A new phase in
the Jackson 5's career began with
Lookin' Through the Windows, the quintet's seventh release since 1969. The album came out in the wake of 1971's stopgap
Goin' Back to Indiana from
the Jacksons' hourlong ABC-TV network special of the same name and, just in time for Christmas of that year, Greatest Hits. Also released in 1971, their previous studio outing,
Maybe Tomorrow, had proven to be the last created under the primary direction of Bobby Taylor,
Deke Richards (guitar),
Freddie Perren (keyboard),
Fonce Mizell (keyboards), and Motown co-founder Berry Gordy, who were collectively credited as the Corporation. So 1972's
Lookin' Through the Windows is padded with a few scraps from their tenure, such as the breezy "To Know," sounding like a mixture of
Stevie Wonder and the Philly soul stylings of
the O'Jays -- as well as the charming but unremarkable "If I Have to Move a Mountain." The highlight from that cache is the funky "Don't Let Your Baby Catch You," bearing a propulsive groove that would have effortlessly translated to
Michael Jackson's post-Motown career. The LP spawned two R&B/pop crossovers. The first, an update of
Thurston Harris' "Little Bitty Pretty One," features several different
Jacksons on lead with an arrangement that immediately recalls
Michael's solo cover of
Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin." Perhaps not entirely coincidentally,
Michael's 45 climbed to the number two pop position less than a month before
the Jackson 5 landed in the Top 15 with their remake. While on the subject of outsourced musical influences, the introductory orchestration to the Clifton Davis-penned title track indicates an undeniable and pronounced nod to
Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft." They also commit a bouncy interpretation of
Jackson Browne's "Doctor My Eyes." Meanwhile, the combo had to look no further than the copious Motown back catalog for its impressive opener, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" -- a selection initially brought to significance by
Marvin Gaye and
Tammi Terrell some four years earlier. In 2001,
Lookin' Through the Windows was coupled with the aforementioned
Goin' Back to Indiana on a double-play compact disc. One of the bonus cuts on that package is "Love Song," another Clifton Davis tune that first surfaced as the B-side to the "Lookin' Through the Windows" 7" single. ~ Lindsay Planer