The Jackson 5: Maybe Tomorrow - 1971

 

The incredibly prolific Jackson 5 and their production-muscian team, The Corporation, produced their fourth album in only two years with this more-of-the-same offering in 1971. This one is a bit more ballad-dominated than previous works, although there are still some typically lively numbers on here as well. 

Maybe Tomorrow is a sweet, Delfonics-style ballad sung by the voice-cracking Michael while the already deeper-voiced Jermaine headed up the ballad She's Good. Never Can Say Goodbye (covered by various other artists) is almost made his own by a precocious Michael. He totally nails the vocals, in a higher pitch to Maybe Tomorrow, so it was probably recorded earlier. These two songs, Maybe Tomorrow and Never Can Say Goodbye, both soulful ballads, were both released as singles, no doubt due to the previous success of I'll Be There. The tempo ups a bit on the catchy, handclappy rhythm of The Wall. Check out that wonderful bass on here too. The whole song is classic early seventies Motown. 

Petals continues the archetypal Jackson 5 upbeat sound, it is instantly recognisable as them. Sixteen Candles, sung by Jermaine, sounds a bit dated, both as a song and in its production. It is a sort of late fifties rock'n'roll ballad with a touch of country about it. It was an old hit from 1957, apparently, and it definitely sounds like it. (We've Got) Blue Skies is tailor-made for Michael, being very similar to the material on his solo albums. 

My Little Baby, although a bit lightweight, is a pleasant funky-ish strings and bass number, with some groovy clavinet breaks and the brothers sharing vocals. It's Great To Be Here is a fetching enough slow-ish number but it suffers from a bit of a muffled sound. In fact, the whole album does, for some reason, especially in comparison with the excellent sound on their first album, for example. 

Honey Chile is a fine song and was originally done by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas. I have to say that theirs was the superior version. The funky-ish I Will Find A Way, sung largely by Jermaine, was more typical Jackson 5 fare but I feel that this album was a bridging point for the group. Indeed, their next one would find them adopting a more soulful, mature sound.

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