Looks like the BBC finally got around to reviewing ABC. Their reviewer describes it as "...just enough soul, just enough raunch, lashings of pathos, all bound together with an elegant sufficiency of feel-good sentiment." Nice!I just love how seriously British critics have always taken the Jackson 5, not to mention their descriptive prose. Talk about your elegant sufficiency!
J5 collector, is it possible they performed numbers from the "ABC" during the Philadelphia show(even though ABC was days away from being released)?
ReplyDeleteNot sure. They had long since recorded all the songs, but the musicians had to learn it, and they had to work out their dance routines. I'm sure someone has the set list.
ReplyDeleteI can't swear to how many of the songs from ABC they did, but I was at the Philadelphia concert on May 2, 1970. I am sure they sang ABC and I Found that Girl but not sure if others were included. Of course, I am an old fart, so i could have imagined any of this. (just kidding) In the promo where we greeted them at the airport, they gave us all a copy of the 45 of ABC (I already had it since it was released a few months before). So that's what I remember. The album came out around the same time but the single had been out already.
ReplyDeleteRoberta
Roberta, do you still have that 45?
ReplyDeleteI know this is a ridiculous question, cause they probably did but did they perform Who's Lovin you??
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteNot sure, I'll have to look. I have all the albums I owned back then. I always show my grandkids the ridiculous things I wrote on the covers like "Jermaine is super fine" or I LOVE MICHAEL! hahahaha! I also found something from 8th grade where I had written that 2-4-6-8 was my then favorite song. But since I haven't played 45s in so long, not sure if I still have it. Promise I'll take a look for it. I do have a photo of me and my dad at the Philly airport (you can see it on my Facebook account J5C) where you can see the 45 my dad is holding for me. Good thing he had it since it would have been destroyed as I leaped over that police barricade to run after the limo. LOL!
Roberta
If the question is did they perform Who's Lovin' You at the May 2, 1970 concert, the answer is a RESOUNDING YES! That song is what cemented my lifelong love of MJ on December 14, 1969 (Ed Sullivan) and like every other girl everywhere, I knew he was singing that from that stage, just for me. LOL!!!! If you buy the Live at the Forum album, you get a real sense of what we experienced during that first tour. I always close my eyes and listen and picture myself at the Convention Center. Not positive that the set list was identical but I think it was. I can picture them in my head singing most of those songs. Walk on, It's Your Thing (specifically that one since it is the song they sang the first time I ever saw the group on TV and wondered who is that boy, the cutest boy on earth--on the Miss Black America Contest in August of 1969), and the Thank you for lettin' Me Be Myself. If you don't have the Live CD, it's a real treasure and I believe some of the photos used were contributed from J5C herself!
ReplyDeleteRoberta
Roberta
Wow all of this talk of the Philly show just makes me want to see this WHOLE concert!!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I LOOOVVVEE Who's Lovin' You. Ever since I heard the live version from the Forum concert I always wondered about this concert. I wish Hip-o-select works on a different project and they release the Philly show!
ReplyDeleteVitality is right. Man what a powerful piece of magic ABC LP was. Thx for the link!
ReplyDelete-Sir Lev
Scoop will provide some scoop about the Philly show on Friday...keep your eyes peeled.
ReplyDeleteI love the blue color on that album cover. Just makes you feel good. That goes for 3rd album too. The warm browns of everyone's skin. Just delicious!
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