Third Album - JACKSON 5****

I'll Be There/Ready Or Not Here I Come/Oh How /Bridge Over Troubled Water/Can I See You In The Morning/Goin' Back To Indiana/How Funky Is Your Chicken/Mama's Pearl/Reach In/The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage/Darling Dear

Back in the 1970s record companies lost no time in promoting their hottest new acts with quick fire album releases. The Jackson 5's Third Album hit the record stores a mere eight months after the debut. Includes the US No. 1 I'll Be There and No. 2 Mama's Pearl, the former reaching No. 4 in the UK. (US:4)

"This one sticks more or less to the same formula as the first two, except the ballad I'll Be There, which became their fourth consecutive #1. There are highs and lows on this album, the two hit singles are classic Jackson 5. Their dreadful version of Bridge Over Troubled Water makes you glad that you've got the 'skip' button on your CD player, but then again there's a nice version of Smokey Robinson's The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage."

"The Jackson 5 were teen pop, but this album has such a maturity recalling the best Motown acts with a more upbeat pop approach and Michael's brilliant voice. Reach In, Goin Back To Indiana and I'll Be There are three highlights of an album that'll move your heart and feet."

"This effort includes the mega-hit, I'll Be There, but there is so much more to the album than that. The best cut is the brilliant Reach In which shows off the young Michael Jackson's vocal gifts. Other stand-out songs are Darling Dear, How Funky Is Your Chicken and the other hit off the record Mama's Pearl. Goin' Back To Indiana is a fun song about the group's roots, and there are good covers of The Love I Saw in You Was Just A Mirage and Oh How Happy."

"As with its predecessors, this albums contains a diverse mixture of R & B, funk, and soul styles, all the while remaining vibrant, fresh, young, and most definitely pop."

"I'll Be There is one of those deserved classics that no matter how much oldies radio saturation it gets still amazes with its secularized gospel power and sincerity. It's one of the vocal highpoints of Michael's early career and a sure fire highlight of this album. The songs, feelings, instrumentation and the voices are solid from start to finish. Even though Michael sings like an old soul throughout this set his brothers hold their own as well."