Moving Violation

For the traffic violation, see Moving violation.

Moving Violation
Studio album by The Jackson 5
Released	May 15, 1975
Recorded	October 1974 – March 1975
Genre	Soul/Disco
Length	38:45
Label	Motown MS-M6-829S1
Producer	Hal Davis, Brian Holland, Mel Larsen, Jerry Marcellino
The Jackson 5 chronology
Dancing Machine (1974) Moving Violation (1975) Joyful Jukebox Music (1976)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Moving Violation is the ninth and final official studio album released on Motown Records by The Jackson 5.

By the end of their six-year run in Motown, all five Jackson brothers had matured dramatically in both age and vocals: youngest member Michael was, at 16, the only non-adult in the group. With the boys now becoming men, it was difficult for the group to deal with Motown's policies against writing and producing their own material.

Like Dancing Machine before it, Moving Violation was an early-disco album. The group's funk-based version of Diana Ross & the Supremes' 1968 single "Forever Came Today" was a club hit, while the single's B-side, the R&B ballad "All I Do Is Think of You", became a popular and frequently covered song in its own right. The album would go on to sell 1.6 million copies worldwide.^[2]

After this album, the Jackson 5, at the behest of father Joseph, left the Motown label after securing a new deal with CBS Records. Motown sued the Jackson 5 for breach of contract, and refused to allow them to leave. After some litigation, Motown allowed the group to leave for CBS, but withheld ownership of the "Jackson 5" name and trademark. Joseph continued the legal battle, until Michael suggested that they simply change the name of the act to "The Jacksons" and end the litigation.

Besides their name, the Jackson 5 left behind secondary lead singer Jermaine Jackson at Motown. Jermaine was married to Motown head Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, and ultimately chose Motown and the Gordys over his brothers. This move incensed Joseph, who intoned that "my blood runs through Jermaine's veins, not Berry Gordy's." Jermaine would go on to have a semi-successful eight-year solo career at Motown. Jackie, Tito, Marlon, and Michael Jackson moved on, hired youngest Jackson brother Randy and began recording for CBS Records in 1976. Motown would issue two compilation albums, Joyful Jukebox Music in 1976, and Boogie in 1979, made up of archived recordings the group had made during their tenure at the label.

Track listing

1. "Forever Came Today" (originally performed by The Supremes) (Holland-Dozier-Holland) (Recorded March 1975) – 6:23
2. "Moving Violation" (Liz Shaw, Harold Beatty) (Recorded October 1974 - March 1975) – 3:37
3. "(You Were Made) Especially for Me" (Michael L. Smith, Brian Holland) (Recorded October 1974 - February 1975) – 3:28
4. "Honey Love" (Michael L. Smith, Edward Holland, Brian Holland) (Recorded October 1974 - February 1975) – 4:40
5. "Body Language (Do the Love Dance)" (Hal Davis, Don Fletcher) (Recorded February 1975) – 4:07
6. "All I Do Is Think of You" (Michael L. Smith, Brian Holland) (Recorded February 1975) – 3:17
7. "Breezy" (Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino) (Recorded October 1974 - February 1975) – 3:38
8. "Call of the Wild" (Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino) (Recorded October 1974) – 2:33
9. "Time Explosion" (Mel Larson, Jerry Marcellino) (Recorded October 1974) – 4:13

Re-release

In 2001, Motown Records remastered all J5 albums in a "Two Classic Albums/One CD" series (much like they did in the late 1980s). This album was paired up with Dancing Machine. The bonus tracks were the outtakes "Through Thick and Thin" (which appeared on 1976's Joyful Jukebox Music) and the Disc-o-Tech #3 Remix of "Forever Came Today".

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collecters Edition, page 100. American Press.

Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.