The Jackson 5: ABC [ANAGRAM]

Why you'll love it

This Record Store Day 2022 reissue is pressed on 180g vinyl. ABC gave the brothers two No. 1 singles, topped the Billboard Black Albums chart and reached No. 4 on the pop chart.

This edition

• 180g vinyl
• Record Store Day 2022 edition
• Stereo mix

About the album

Some groups take a year or two to follow up a debut. The Jackson 5 took less than six months, landing ABC in May 1970 while Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 was still warm, and the second album came out sounding even more sure of itself, with Michael, Jermaine, Jackie, Tito and Marlon all in top form.

Motown's songwriting team The Corporation and producer Hal Davis built the hits, and the uncredited session players were among the best around: Wilton Felder and James Gadson in the rhythm section, David T. Walker and Don Peake on guitar, Joe Sample on piano. "ABC" and "The Love You Save" are pure joy at full speed, "I Found That Girl" gives Jermaine the lead, "I'll Bet You" borrows from Funkadelic, and "The Young Folks" reworks a Supremes number. "La-La Means I Love You" gets the full Jackson 5 treatment too.

The title track earned a Grammy nomination, and VH1 later put the album in its all-time top 100. It's been teaching people the alphabet, and a few dance moves, for over half a century, and we see no sign of the lesson ending.

Also at Kops: more The Jackson 5 on vinyl · browse Motown

Tracklist

Listen

On Motown / Elemental Music (cat# 620873), a reissue of the 1970 album.