The Jackson 5 - The Second Disc

Working Day and Night: Michael Jackson Biopic Yields New Compilation

March 16, 2026 by Joe Marchese | 6 Comments

Friday, April 24 sees the release in theatres everywhere of Michael, director Antoine Fuqua’s biopic-slash-celebration of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Epic Records and Legacy Recordings are marking the occasion with the release the same day of Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture, a straightforward, 13-song soundtrack drawing on the period between The Jackson 5’s Motown debut and Jackson’s triumphant Bad (1987). Filling the superstar’s shoes is his nephew (and son of brother Jermaine) Jaafar Jackson, who reportedly will do some of his own singing in the film. Despite that,…

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News

Formats:

CD, Cassette, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5, The Jacksons

Step Into Christmas: UMe Preps Holiday Singles Box, Expansion of Connie Francis’ Holiday Album

November 6, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 9 Comments

With the spookiest holidays of the fall now in the rear view mirror (that’s right: Halloween and Election Day!), there’s nothing wrong with looking ahead to the Christmas music season and checking out a pair of now-available titles from Universal Music Group spotlighting some of their classic holiday hits and an album by one of catalogue’s biggest success stories this year. UMe is selling a nifty collection of more than a dozen seasonal 7″ singles in a collectible carrying case. This Classic Holiday Singles Box features Christmas perennials spanning from the ’40s to…

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News

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Blues, Classic Rock, Country, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock

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Bing Crosby, Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee, Burl Ives, Chuck Berry, Connie Francis, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, Nat King Cole, Paul McCartney, The Beach Boys, The Jackson 5, Yoko Ono

Not So Simple Songs: Ace Records Compiles Sly Stone Covers

February 3, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

Everybody is a Star The Sly Stone Songbook

A timely new collection will pay tribute to the work of Sly & The Family Stone through a diverse group of covers and rarely-heard singles written and produced by the group’s iconic frontman for others. Everybody is a Star – The Sly Stone Songbook is the latest entry in Ace Records’ Songwriter Series, chronicling some of the greatest modern songwriters of the last century. Naturally, the man born Sylvester Stewart is a prime candidate for such an overview. His mix of R&B, funk, pop and rock music sounded like nothing else in…

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News

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Classic Rock, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

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Al Jarreau, Diana Ross, Gene Harris, Iggy Pop, Ike Turner, Jeff Buckley, Sly Stone, Sly and the Family Stone, The Five Stairsteps, The Jackson 5, The Three Degrees, Tina Turner

Let’s Have a Party: Motown, James Brown, U2, Sinatra Part of UMe’s RSD Black Friday Festivities

October 9, 2019 by The Second Disc | No Comments

With the lead-up to Record Store Day Black Friday in full swing, it’s time to take a look at what Universal Music Group has prepped for the semi-annual vinyl bonanza. The label’s eight major catalog vinyl releases are familiar to longtime RSD consumers. Some celebrate an iconic anniversary (as is the case for titles by U2, Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa), one complements a general catalog title (an unreleased live James Brown album), and some just feature great music in rare presentations. Learn all about UMG’s Black Friday titles below. All will…

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News

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Everything Else, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Charlie Parker, Four Tops, Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, James Brown, Liz Phair, Marvin Gaye, Ramones, Sublime, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, U2

Let ‘Em Show You What It’s All About: UMe Bows Rare Quad Mix of The Jackson 5’s ‘Greatest Hits’ On Vinyl

September 9, 2019 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

A half century after The Jackson 5 became a blockbuster R&B/pop act, UMe is reissuing their first greatest hits album on vinyl – with a special twist. The quintet’s Greatest Hits is back on LP October 25, utilizing a stereo fold-down of a rare quadraphonic mix issued only in Japan in 1975. That mix featured alternate vocals and instrumentation on some tracks, making this release a true new way to hear some of the group’s biggest hit songs. And what an incredible run of hits it was! The 11 tracks on Greatest…

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News

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5

Release Round-Up: Week of August 29

August 30, 2019 by Sam Stone | No Comments

Here’s your Release Round Up for the week ahead. Various Artists, Country Music — A Film By Ken Burns: The Soundtrack (Legacy Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Walmart.com Filmmaker Ken Burns has tackled many subjects over the years, from the Civil War to baseball. His documentaries have garnered numerous awards over the years. In 2001, he took an in-depth look at the genre…

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Release Round-Up

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Funk, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Review: Various Artists, “Motown: The Complete No. 1s”

July 3, 2019 by Joe Marchese | 6 Comments

Smokey Robinson’s mama famously told the young singer-songwriter that he’d better shop around, but happily, those looking for the definitive chronicle of Smokey and Diana and Mary and Flo and Martha and Marvin and Stevie and co. need shop around no more. To mark the label’s 60th anniversary, Motown: The Complete No. 1s is back in print in a slightly-expanded edition, and this 11-CD box set is, simply, one-stop shopping. Impressively housed within a sturdy replica of 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, this collection features all of the company’s chart-toppers…

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Reviews

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Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

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Diana Ross, Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, The Temptations, Various Artists

Return To West Grand Boulevard: ‘Motown: The Complete No. 1s’ Box Gets Expanded Reissue

April 19, 2019 by The Second Disc | 9 Comments

For its 60th anniversary year, Universal Music Enterprises has begun reminding fans that “Motown Did It First“; now, the label that launched The Sound Of Young America is revisiting a box set that was released in celebration of its 50th anniversary a decade ago. Motown: The Complete No. 1s is being reissued and expanded on June 28. Motown: The Complete No. 1s featured more than 200 international chart-toppers, plus a handful of bonus masters that went to No. 1 through cover versions or samples. And the packaging was a delight: the discs…

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News

Formats:

Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Country, Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Funk, Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul

Motown Did It First: Japan’s Motown 60 Campaign Reissues Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops, Gladys, Martha, Brenda, and More

March 27, 2019 by The Second Disc | 16 Comments

Motown Did It First! That’s the campaign slogan for Universal Japan’s ongoing program celebrating the venerable label’s 60th anniversary. And indeed, the influence of Motown – still the most successful African-American-founded record label of all time – can’t be underestimated when considering the current music scene. A number of physical releases have already been released in Japan to mark the anniversary, most of which are available as affordable imports and include titles not commonly available on the CD format. This first wave of titles is anchored by the compilation Motown 60, featuring…

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News

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Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

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Brenda Holloway, Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kiki Dee, Lionel Richie, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Rick James, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Commodores, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, The Temptations

“Tomorrow’s” Here! New Reissue Shines Light on The Modulators

February 28, 2017 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

When news came through that Brooklyn label Manufactured Recordings was reissuing Tomorrow’s Coming, the sole full-length LP by cult power-pop group The Modulators, we at Second Disc HQ knew we couldn’t just do an ordinary news post. It’s not just the music–although the music, a sugary-sweet blend of Raspberries-esque dream pop and Marshall Crenshaw-ian jangle-crunch, is thoroughly worth your time. Ultimately, our interest is piqued by the original label that released Tomorrow’s Coming: Vintage Vinyl Records, the boutique label of New Jersey’s largest independent record store and the place both myself and…

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Features, News

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CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Jackson 5, The Modulators, The Monkees, The Raspberries

Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye): Final “The Complete Motown Singles” Volume Bows

November 13, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

They did it. Nearly nine years after the first volume in Hip-O Select’s The Complete Motown Singles box set series was released, the 14th and final entry in the series, Volume 12B: 1972, will be released on December 10, just in time for the holidays. The year 1972 marks, for many, the end of the “classic Motown” period. Label founder Berry Gordy moved label operations from Detroit to Los Angeles, and many of his most treasured acts were in periods of transition. Diana Ross was long a solo artist away from The Supremes, while…

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News

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Box Sets

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Lesley Gore, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

Where Were You When We Needed You: Latest Volume of “The Complete Motown Singles” Arrives in June

May 10, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 6 Comments

Let’s dispense with the “Get Ready” puns: after a four-year wait, Hip-O Select’s Complete Motown Singles series inches closer toward the finish line with Volume 12A: 1972. This five-disc set includes every single side released by Motown during the first half of 1972, a time of transition for the company. Berry Gordy had already moved his Detroit-based media empire westward to Los Angeles, leaving some of his flagship groups in a transitional period. The Jackson 5 still had their hits, but not with the blinding intensity of their earliest years (though Michael still enjoyed hits…

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News

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Box Sets

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Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

Release Round-Up: Week of January 15

January 15, 2013 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

New Order, The Lost Sirens (Rhino) (Amazon U.S./Amazon U.K.) A cadre of outtakes from the Waiting for the Siren’s Call sessions, this marks the last New Order material with original bassist Peter Hook. Johnny Mathis, A Special Part of Me: Expanded Edition (Amazon U.S./Amazon U.K.) (Funkytowngrooves) FTG’s latest R&B expansion has a Michael Jackson connection: the future King of Pop co-wrote for Mathis “Love Never Felt So Good” with Paul Anka! Talk Talk, Natural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk 1982-1988 (Amazon U.S./Amazon U.K.) / Natural Order 1982-1991 (Amazon U.S./Amazon U.K.) (Virgin/EMI) Not only a CD/DVD reissue of Talk Talk’s first compilation, but…

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News, Release Round-Up

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DVD

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Michael Jackson, New Order, Paul Anka, Talk Talk, The Jackson 5

The Year in Reissues: The 2012 Gold Bonus Disc Awards

December 28, 2012 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Wow! Was it just over a year ago when a rather dubious report began circulating (that, shockingly, was picked up by many otherwise-reputable publications) that proclaimed the death of the CD was secretly scheduled by the major labels for 2012? Well, 2012 has come and (almost) gone, and it might have been the most super-sized year in recent memory for reissues, deluxe and otherwise, from labels new and old. Here at the Second Disc, we consider our annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards a companion piece to Mike’s own round-up over at Popdose,…

Review: The Jackson 5, “Come and Get It: The Rare Pearls”

September 26, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Be honest: when Michael Jackson died, you probably expected a lazy river of material from the catalogue labels that govern his catalogue – both Legacy Recordings, which control Jackson’s adult recordings on Epic, and Universal Music Enterprises, the executors of the Motown library. By and large, we’ve experienced just that. 2009 saw the expanded re-release of The Jackson 5’s Christmas album; I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters, a 11-track compilation of outtakes; and Epic’s This is It documentary film and accompanying soundtrack (with a small fistful of vault material). The next year, two live J5…

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Reviews

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Box Sets

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The Jackson 5, Vinyl

Release Round-Up: Week of September 18

September 18, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Box set season is totally in full swing this week! Are you ready? Michael Jackson, Bad 25 (Epic/Legacy) The King of Pop’s legendary 1987 album gets the deluxe treatment in a number of formats. The standard edition includes the remastered album and a 13-track bonus disc featuring rare and unreleased outtakes and new remixes. (That version is available with a T-shirt at Wal-Mart, and a bonus DVD with all nine original Bad-era short films – including the long performance edits of “Smooth Criminal” and “Speed Demon” from the Moonwalker film – is an exclusive at…

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News

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Box Sets

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ABBA, Michael Jackson, Steve Miller Band, The Jackson 5

Let’s Fall in Love with New Jackson 5 Rarities Set from Hip-O Select

August 22, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

If hearing Bad-era demos and live material aren’t enough of a Michael Jackson fix for you next month, the fine vaultkeepers at Motown have a set for you: 32 previously-unreleased tunes by The Jackson 5 are coming from Hip-O Select. Come and Get It: Rare Pearls champions Michael, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon throughout their seven-year tenure on the Motown label; arguably, the last of the great pure pop groups to be signed by the Detroit label (which, within several years of The Jackson 5’s initial success, would move westward to Los Angeles)….

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News

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Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5, Vinyl

Eight More ICON Sets for You to Briefly Consider

March 8, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

What you will see after the jump are eight more of Universal’s generic ICON titles, released this past Tuesday. There are two country acts, two Motown acts, two Motown compilations, one from Dean Martin and one from pop/rock band Fall Out Boy. A stranger collection you’ll rarely find. I’d give a halfhearted recommendation to the Motown ones if you want to spend a little money on someone who has the distinct displeasure of never having heard any Motown song, ever. If you have more money to spend, though, get a box set or…

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News

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Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

Cherry Pop Laces Up Dancing Shoes with Compilation of Rare ’80s, Motown Mixes

November 10, 2011 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

phil harding club mixes of the 80s double cd of 25 remastered club remixes and rarities

Cherry Pop Records has a major treat next week for British club junkies of the ’80s: a double-disc set of rare and unreleased remixes by noted engineer Phil Harding. If you’re a British pop junkie who came of age in the ’80s, you’re doubtlessly familiar with three names: Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio of producers hit it big with Hi-NRG pop, all clean beats and shimmering synths, from Bananarama’s “Venus” to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” All told, the trio racked up over 100 Top 40…

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News

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Rick Astley, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5

Release Round-Up: Week of September 13

September 13, 2011 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Jimi Hendrix, Winterland / Hendrix in the West / Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival / The Dick Cavett Show (Experience Hendrix/Legacy) Another wave of Hendrix catalogue titles from Legacy, all of a live nature. The Winterland set captures The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s legendary run at the venue of the same name over four discs (or one, if you’re into the whole brevity thing), while In the West provides an expanded, slightly alternate presentation of the posthumous live LP. The DVDs Blue Wild Angel and The Dick Cavett Show show Hendrix at his live prime, with…

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News

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Box Sets

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Bob Seger, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, The Art of Noise, The Beatles, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, The Temptations

Motown Memories Captured on New DVDs

September 1, 2011 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Oh, for the days when there was a bounty of venues to hear the latest, greatest music on television. By far, one of the greatest vanguards of popular music in the halcyon days of the medium was Ed Sullivan, host of his eponymous show from 1948 to 1971. While Sullivan found himself somewhat bemused by the wide variety of talent he showcased – legendarily confining camera angles on Elvis Presley to tight shots that wouldn’t expose too much of his gyrating hips – he generally picked performers regardless of the approval of…

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News

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DVD

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Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

More Catalogue Gold from the Grammys

December 9, 2010 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Just as we noted the box sets and other catalogue sets that were nominated for Grammys this year, we would also like to tip the hat to the recordings that were put into the Grammy Hall of Fame, as announced Monday. Thirty recordings, including nine LPs, have been added to a group that now includes 881 classic pieces of music. The oldest recordings on the list are two singles, “Dark Was the Night – Cold Was the Ground” by Blind Willie Johnson and “My Mammy” by Al Jolson (both released in 1927);…

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News

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Soundtracks

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Otis Redding, Prince, Ray Charles, The Beatles, The Box Tops, The Jackson 5

The Second Disc Interview #1: A Soulful Chat with Harry Weinger

July 26, 2010 by Mike Duquette | 14 Comments

It is with the greatest pride that The Second Disc presents its first-ever interview, bringing you closer to the catalogue music world we all love so much. Our first interviewee is one of the most notable names from the world of reissues. Harry Weinger, vice-president of A&R for Universal Music Enterprises, has been part of the music business for more than 30 years, writing for publications like Rolling Stone, Vibe, Billboard and Cashbox before becoming a staff writer for PolyGram’s publicity team. After some time penning press releases and liner notes, Weinger…

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Interviews, News

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Box Sets

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Interviews, The Jackson 5

Review: The Jackson 5, “Live at The Forum”

June 25, 2010 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

One of the oddest takeaways from watching Michael Jackson perform live was always the screaming. Watch almost anything Jackson ever commissioned for live release – snippets from Moonwalker, the Bucharest concert recorded during the Dangerous tour – and you’ll see an increasingly disturbing parade of young people, sweating, screaming, crying, hyperventilating and fainting at the mere notion of a glance, point or step from the King of Pop – their king, their idol, an undying figure that law, fame and drugs could never break. Those with any kind of performance or marketing…

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The Jackson 5

Back Tracks: Michael Jackson Part 1 – The Motown Years

June 24, 2010 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

With Friday being the year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, The Second Disc would be at fault for not commemorating The King of Pop’s recording career and its representation through catalogue preservation. But to quote a dusty outtake from The Jackson 5, we’re gonna change our style. Your humble correspondent cannot possibly say anything about Jackson’s career that hasn’t already been said in the year since he passed away. There are plenty of other resources for such a thing – I recommend Popdose’s ongoing multi-part retrospective – but here will be simply…

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News

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Box Sets

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Back Tracks, Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5