Skywriter

Skywriter is the seventh studio album by The Jackson 5, released by Motown on March 29, 1973.

This article is about the Jackson 5 record. For the meaning of someone who flies an aircraft to form letters of smoke in the sky, see skywriting.
Skywriter
Studio album by
the Jackson 5
ReleasedMarch 29, 1973 (1973-03-29)
Recorded1972–1973
Length29:25
LabelMotown
Producer
The Jackson 5 chronology
Lookin' Through the Windows
(1972)		 Skywriter
(1973)		 G.I.T.: Get It Together
(1973)
Singles from Skywriter
  1. "Corner of the Sky"
    Released: October 2, 1972[1]
  2. "Hallelujah Day"
    Released: February 26, 1973[1]
  3. "Skywriter"
    Released: August 22, 1973
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[3]

Background

Lead singer Michael's vocals were now showing the signs of his maturing tenor voice, while Jermaine's voice had become deeper in tone. Notably, one of Skywriter's songs, "Touch" (originally recorded by the Supremes in 1971), features Michael and Jermaine singing about satisfying a woman in bed. Due to the fact that Michael was only 14 years old at the time, "Touch" was one of the most controversial singles Michael had sung on until his solo career took off again in the late 1970s.[4]

The group was also growing frustrated with the direction they were going in and complained to Motown's staff producers and writers about the kind of music they were doing. The brothers were openly discouraged by the style of music they had been receiving from Motown's writers. Also, by this point, all five brothers were writing their own material, but Motown prevented them from recording their own compositions. The frustration was showcased most openly by the album cover, where all five brothers solemnly look at the camera around an early 1900s era airplane. It was the band's least successful album to date because of only one Top 20 single and a lack of promotion because the boys were on tour at this time. The album sold 2.8 million copies worldwide.[5] It was arranged by James Anthony Carmichael, Jerry Marcellino, Mel Larson, Freddie Perren, Gene Page, Fonce Mizell and the Corporation.[4]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Skywriter" (Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino) – 3:08
  2. "Hallelujah Day" (Freddie Perren, Christine Yarian) – 2:46
  3. "The Boogie Man" (Deke Richards) – 2:56
  4. "Touch" (originally performed by the Supremes) (Pam Sawyer, Frank Wilson) – 3:00
  5. "Corner of the Sky" (from the Broadway musical Pippin) (recorded 1972) (Stephen Schwartz) – 3:33

Side two

  1. "I Can't Quit Your Love" (originally performed by the Four Tops) (Leonard Caston, Kathy Wakefield) – 3:12
  2. "Uppermost" (Clifton Davis) – 2:26
  3. "World of Sunshine" (Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino) – 2:45
  4. "Ooh, I'd Love to Be with You" (Fonce Mizell, Larry Mizell) – 2:49
  5. "You Made Me What I Am" (The Corporation) – 2:50

Re-release

In 2001, Motown Records remastered all Jackson 5 albums in a "Two Classic Albums/One CD" series (much like they did in the late 1980s). This album was paired up with Get It Together. The bonus tracks were the outtakes "Pride and Joy", "Love's Gone Bad" and "Love Is the Thing You Need". Each of these tracks also appear on the compilation album Joyful Jukebox Music/Boogie.

Charts
Chart (1973) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6] 41
Canadian Albums (RPM)[7] 60
US Billboard 200[8] 44

Notes
  1. Soulsation! (1995), liner notes
  2. Allmusic review
  3. Rolling Stone review
  4. Brown, Geoff (1996). The Complete Guide To The Music of Michael Jackson & The Jackson Family. New York City, New York: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5303-1.
  5. Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collectors Edition, page 100. American Press.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc)|format= requires |url= (help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, NSW. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "RPM: The Jackson 5 (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  8. "The Jackson 5 US Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
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