Happy 40th Anniversary to The Jacksons’ fourteenth studio album Triumph, originally released October 18, 1980.
By any band’s fourteenth album, it’s understandable if some of the passion is waning. For The Jacksons however, Triumph found them at their artistic apex, marking only the second time in their career when they were given full writing and production freedom.
The story is well known. Black family group from Gary, Indiana defy expectations and enjoy immense success at Motown as the groundbreaking The Jackson 5 driven by wunderkind little brother Michael. A ride of chart domination follows as the band become a major cog in the Motown machine. But as their success waxed and waned in the later years of their Motown tenure, the brothers looked for greater independence, looking to write and produce their own material.
And so in 1976, The Jacksons (as they rebranded themselves) were reborn on CBS Records and released two albums before they were given total creative freedom and control on their landmark Destiny album, released in 1978.
As the brothers returned to the studio to embark on the follow-up effort, the world around them had shifted greatly. Releasing his first adult solo album, Michael Jackson dominated the airwaves with his 1979 Off The Wall LP (you may have heard of it). Buoyed by the success of Destiny and the domination of Off The Wall, the pressure was on for The Jacksons to deliver an album that built on the momentum.
And so the brothers gathered and recorded an album that would see them all contribute with brothers Jackie, Marlon, and Randy all taking a turn behind the mic (Mike?!?!) and Tito in the prime of his guitar playing and songwriting, contributing the dreamy funk of “Everybody” (co-written with Michael and bassist Mike McKinney).
But with Michael contributing vocals on the majority of the tracks and writing or co-writing six of the nine songs, and in the afterglow of Off The Wall, his creative energy is the main guiding force on Triumph as evidenced best in the opening track.
“Can You Feel It” is as bombastic as a gospel-club track can be. With horns heralding its arrival, a 30-piece choir bellowing and an incessant groove holding it down, “Can You Feel It” is a joyous moment of unity and hope set for a new chapter in The Jacksons career, but also for a new decade.
With Randy and Michael trading vocals, the song opens up with soul and passion. Each passing bar builds to a unifying crescendo that is hard to not get caught up in. And every time Michael comes in with the pre-chorus, the track just lifts to another level. With its thumping funk groove and momentum-building string and horn arrangement, “Can You Feel It” ends up equal parts party tune and song of social consciousness.
Produced with purpose and scale, the song takes on the feel of a pulsing movie score complete with orchestral arrangement, triumphant horns, ringing bells and booming tympanies — not your run-of-the-mill instruments for an R&B and soul band.
This sense of drama is present on another album highlight, the—for all intents and purposes— solo track Michael penned, produced and arranged: “This Place Hotel” (renamed from “Heartbreak Hotel” to avoid possible confusion with Elvis Presley’s chart topper).
The high-concept track begins with a sorrowful string prelude before switching to a shuffling jazz-funk fusion. Cinematic in its production with sound effects and blood-curdling scream courtesy of sister La Toya, “This Place Hotel” takes on a larger-than-life quality and is filled with the layering of stalking bass lines, stabbing horns and attacking strings. As his most ambitious undertaking to date, “This Place Hotel” is a key moment in Michael’s creative development and acts as the precursor to the more cinematic offerings he would dish out later in his career.
Drama is also centerstage in the Jackie and Randy penned ballad, the aching “Time Waits For No One.” The sparse arrangement allows for Michael to bring warmth and longing to the song, building his delivery through sorrow to hope to despair, as he ignites the final lines while the song kicks it up a notch and those lush Jacksons harmonies take flight.
Overall though, the album is filled with energy and an upbeat feel. Tracks like the clubby euphoria of “Walk Right Now” to the laid-back funk of “Everybody” and the blissful heartache of the fiery “Your Ways” ensure you keep vibing and moving with every passing minute.
And if any track was set to triumph on the dancefloors, it had to be “Lovely One.” Written by Michael and Randy, it rivals Destiny’s breakout “Shake Your Body Down (To The Ground)” for the title of funkiest Jacksons track. With hints of Off The Wall’s sonic tapestry, “Lovely One” comes galloping out of the gate with horns blazing and doesn’t let up. Scratching guitar work, accenting strings and Michael’s vocals all help to scoop the listener up and carry them away on this funk odyssey.
Michael’s deliberate play with the amount of air around the vocals adds to the momentum of the groove, whilst the pre-chorus delivery is so frenetic, it feels like the beat is playing catch-up. “Lovely One,” like the song’s object of desire, leaves you wanting more. The mark of a great song.
Perhaps the surprise of the album is the mid-tempo, Randy and Michael penned “Give It Up” which blends pop and R&B in a perfectly crafted tune. With Michael singing in his higher register in the verses and Marlon offering a deeper contrast in the pre-chorus, the song offers the foundation for Michael to soar even higher in the chorus as strings swirl and pining guitar aches around him. Through the extended outro, the composition and production signal Michael and Randy’s ability to reach beyond a typical R&B structure and take a further confident stride in a musical journey that would cross genres and styles like never before.
Album closer “Wondering Who” (written by Jackie and Randy) features Jackie on lead vocals, as it offers a healthy serving of smooth funk that is the perfect winddown to the funk workout Triumph offers. In the final moments of the song, Michael returns to the mic, offering some soon-to-be trademark “hee hee hee” ad-libs that would set the world afire on his next musical outing.
Following on from what many consider the perfect party album, Off The Wall, Triumph keeps the vibe going and even has the audacity to improve on it. Filled with an endless flow of grooves and energy, Triumph is the crowning moment in the brothers’ catalogue, both artistically and commercially. It is sadly the last time the brothers worked with Michael as a true collective (rather than a patchy collection of solo works a la 1984’s Victory). Moreover, the less precious concerns about who sings on what and who writes what has the album rise to the challenge of building on both the trajectory of Destiny and Off The Wall.
Of course, with the global success of Michael’s next release Thriller (1982), the musical landscape would shift once more and things would never be the same. Whilst The Jacksons would go on to record several more albums with decreasing involvement by Michael and a return to the fold by Jermaine, it’s this Destiny-Triumph era that is their strongest. And when you place it in the context of an artistic run for Michael from Destiny (1978) Off The Wall (1979) Triumph (1980) Thriller (1982) and Victory (1984) with its groundbreaking tour, it is without doubt his most prolific and critically rewarding span.
With the success of Thriller, it’s easy for Triumph to get lost in its larger-than-life shadow. But it more than deserves its time in the spotlight once more.
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