You can't blame it on the Boogie, not at all. Marlon Jackson mentioned watching Jackie Wilson and James Brown in the wings of the legendary room at the Apollo last night, and the precisely choreography moves at the beginning and the sweaty disco machine at the end, and Marlon's first rate dancing machine MC all the way through the show…the boogie wasn't where the blame lay. Nor the energy and sincerity of the four brothers (two missing, one due to an early death via overdose), or the enthusiasm of the crowd. Or the song selection, anybody would beg for such a setlist.
And while the Jacksons without Michael have been compared to Wings without Paul McCartney (or the Disciples without Jesus!), I don't think it was entirely the absence slam dab in the middle. But that's where it begins. All four Jacksons voices were rough and the falsetto in the middle, the voice for MJs parts, especially since they were using so many songs associated with the man, was a blackhole they didn't come close to filling.The Jacksons took half the set to get the rust out of their voices, the arrangements were all wrong though exactly what they used to be, and it sunk a well played, well put together concert.
The first two songs "Can You Feel It" and "Blame It On The Boogie" were not good. The sound was too loud, the vocals were piped too loud, and with all the pyrotechnics in the world, all it sounded like was a bunch of men trying to hide that they didn't have the slightest idea to fix a huge problem. That left them with the job in hand, how to play a set without MJ. It was like when Rob Schneider plays the lead in a movie, just wrong.
But somehow, as the set winds its way, it picks up momentum, they begin to shake off the rust from the vocals, the backing band are excellent any way, and they save themselves from debacle.
Marlon was the middle man, Jackie the cipher, Tito the science nerd and Jermaine the sex symbol and from the glittery bombastic start, they have stage chemistry, there is, possible as real as the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary concerts (to which this set resembles) but it feels like people who have known each other all their lives, and they look similar, Tito is a boxer Jermaine. This, the nostalgia quota helps them immensely, and after the nadir of the evening, a "Lovely One" that defies science by dying and remaining alive at the same time, an acoustic set is better. Perhaps because they stop trying to overpower us. "Push Me Away" is the first undeniable song of the evening, a lovely ballad, well executed, with a lovely guitar solo by Tito just about the time it appeared he was wearing the instrument for decoration. Followed by an excellent if still lyrically asinine "Man Of War" and an MJ directed tribute "Gone Too Soon". And except for Jermaines rotten three song solo set, they were OK the rest of the way.
Watching the Jacksons execute their J5 moves from the "Ed Sullivan" Show" days makes up for the not great versions in a hits of the 1960s section. I understand why they didn't (because this was a nostalgia trip) rearrange the vocal parts for men in their 60s, but it was a mistake. The last two songs of the night were mammoth jams "Wanna Be Starting Something" is hard to ruin and they don't and "Shake Your Body" is easier to play and they do, extending it for an over the top for the legendary in their own right Apollo audience to whoop to.
Speaking of which, what happened to all that stuff about the Apollo audience being the hardest to please?They gave the Jacksons a free pass that they didn't deserve.
Nostalgia, your past achievements, being Michael's brother, that gives you a lot of leeway. But if they got on the same stage with Graham Central Station, Larry's band would blow the Jacksons away. The singing wasn't good, the versions weren't great, they piped it too loud. The brothers were good together, and the dancing was excellent., but you can only give the Jacksons so much benefit of the doubt before the truth has to be said. My friend John Duffin, who warned me before I went, was right, they aren't good enough without Michael.
Grade: B-