Destiny – The Jacksons

Before Michael Jackson was The King of Pop or Wacko Jacko, he was 1/5 of the Jacksons, the group that set the table for boy bands everywhere. As one of America’s first black teen idols, MJ was probably best known at the time for his boy-next-door demeanor and his megawatt smile. So it stunned many when 21-year old Jacko demanded and received critical and commercial respect with his 1979 solo album Off the Wall. However, anyone who was listening to Destiny, The Jacksons’ album that had been released the year before, knew what Michael (and his brothers) were capable. Their first self-produced and written set, it masterfully turned The Jackson brothers from a bubblegum group whose best years were behind them to a pop/soul/funk/disco outfit who could compete with other bands like The Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Let’s backtrack for a sec. When The Jacksons left Motown Records for Epic Records in 1975, they wanted creative control: the ability to write and produce their own material. Epic was loath to allow them that at first: their first two albums for the label were pleasant if insubstantial Philly soul produced by the legendary team of Gamble & Huff. However, according to lore, the brothers (Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Randy) were given one last reprieve and finally were allowed to stand or fall on their own merits. I think we all know whether this test was passed or not.

Released at the height of the disco era, Destiny has more than it’s share of grooves. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) was this album’s big hit, and it’s a seminal disco recording. There’s not much in the way of lyrics, but it’s got plenty in the way of groove and uses Michael’s rhythmic singing to great effect. All Night Dancin’ finds MJ delivering a fiery vocal over a rollicking group, while Blame it on the Boogie finds the brothers unleashing some of their best harmonies over a hand-clapping groove.

One thing people often forget in the midst of Michael’s tabloid fixture-dom is the fact that the man can sing his melanin-deprived hiney off. Destiny contains some of the best ballads that he and his brethren ever recorded. The album’s title track finds The Jacksons singing over James Taylor-style folk before evolving into a hard-rocking coda. While it’s hard to picture the King of Ostentatious singing lines like “if it’s the rich life, I don’t want it/happiness ain’t always material things”, Michael sounds absolutely sincere on this song. You can tell from the lyrics of this and the album’s other slow numbers that he was still trying to figure out his place in the world. In retrospect, it’s very easy to see that he was a depressed and hurt human, even back then.

Push Me Away is the album’s highlight and might be the best vocal Michael has ever put on tape. Over a sumptuous bed of guitars and strings, Michael interprets the lonesome lyrics masterfully. He then offers listeners a look behind the curtain with the song That’s What You Get (For Being Polite), which describes a lonely man who isn’t happy with his life and goes out of his way to please others without pleasing himself in return. One could easily view this song, and the album as a whole, as being autobiographical.

The 2009 30th anniversary reissue of Destiny contains two classic disco mixes by John Luongo. The remix of Blame it on the Boogie makes a little more time for the brothers’ harmony vocals, placing them at the beginning of the song instead of the end, while also adding a tougher backbeat. Meanwhile, the popular dance mix of Shake Your Body adds some sound effects, a ton of echo, but retains the song’s itchy dance groove. I would imagine that these songs lit up discos when they were released, but I wouldn’t know, since I was only 2 and not quite at the stage where I could frequent clubs yet.

If you’re an MJ superfan like me and you already own this album, it’s probably worth buying a second time for the remixes as well as the superior sound (because this album BADLY needed a remastering job). If you’re one of those folks who isn’t too familiar with the material made between the J5′s original run of hit material and Michael’s explosion with Off the Wall, give this album a shot. You might be surprised at how much you like it.