Maybe Tomorrow

AMG Review of Maybe Tomorrow

Lindsay Planer
All Music Guide

Maybe Tomorrow (1971) was the Jackson Five's fourth long-player in less than two years, actually their fifth if you count the excellent holiday offering Jackson 5 Christmas Album (1970). Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Randy and Michael continue their prolific run, building off the same combination of swooning slow jams and funky rockers that had catapulted their previous outings into the Top Five R&B and Pop Album surveys. No doubt influenced by the recent success of "I'll Be There," the focus tunes extracted as singles were the heartfelt and Michael-led allads "Never Can Say Goodbye," as well as the title track "Maybe Tomorrow." Although the youngest member of the Jackson 5, he consistently turned in precociously age-defying performances. Once again Motown's self-inclusive team of Bobby Taylor, instrumentalists Deke Richards (guitar), Freddie Perren (keyboard), Fonce Mizell (keyboards) and the label's co-founder Berry Gordy -- known collectively as the Corporation -- supplied a majority of the grooves. However, it was increasingly the tunes brought in from elsewhere that were gaining the most attention. Actor/composer/performer Clifton Davis supplied "Never Can Say Goodbye," while Hal Davis' mid-tempo arrangement of the Crests' 1958 hit "16 Candles" is a perfect vehicle for Jermaine. He would return to his R&B ancestry for the significant solo side, a cover of Shep & the Limelites' "Daddy's Home"." Standouts from the Corporation's contributions are the fun, though admittedly lightweight "My Little Baby," the harder driving "It's Great to Be Here" and the upbeat funk vibe "I Will Find a Way" that concludes the platter. When Maybe Tomorrow was reissued on CD in 2001, it was coupled with the quintet's Third Album (1970) and supplemented with two of the last recordings created by the Corporation, "Sugar Daddy" -- which initially surfaced on the Greatest Hits [1971] (1971) package -- and the non-LP "I'm So Happy."