Forever, Michael (1975)

Forever, Michael is an album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by the Motown label in 1975.

The album was Jackson’s fourth as a solo artist and would end up being his final album released with Motown before he and his brothers (The Jackson 5) left for CBS Records a year later. This album displayed a change in musical style for the sixteen-year-old, who adopted a smoother soul sound that would be a catalyst for later solo records on Epic.
Most of the tracks were recorded in 1974, and the album was originally set to be released that year. However, because of demand from the Jackson 5′s huge hit “Dancing Machine”, production on Jackson’s album was delayed until the hype from that song died down.

The album helped return Jackson to the top 40 with the Holland brothers’ (Eddie and Brian) “Just a Little Bit of You”. In 1981, Jackson’s “One Day in Your Life” was released as part of the compilation album One Day in Your Life to benefit from Jackson’s Epic success. The title track went to number one in the UK, becoming the 6th best-selling single of 1981 in the UK.

Tracks
“We’re Almost There” (Holland/Holland) – 3:42
“Take Me Back” (Holland/Holland) – 3:24
“One Day in Your Life” (Armand/Brown) – 4:15
“Cinderella Stay Awhile” (Sutton) – 3:08
“We’ve Got Forever” (Willensky) – 3:10
“Just a Little Bit of You” (Holland/Holland) – 3:10
“You Are There” (Brown/Meitzenheimer/Yarian) – 3:21
“Dapper Dan” (freestyle) – 3:11
“Dear Michael” (Davis/Willensky) – 2:35
“I’ll Come Home to You” (Perren/Yarian) – 3:02

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Got to Be There (1972)

General Info
Motown released Jackson’s solo album around the same time that another famous brother from a famous family was doing the same: Donny Osmond, who was hitting with songs like “Sweet & Innocent” and “Puppy Love”. Jackson’s and Osmond’s debut efforts almost paralleled each other, as Jackson scored a hit with the title track and “Rockin’ Robin”, which like Osmond’s “Puppy Love”, was a remake of an old ’50s rock song. The album also included covers of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend”.

Reaction
The album peaked at number fourteen on the US pop albums chart and number three on the US R&B album chart when it was released.

Rolling Stone (12/7/72, p.68) – “..slick, artful and every bit as good as the regular Jackson 5 product…a sweetly touching voice…innocence and utter professionalism…fascinating and finally irresistible..”

Tracks
“Ain’t No Sunshine” (Withers) (originally performed by Bill Withers) – 4:09
“I Wanna Be Where You Are” (Ware/Ross) – 3:01
“Girl Don’t Take Your Love From Me” (Hutch) – 3:46
“In Our Small Way” (Verdi/Yarian) – 3:34
“Got to Be There” (Willensky) – 3:23
“Rockin’ Robin” (Thomas) (originally performed by Bobby Day) – 2:31
“Wings of My Love” (Corporation) – 3:32
“Maria (You Were the Only One)” (Brown/Glover/Gordy/Story) – 3:41
“Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone” (Holland-Dozier-Holland) (originally performed by The Supremes) – 2:51
“You’ve Got a Friend” (King) (originally performed by Carole King) – 4:53

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