Another Perspective on the Radio City Music Hall Show

The other day I posted a less-than-enthusiastic review for the J5's 1975 Radio City Music Hall show from the New York Amsterdam News.  In response to that, MJSunshine, over on the MJ Photos Collectors forum pointed me to a review for the same concert from the Feb 17, 1975 Village Voice.  The review was written by a long-time fan, Vince Aletti, and while he, too, was critical of the show, he offered a slightly more sympathetic account, recognizing that the Jackson 5 were reaching a stage in their career where they had to change, and yet, fans still expected the same sort of thrills they got in the early '70s. His pre-concert interview with the J5 is especially interesting -- funny even, as he was so starstruck and at the same time so self-aware of his own biases.

Interestingly, Aletti tells us that the J5 removed the "History of Music" part and the "Killing Me Softly with His Song / By the Time I Get to Phoenix / Danny Boy" medley from the show after the first night, due to the negative reaction to the Vegas act from the New York crowd.  Looks like they were as self-aware as Aletti was.