Victory (The Jacksons album)

Victory
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 2, 1984 (1984-07-02)
RecordedNovember 1983 – May 1984[1]
Studio
Genre
Length
  • 40:47
  • 96:27 (expanded edition)
Label
Producer
The Jacksons chronology
18 Greatest Hits
(1983)
Victory
(1984)
2300 Jackson Street
(1989)
Singles from Victory
  1. "State of Shock"
    Released: June 1984
  2. "Torture"
    Released: August 1984[6]
  3. "Body"
    Released: October 1984
  4. "Wait"
    Released: March 1985[7]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Number One[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]

Victory is the fifteenth studio album by the Jacksons, released by Epic Records on July 2, 1984. The only album to include all six Jackson brothers together as an official group, Victory peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. Its most successful single, "State of Shock", peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.[11]

Victory was supported by the Victory Tour, with Michael, who had recently released the world's all-time best-selling album, Thriller (1982), being prominently featured on the tour's setlist. None of the songs from Victory were performed on the tour. Shortly afterward, Michael and Marlon Jackson quit the group to pursue solo careers.[12] Jermaine, Tito, Randy, and Jackie Jackson continued on as the Jacksons and released one more album, 1989's 2300 Jackson Street (whose title track did feature all six Jackson brothers, along with their sisters Janet and Rebbie), before splitting up.

Victory was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States in October 1984,[13] and sold over five million copies worldwide.[14] The album received a digital expanded reissue on April 30, 2021 alongside other Jacksons albums.[15]

Recording

After a successful reunion on the Motown 25 television special in 1983, Jermaine Jackson decided to return to the group, having left Motown after nine years as a full-fledged soloist. His brothers had left Motown for Epic in 1975, but despite the reunion, the brothers rarely worked together on the album; it was mainly composed of solo songs the brothers had each worked on during that time. Each brother had a solo song on the album: Michael on "Be Not Always", Randy on “One More Chance” (not to be confused with their 1970 song of the same name from their ABC album) and “The Hurt", Tito on “We Can Change the World", Jackie on “Wait" and Marlon on “Body.” Jermaine only sings co-lead vocals with Michael on "Torture". He also performs ad-libs on "Wait" and is additionally named as a background vocalist on "One More Chance" and "The Hurt". "Torture" was originally planned to be a duet between Michael and Jackie (the song's writer), but when Jermaine officially re-joined the group, he took over the parts intended for Jackie (who can still be heard during the song's chorus and ad-libs).

The album only had two videos—for the songs "Torture" and "Body"—and neither Jermaine nor Michael appeared in either one. A wax dummy of Michael from Madame Tussauds acted as a stand in for the "Torture" video.

Michael recorded "State of Shock", a duet originally recorded with Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. The duo were unable to finish the track, so Michael ended up recording a second version of the track with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.[16]

Artwork

Tensions reportedly grew between the brothers during the recording sessions and as a result, minimal publicity photography was done. The official album cover art at the request and demand of the label, instead features a very detailed illustrated painting of the band. The album cover art was commissioned from famed science fiction and fantasy book cover illustrator, Michael Whelan.[17]

The cover art features the Jacksons brothers, in a cartoon adventure theme. The Jackson brothers from left on the cover art are; Jackie, Marlon, Randy, (On the first release of the record there was a white dove on Randy's shoulder. On later issues the bird was removed.), Michael, Jermaine, and Tito.[18]

Singles

The song "State of Shock" peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Torture", reached No. 17, and "Body", the third single, became a moderate hit peaking at No. 47. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in the week of August 4, 1984. The fourth single, "Wait", was released in 1985 in the US, the UK, Canada and Brazil only[19] – it is not known to have charted anywhere, and was possibly withdrawn. The single version of "Wait" is a remix which features a slap bassline in place of the original synth bass, as well as additional lead synth.

Track listing

Victory track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead singer(s)Length
1."Torture"Jackie Jackson
  • Jermaine
  • Michael
  • Jackie
4:53
2."Wait"
  • David Paich
  • Jackie Jackson
Jackie5:25
3."One More Chance"Randy JacksonRandy JacksonRandy5:06
4."Be Not Always"Michael JacksonMichael5:36
5."State of Shock" (with Mick Jagger)
Michael
  • Michael
  • Mick Jagger
4:30
6."We Can Change the World"
Tito JacksonTito4:45
7."The Hurt"
  • Michael Jackson
  • Randy Jackson
Randy5:26
8."Body"Marlon JacksonMarlon JacksonMarlon5:06
Total length:40:47
2021 re-edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
9."State of Shock" (7" version)4:06
10."State of Shock" (12" version – dance mix)5:40
11."State of Shock" (12" version – instrumental)4:38
12."Torture" (7" version)4:30
13."Torture" (12" version – dance mix)6:14
14."Torture" (12" version – instrumental)5:06
15."Body" (7" version)4:22
16."Body" (12" extended version)5:48
17."Body" (7" version – instrumental)4:15
18."Body" (12" version – instrumental extended)6:45
19."Wait" (7" version)4:19

Personnel

The Jacksons[20]

  • Randy Jackson – lead vocals (track 3, 7), background vocals (tracks 1–3, 6–8), keyboards & synthesizers (tracks 1, 3, 7), percussion (track 1), drum programming (track 3), arrangements (track 3, 7)
  • Jackie Jackson – lead vocals (track 1, 2), background vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–8), vocal ad libs and horn arrangements (track 1), arrangements (tracks 1, 2)
  • Michael Jackson – lead vocals (tracks 1, 4, 5), background vocals (all tracks), Linn LM-1 programming & handclaps (track 5), arrangements (tracks 4, 5, 7)
  • Marlon Jackson – lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, Linn LM-1 programming, and arrangements (track 8), background vocals (tracks 1–3, 5–8)
  • Tito Jackson – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizer, drum programming, synthesizer programming, and arrangements (track 6), background vocals (tracks 1–3, 6–8)
  • Jermaine Jackson – lead vocals (track 1), background vocals (tracks 1–3, 7)

Additional musicians[20]

  • John Barnes – Fairlight CMI (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8), additional synthesizers & arrangements (track 8)
  • Michael Boddicker – keyboards, synthesizers, synth horns, and synth programming (track 1)
  • Lenny Castro – percussion (tracks 2, 6)
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion (tracks 3, 5)
  • Nathan East – bass (track 6)
  • David Ervin – additional synth programming (track 1), additional synthesizer (track 8)
  • Mick Jagger – lead vocals (track 5)
  • Louis Johnson – bass (track 6)
  • Gayle Levant – harp (track 4)
  • Steve Lukather – guitar (track 2)
  • Jonathan MoffettSimmons drums (track 8)
  • Johnny Ray Nelson – background vocals (track 5)
  • David Paich – keyboards, synthesizer and arrangements (tracks 2, 7)
  • Jeff Porcaro – drums (tracks 1, 2)
  • Steve Porcaro – keyboards and synthesizer (tracks 2, 7), arrangements (track 7)
  • Greg Poree – acoustic guitar (track 4)
  • Robin Renee Ross – viola (track 4)
  • Jack Wargo – guitar solo (track 1)
  • David Williams – guitar (tracks 5, 6, 8), bass (track 5)
  • Greg Wright – guitar solo (track 8)

Additional arrangements and artwork[20]

  • Murray Adler – concertmaster (track 4)
  • Jerry Hey – trumpet and horn arrangements (track 1), string arrangements (track 4)
  • Derek Nakamoto – additional synth programming (track 6)
  • Painting by Michael Whelan
  • Photography by Mathew Rolston

Production

  • Produced by: Jackie Jackson (track 1), David Paich, Steve Porcaro and Jackie Jackson (track 2), Randy Jackson (track 3), Michael Jackson (tracks 4, 5), Tito Jackson (track 6), the Jacksons, David Paich and Steve Porcaro (track 7), Marlon Jackson (track 8)
  • Engineers: Brent Averil (track 5), Bill Bottrell (tracks 1, 3, 6–8), Tito Jackson (track 6), Tom Knox (tracks 2, 7), Bruce Swedien (tracks 4, 5)
  • Assistant engineers: Niko Bolas (track 2), Ollie Cotton (track 5), Paul Erickson (tracks 1, 3, 6–8), Bino Espinoza (tracks 1, 3, 6–8), Matt Forger (track 5), Stuart Furusho (track 2), Mitch Gibson (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8), Mike Hatcher (track 4), Shep Longsdale (tracks 2, 7), Brian Malouf (track 7), Terry Stewart (track 2), John Van Nest (track 4)
  • Additional recordings technicians: Allen Sides, Ann Calnan, Brent Averill, Brian Malouf, Jermany Smith, Michael Schulman, Robin Laine
  • Mixing: Niko Bolas (track 2), Bill Bottrell (tracks 1, 3, 6–8), Greg Ladanyi (track 2), Bruce Swedien (tracks 4, 5)

Charts

This became the Jacksons' only studio album to top a national chart, and their only top 10 album in the UK.

Chart performance for Victory
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Argentinian Albums (CAPIF)[21] 1
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[22] 9
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 2
Canadian Albums (RPM)[24] 1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 5
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[28] 5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[29] 19
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[30] 6
Spanish Albums (AFE)[31] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 3
US Billboard Top 200 Albums[35] 4
US Hot Black Albums[36] 3
Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)[37] 2

Certifications

Certifications for Victory
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[38] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[38] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[39] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[40] Gold 34,908[40]
France (SNEP)[38] Gold 100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[38] Platinum 200,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[38] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[41] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Remastered version

A remastered version was released in July 2009 in Japan only, with cardboard sleeve (mini LP) packaging. It was part of a six-album Jacksons cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue series, featuring the albums The Jacksons (1976), Goin' Places (1977), Destiny (1978), Triumph (1980), The Jacksons Live! (1981), and Victory (1984).

References

  1. ^ Kit O'Toole (October 1, 2015). Michael Jackson FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of Pop. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781495045998. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  2. ^ Barnes and Noble (March 1, 2008). "Barnes and Noble metadata".
  3. ^ Apple Music (April 19, 2021). "Apple Music metadata".
  4. ^ New York Times (July 15, 1984). "GOSPEL AND DANCE MUSIC FUEL THE JACKSON'S 'VICTORY' ALBUM".
  5. ^ poprescue (May 1, 2015). "Victory by The Jacksons".
  6. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Jacksons – Torture". hitparade.ch.
  7. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Jacksons – Wait". hitparade.ch.
  8. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "The Jackson 5 – Victory (1984) album review, credits & releases". AllMusic. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  9. ^ Bursche, Paul (August 4, 1984). "Albums: The Jacksons – Victory (Epic)" (PDF). Number One. No. 60. London: IPC Magazines Ltd. p. 37. ISSN 0266-5328. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ Brackett, N.; Hoard, C.D. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 410. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  11. ^ Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collecters Edition, page 100. American Press.
  12. ^ "Jacksons Conclude Five-Month Tour". Ocala, Florida: Ocala Star-Banner. December 10, 1984. p. 4A. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  14. ^ "POP MUSIC; 'Thriller,' Can Michael Jackson Beat It? (Published 1991)". November 10, 1991.
  15. ^ "Site Offline". March 22, 2021.
  16. ^ Mcalpine, Fraser (2013). "The Story Of Those Freddie Mercury And Michael Jackson Demos". BBC America. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  17. ^ "Profiles in History to auction original 'Victory' album art". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. August 5, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  18. ^ Healy, Andy (July 1, 2019). "Revisiting The Jacksons' 'Victory' (1984) | Retrospective Tribute". Albumism. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  19. ^ https://www.discogs.com/master/160680-The-Jacksons-Wait
  20. ^ a b c Victory (booklet). Epic. 1984.
  21. ^ "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). November 26, 1984. p. 9. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  22. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, NSW. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Jacksons – Victory" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  24. ^ "RPM: The Jacksons (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Jacksons – Victory" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  26. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  27. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  28. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  29. ^ "Charts.nz – The Jacksons – Victory". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  30. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Jacksons – Victory". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  31. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  32. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Jacksons – Victory". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  33. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Jacksons – Victory". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  34. ^ "The Jacksons Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  35. ^ "The Jacksons US Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  36. ^ The Jackson 5 / The Jacksons Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Billboard
  37. ^ Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  38. ^ a b c d e f "Jacksons Earn International Honors" (PDF). Cash Box. November 24, 1984. p. 25. Retrieved December 8, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  39. ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Jacksons – Victory". Music Canada.
  40. ^ a b "Jacksons" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  41. ^ "American album certifications – The Jacksons – Victory". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

  • Victory at Discogs (list of releases)
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