Music & Me

Background

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.

Promotion

Since Jackson was on a world tour with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 (which ran from March 1973 to December 1975), 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 Billboards Hot 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. Ten years after this album's release, "Happy" was released as a single in the UK to promote Motown's 18 Greatest Hits compilation album.

CD rerelease

Music & Me received some changes when Motown Records released it on compact disc in the 1990s, which occurred only outside of the U.S. 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 also features different text and a darker shade of green.

Critical reception

The album received favorable reviews from music critics. However, 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." 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 does not "understand where the interpretations are coming from". 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"."

Track listing

Notes

• Johnny Raven was moved to Track 7 in later releases.

Charts

Sales

References

References

1. Chery, Carl: ''XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collectors Edition'', page 100. American Press.
2. "Music & Me". [[AllMusic]].
3. "Music & Me Was Released On This Day In 1973, it went onto sell over 2 million copies".
4. Peel, Ian. ""Music and Me (1973) and Forever Michael (1975) sold two million and one million copies respectively" - Classic Pop Presents Michael Jackson 2016". Anthem Publishing.
5. (August 5, 2009). "Hello World - the Motown Solo Collection".
6. (June 26, 2009). "Michael Jackson: A life of music".
7. (October 4, 2018). "Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track". Octopus.
8. (April 28, 1973). "Michael Jackson's "Music & Me"".
9. Halstead, Craig. (2003). "[[Michael Jackson]]: The Solo Years". Authors OnLine.
10. (October 4, 2018). "Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track". Octopus.
11. "Music & Me". [[AllMusic]].
12. Greenblatt, Leah. (July 3, 2009). "Michael Jackson's Albums".
13. Christgau, Robert. (October 1973). "Michael Jackson: Music and Me". [[The Village Voice]].
14. "Top 100 Pop Albums". [[Cashbox (magazine).
15. (2003). "Michael Jackson the Solo Years". Authors On Line.