Dancing Machine (album)

Dancing Machine
Studio album by The Jackson 5
Released	September 5, 1974
Recorded	April - May 1973 (track 4); June 1973 – July 1974
Genre	Pop/Soul/Funk
Length	32:32
Label	Motown MS-M6-780S1
Producer	Hal Davis
The Jackson 5 chronology
G.I.T.: Get It Together (1973) Dancing Machine (1974) Moving Violation (1975)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Dancing Machine was the eighth official studio album released by Motown quintet The Jackson 5 in 1974. The album's title track was a #2 pop hit and a #1 R&B hit in the United States, and the album sold over 2.6 million copies worldwide^[2] briefly returning the group to their former prominence. The group released two additional singles from the album: the funky "Whatever You Got, I Want" and the group's last top twenty hit "I Am Love".

Although the Jacksons were back on the charts, the brothers still complained of their artistic direction. Nonetheless, the album became another disco concept album for the group, and showcased lead singers Michael and Jermaine Jackson. Around this time the Jacksons were performing in Las Vegas with the rest of the family leaving this album with low promotion.

Track listing

1. "I Am Love" (Don Fenceton, Jerry Marcellino, Mel Larson, Ron Rancifer) (Recorded June 1974) – 7:29
2. "Whatever You Got, I Want" (Gene Marcellino, Jerry Marcellino, Mel Larson) (Recorded July 1973 (Michael solo vocals) - March 1974 (Jackson 5's background vocals) ) – 2:58
3. "She's a Rhythm Child" (Clarence Drayton, Hal Davis, Ruth Talmage) (Recorded April - July 1974) – 2:39
4. "Dancing Machine" (Don Fletcher, Hal Davis, Weldon Dean Parks) (Recorded April - May 1973) – 2:43
5. "The Life of the Party" (Clarence Drayton, Hal Davis, Tamy Smith) (Recorded April - July 1974) – 2:35
6. "What You Don't Know" (Gene Marcellino, Jerry Marcellino, Mel Larson) (Recorded July (Michael solo vocals) - December 1973 (Later Michael solo vocals) ) – 4:25
7. "If I Don't Love You This Way" (Leon Ware, Pam Sawyer) (Recorded June 1973 (Michael solo vocals) - March 1974 (Jackson 5's background vocals) ) – 3:28
8. "It All Begins and Ends With Love" (Don Fenceton, Jerry Marcellino, Mel Larson) (Recorded April 1974) – 3:07
9. "The Mirrors of My Mind" (Charlotte O'Hare, Don Fletcher, Nita Garfield) (Recorded May - June 1974) – 3:08

Re-release

In 2001, Motown Records remastered all J5 albums in a "Two Classic Albums/One CD" series (much like they did in the late 1980s). This album was paired up with Moving Violation. The bonus tracks were the outtakes "Through Thick and Thin" and the Disc-o-Tech #3 Remix of "Forever Came Today".

Misc

• Mary J. Blige covered "If I Don't Love You This Way" in an international release of her album Love & Life.
• "If I Don't Love You This Way", "What You Don't Know", and "Whatever You Got, I Want" were originally meant to be on Michael's unreleased 1974 solo album but were added to Dancing Machine at the last minute. When Michael performed these songs for television (like Soul Train), he usually performed them by himself rather than with his brothers.
• "What You Don't Know" were covered by El Chicano, in the 1974 Album, "Cinco".
• "If I Don't Love You This Way" were covered by The Temptations, in the 1975 Album, House Party.

Notes

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collecters Edition, page 100. American Press.

External links

• (French) Dancing Machine overview at www.jackson5abc.com