Music &Me is the third studio album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on April 13, 1973 on the Motown label and to date has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.[2][3][4] It was arranged by Dave Blumberg, Freddie Perren, Gene Page and James Anthony Carmichael and remains Jackson's lowest selling album. In 2009, the album was reissued as part of the three-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.[5]
Music &Me | ||||
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Studio albumby | ||||
Released | April 13, 1973 | |||
Recorded | March 1972 – January 1973 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 32:09 | |||
Label | Motown | |||
Producer | Hal Davis | |||
Michael Jackson chronology | ||||
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Singles from Music &Me | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
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Music &Me compilation cover
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The album was released during a difficult period for Jackson, who was 14 years old at the time, as he had been experiencing vocal changes and facing a changing music landscape. Having been influenced by fellow Motown label mates Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, Jackson wanted to include his own compositions and play instruments on the album, but Motown refused to allow this. Jackson would later express his frustrations about this to his father, Joe Jackson, who would later work to terminate Michael's and his brothers' contract with Motown, and negotiate lucrative contracts for them with Epic Records.[6][7]
Since Jackson was on a world tour with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, promotion on this album was limited. The Stevie Wonder cover, "With a Child's Heart", was released as a single in the United States, where it reached number 14 on Billboard'sHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Two additional songs, "Music and Me" and "Morning Glow," were released as singles in the United Kingdom, but failed to chart. Another track, "Too Young", was released as a single in Italy, while the track "Happy" was issued as a single in Australia and "Doggin' Around" received a limited-release single in the Netherlands.[8] Ten years after this album's release, "Happy" was released as a single in the United Kingdom to promote Motown's 18 Greatest Hits compilation album.[9] For the compact disc issues of the album, the text on the album was changed and the shade of green was darker.
Music &Me received some changes when Motown Records released it on CD in the 1990s. The rerelease contained all tracks from the 1973 version (with the exception of "Doggin' Around"), with several more tracks from Jackson's other albums. The CD was not released in the US.[10]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[12] |
Village Voice | (B–)[13] |
The album received favourable reviews from music critics. Ron Wiynn of AllMusic wrote that the album's songs "were undistinguished" and that "Jackson sounded tentative and uninterested vocally". He also wrote that "the production and arrangements were routine at best, sometimes inferior."[11] In his review of the album for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote that "Michael isn't the black Donny Osmond" since he has "a sense of natural rhythm, but he's a singer, not a marionette" but he ended saying that "if [Jackson is] a real interpreter" he doesn't "understand where the interpretations are coming from."[13] Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B rating and noted: "On the cusp of a deepening, more adult voice, Jackson begins transitioning into grown-up material, including the contemplative title song, a grab bag of subdued show tunes, and a devastatingly fragile cover of Stevie Wonder's "With a Child's Heart"."[12]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "With a Child's Heart" |
| 3:34 |
2. | "Up Again" |
| 2:47 |
3. | "All the Things You Are" |
| 2:55 |
4. | "Happy" (Love theme from Lady Sings the Blues) |
| 3:19 |
5. | "Too Young" |
| 3:37 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Doggin' Around" | Lena Agree | 2:52 |
7. | "Euphoria" |
| 2:48 |
8. | "Morning Glow" | Stephen Schwartz | 3:36 |
9. | "Johnny Raven" | Billy Page | 3:31 |
10. | "Music and Me" |
| 2:35 |
Notes
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Rockin' Robin" | Jimmie Thomas | 2:30 |
2. | "Johnny Raven" | Billy Page | 3:31 |
3. | "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" |
| 3:19 |
4. | "Happy" (Love theme from Lady Sings the Blues) |
| 3:19 |
5. | "Too Young" |
| 3:37 |
6. | "Up Again" |
| 2:47 |
7. | "With a Child's Heart" |
| 3:34 |
8. | "Ain't No Sunshine" | 4:09 | |
9. | "Euphoria" |
| 2:48 |
10. | "Morning Glow" | Schwartz | 3:36 |
11. | "Music and Me" |
| 2:35 |
12. | "All the Things You Are, Are Mine" |
| 2:55 |
13. | "Cinderella Stay Awhile" |
| 3:11 |
14. | "We've Got Forever" |
| 3:12 |
Total length: | 45:12 |
Chart (1973–2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
French Albums (SNEP)[14] | 108 |
USBillboard 200[15] | 92 |
USTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] | 24 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States | — | 80,000[17] |