Goin' Places

The Jacksons: Tito Jackson (vocals, guitar); Michael Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Jackie Jackson (vocals); Randy Jackson (congas, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Michael "Sugar Bear" Forman, Roland Chambers (guitar); Leon Huff (piano); Dexter Wansel (keyboards); Charles Collins (drums); David Cruse, Larry Washington (bongos, congas).
Producers: The Jacksons, Gamble & Huff, McFadden & Whitehead, Dexter Wansel, V. Carstarphen.
Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Jacksons' second album with producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, GOIN' PLACES doesn't quite fulfil the promise of their debut a year previous. However, with stellar production work from the production team, the whole album is polished and clean sounding.
Michael's singing is passionate, while the album is stylistically divided between making music to boogie to, such as "Music's Takin' Over," "Jump for Joy," and "Do What You Wanna," and the slow grooves of "Heaven Knows I Love You, Girl" and "Find Me a Girl." The Jacksons were masters of these two styles, though the choice of material probably reflects a record company unsure how to market these one-time teenaged pop stars who were fast becoming adults. The Jacksons' next album, DESTINY, would give them a chance to exert more control, and became the first in a long string of hits.