5. Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine is the most successful Jackson male (excluding his late brother) with a plethora of albums delving into pop, dance, R&B, funk and soul with varying degrees of success. Jermaine's first few releases on the Motown label produced countless weepy ballads like 'Daddy's Home', featuring nostalgic 1950's pop sounds - not something listeners would expect from a 1970's soul album. However as Jermaine's solo career progressed, he soon found this hits - most notably the 1979 funky Stevie Wonder penned track,
'Let's Get Serious' - which is an undeniably amazing 8 minute long explosion of high-energy disco and energetic funk. However, it was 1984 that saw Jermaine's most commercial international success, 'Dynamite' (aka Jermaine Jackson) marked the singers' first album with Artista Records, providing a refreshing new sound. Among the new tracks was synthpop duet with Pia Zadora, 'When the Rain Begins to Fall', which I would argue matches the quality of any of Michael's solo releases. The album also featured a collaboration with Michael, the #1 dance single, 'Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming', as well as a weirder collaboration with Tito and Randy Jackson, titled 'Escape from the Planet of the Ant Men.' Jermaine's most controversial release came in 1991 on the album, 'You Said.' After years of rumored rifts and feuds within the family, Jermaine took his frustration out in single 'Word to the Badd!!' The original track served as a lyrical attack towards Michael featuring lyrics like "Reconstructed, Been abducted, Don't know who you are...". However lyrics were later changed to reflect a scorned lover as family rifts softened. The track itself is prime example of nineties R&B/dance and one of Jermaine's strongest solo singles. After an almost twenty year hiatus from recording, Jermaine re-appeared with a surprise, dance update of 'Blame It On The Boogie,' which is rather brilliant. Unfortunately, the singer's last album release alienated many fans (myself included) by ignoring his soul/dance roots in favour of a classic standards album. Now who really wants a Jermaine Jackson cover of 'My Funny Valentine?' Anyone?