It's odd to imagine that 1) the Jacksons would come together for another album after 1984's Victory, and 2) it would be Jermaine who would take lead on vocals. Michael and Marlon had opted to formally leave the group after the conclusion of the Victory tour, leaving brothers Jermaine, Randy, Tito and Jackie to carry on. 2300 Jackson Street, named after their childhood home, would become the Jacksons sixteenth studio album (including the works of the Jackson 5), and also serve to be their last.
When the four laid down the initial tracks, label CBS ignored it, seeing no reason to back the project without Michael. However, after hearing the demos for Alright with Me and If You'd Only Believe, suddenly promotional staff were calling meetings with the brothers.
The title track would become the biggest draw to the album for its inclusion of the entire Jackson family, sans La Toya who was estranged at the time. While it would reach number nine on the US Billboard Hot Black Singles, it would be Nothin (That Compares 2 U) that would land on the Hot 100, peaking at seventy-seven. It would also reach number four on the US Billboard R&B Singles chart.
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Honestly, I took the stance of CBS when I fired this one up. I was like, "How could this possibly be good without Michael?" While it's true that he is often the draw, I think people, me included, often forget that the rest of the brothers were talented. Relegated to the background, for sure, but talented, nonetheless.
2300 Jackson Street, the album, definitely strives for quality. Nothing feels phoned in. It's not a cash grab on the name. Jermaine, Randy, Tito and Jackie put effort into the material and worked with some of the best in the industry to create a solid record.
With that said, it's not perfect by any means. I think the first three tracks, Art Of Madness, Nothin (That Compares 2 U), and Maria are the strongest out of all eleven. As for the title track, it feels like a novelty song at best. An excuse to not only bring every Jackson out of the woodwork for one song, but to feature their children. It's not that good of a song, and candidly, if any other artist laid it down, it would fail hard.
It's after the title track that things take a bit of a downward turn for me. Basically, I lost interest. It also got old fast that multiple tracks thereafter felt the need to keep referencing the title of the album. We get it. 2300 Jackson Street.
Michael and Jermain signed an agreement in 1995 to work on a new Jacksons album entitled Humanity, and Michael even stated in an interview in 1999 that he was still working on some tracks. However, the project was eventually aborted. Since then, there have been no further albums from the brothers.
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And now, 31 Days Of Halloween!
Willow Ufgood dawns scary makeup and becomes Leprechaun! I call him Leprechaun because depending on who you ask, the character's name is either Basil (per the creator of the original film, Mark Jones, but never actually used) or Lubdan (as published in a comic tie-in without consultation of Jones).
Anyway, if you're looking for the film debut of Jennifer Aniston, this one is for you. However, if you also just want a quirky comedic horror series featuring Warwick Davis, then this will definitely fill that need. Well, for the first six anyway. That was the selling point for me when first owning these films on VHS. I never did get around to picking these up on DVD.
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