "I'll Be There" was issued as a single, as Motown JET-2005. It, too, had been an LP cut on the ABC album. It was issued with a simply wonderful picture sleeve.
And the lyrics sheet on the back of the picture sleeve are the source of the infamous "Sir Leventhol" reference.
In spite of the fact that the picture sleeve lists "La La Means I Love You" as the B-side (always the bridesmaid...), the B-side is actually "Never Had a Dream Come True," a nice Stevie Wonder cover on which Michael and Jermaine traded the lead vocals back and forth. Here's the beautiful red Motown JET label to prove it.
There are so many strong cuts on ABC that any number of them could have been issued as a 45. Both "2-4-6-8" and "One More Chance" are among my all-time favorite J5 songs. What a talented group, working with some of Motown's most gifted producers.
That picture sleeve is wonderful indeed, but can you believe it, I actually have trouble identifying Jackie and Tito, is Jackie the one behind the tree or the one holding the sunglasses on the left? It's also very interesting to see that for once, Marlon is the 'center of attention' and not Michael. Do you know if a 'better' version of this photo exists somewhere? That would be very interesting to 'dive' into it. Is it boats or cars in the background? It looks like boats to me. ah well. I'm always loosing myself into J5 photos. ;)
ReplyDeleteTito is on the left, and Jackie is behind the tree. I too, agree that it's very cool to see Marlon in the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteThose are boats behind him. It looks like they were at some kind of marina. There's another photo for this session where it looks like they are on a pier.
ReplyDeleteCan't get enough of picture sleeves and labels. Thank GOD for all the other countries around the globe.
ReplyDelete-Sir Lev