I WANT YOU BACK ... AGAIN

By the end of the 1960’s, Berry Gordy had successfully spearheaded a major shift in the landscape of popular music by making the sound of young black America part of mainstream popular music - first conquering America, then moving on to the UK and Europe (which were two different things then!) and finally the rest of the world. This was largely achieved without significantly compromising what the original audience wanted from the music, but by tweaking it so that the mainstream audience gradually recognised what great music it was, and was eager to consume as much as they could get their ears on.

A significant advantage was the pool of musical talent that Gordy was able to tap into, and he used this as the foundation of a Hitsville USA organisation that made sure the performers had songs, production, musical backing and marketing know-how to create commercial success - and for artists who fully got with Gordy’s programme, this could mean a long-term career, rather than just a short burst of hit records that was still the typical experience for many artists.

So towards the end of the 1960’s when 5 kids from Gary, Indiana were ready to make their move for the big time, the Motown organisation was an ideal place for them – but as much as their age and family status were great marketing points, they also created potential pitfalls that needed to be avoided to prevent the Jackson 5 being more than just another novelty act. At the time even Berry Gordy may not have seen the full long-term potential of 10-year old Michael Jackson, but he was savvy enough to see the opportunity, and recognise that a killer song was needed to launch them into the world. 

A couple of years earlier the job may well have gone to the tried-and-tested Holland-Dozier-Holland hit-writing machine - but by this time they had left to set up their own Invictus / Hot Wax labels. So Gordy put together ‘The Corporation’, a four-man songwriting team headed by himself, with three other writers who had been involved in some hits, but nothing on the scale of HDH (Gordy himself had a pretty good track record including co-writing the Jackie Wilson hits ‘Reet Petite’ and ‘Lonely Teardrops’).

It has been suggested that ‘I Want You Back’ was already a work-in-progress by one of the writers (possibly intended for Gladys Knight & The Pips), but The Corporation turned it into a perfect vehicle for the first Motown single released by the Jackson 5. Their performance is energetic and ebullient fronted by 10 year old Michael Jackson’s astonishingly mature lead vocal - he is able deliver the lyric of lost love and regret with feeling (albeit in a slightly higher vocal register than the composers probably expected - today they would probably autotune all the enthusiasm out of it, and coach young Michael to over-emote with some extra melisma!). 

Something Gordy had mastered in the 60s was tailoring a record so the sound jumped out of your radio - so while the instrumental backing is more mainstream Motown than earthy Funk Brothers (it was recorded in LA rather than Detroit) the scratchy guitar intro catches your ear right from the start, then the bassline carries you along through that great set of descending chords to the moment that the vocals burst in. If your feet don’t dance at least your face will smile and your head will nod. Berry Gordy’s Motown had perfected ‘bubblegum soul’, and ‘The Sound Of Young America’ had suddenly got younger without losing anything in the quality of the music. 

Their formative years working the live club circuit meant they were able to recreate the full musical effect of the record in their TV appearances, and enhance it with the visual impact of their energetic performance - introduced by Michael Jackson as "our first release on Motown - it's on sale everywhere!"

Surprisingly, the strength of the song and the arrangement allowed it to morph into something slightly different over the next 25 years – in particular through a couple of cover versions which both sound like they were done for the personal enjoyment they took from it, rather than the potential to sell lots of records. Strangely enough, both versions are by UK rock-oriented acts that you would be unlikely to predict. 

Graham Parker was in the right place to be viewed as part of the late 70s new wave, writing and delivering energetic and often angry songs with a touch of soul in the melodies and the vocals over rock-solid backing from his band The Rumour. The official bootleg ‘Live at Marble Arch’ used to launch his career in the UK included covers of ‘Chain of Fools’ and ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ so the signs were there – a couple of years later ‘I Want You Back’ became a staple of their live gigs. They are a rock band, and they cover it like a rock band, but Brinsley Schwarz does a great job on the guitar part that was such a significant element of the original – it’s obviously done with love (why else would they cover a bubblegum soul song originally done by a teenage boy band ?) and it’s hard not to like it, unless you are a J5 purist. The 1979 album ‘ Squeezing Out Sparks’ included a studio recording, but the various live in-concert versions on You Tube are the ones to search out.

The KT Tunstall cover about 10 years later was equally unexpected, given the quality of her own self-penned songs, but her treatment of this song is a knockout everytime. Early performances were in the style of a one-person band - an earthy vocal is delivered over the same rhythmic guitar style often used in her own songs, and she underpins it with a loop pedal and simple tambourine beat. This goes beyond being just a cover version – she takes ownership of the song similar to the way that Nina Simone sat at the piano and delivered her re-inventions of material originally by other writers or performers. 

Videos of KT live performances are easy to find on You Tube – some later performances add backing vocalists and other  musicians, but the solo ‘Unplugged’ ones are the best. It has now established its own You Tube identity in the form of dozens of videos of others doing their own cover of what is now typically referred to as ‘I Want You Back - KT Tunstall Version’. That strummed intro and great set of descending chords into the vocals appear to have an irresistible attraction for aspiring performers everywhere !

WANT MORE ?

Other Versions: As proof that that it doesn’t always work, I would respectfully suggest avoiding Cheryl Crow’s live performance for Obama at the White House.
Somehow all-girl K-Pop/J-Pop ensemble Twice needed 9 members to record what was virtually a carbon-copy of the J5 - but, hey, I'm all for bringing the song to a new generation of fans without turning it into some horrible musical mutant. 

Personally I would love to hear the ‘One Day I'm Going to Soar’ lineup of Dexy’s Midnight Runners do it; listen to how Kevin Rowland’s voice has matured, and how works with vocalist Madeleine Hyland on the songs they perform together - tell me that wouldn’t be fantastic! (Probably never happen so I’ll have to get by on how I hear it in my head!)

Remixes: Like any decent soul song ‘I Want You Back’ has been repeatedly sampled and remixed, not always with the best results to the ears of those who were first wowed by the original. Teen duo Kriss Kross topped the Billboard Pop and R&B charts in 1992 with ‘Jump’ using a short but recognisable sample . 
A number of approved remixes appeared in the 1990s as part of the ‘Motown 40’ celebrations – these range from almost unlistenable to what equates to attempting to update the Mona Lisa by painting highlights into her hair! If remixes are your thing, I’m a fan of the Ultimix 50 effort by Les Massengale that combines ‘ABC’ and ‘I Want You Back’.