Victory is the fifteenth studio album by the Jacksons. It was released by Epic Records on July 2, 1984. The album was the only album to include all six Jackson brothers together as an official group; also, it was the band's last album to be entirely recorded with lead singer Michael Jackson, as well as their first album to feature Jermaine Jackson since 1975's Moving Violation. Victory has sold over 7 million copies worldwide and was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in October 1984. It peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and its most successful single "State of Shock" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Victory was supported by the Victory Tour, with Michael, who had recently released the world's all-time best-selling album, Thriller, prominently featured. Shortly after the Victory Tour ended, Michael and Marlon Jackson quit the group. Jermaine, Tito, Randy and Jackie Jackson continued on as the Jacksons, and releasing one more album, 1989's 2300 Jackson Street before splitting up.
Recording
After a successful reunion on the television special in 1983, Jermaine Jackson decided to return to the group, having left Motown after nine years as a full-fledged soloist. His brothers had left Motown for Epic in 1975, but despite the reunion, the brothers rarely worked together on the album; it was mainly composed of solo songs the brothers had each worked on during that time. Each brother had a solo song on the album: Michael on "Be Not Always", Randy on “One More Chance” and “The Hurt", Tito on “We Can Change the World", Jackie on “Wait" and Marlon on “Body.” Jermaine only sings co-lead vocals with Michael on "Torture". He also performs ad-libs on "Wait" and is additionally named as a background vocalist on "One More Chance" and "The Hurt". "Torture" was originally planned to be a duet between Michael and Jackie, but when Jermaine officially re-joined the group, he took over the parts intended for Jackie. The album only had two videos — for the songs "Torture" and "Body" — and neither Jermaine nor Michael appeared in either one. A wax dummy of Michael acted as a stand in for the "Torture" video. Michael recorded "State of Shock", a duet originally recorded with Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. The duo were unable to finish the track, so Michael ended up recording a second version of the track with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
Artwork
Tensions reportedly grew between the brothers during the recording sessions and as a result, minimal publicity photography was done. The album cover art was commissioned from famed illustrator Michael Whelan. On the first release of the record there was a white dove on Randy's shoulder. On later issues the bird was removed.
Assistant engineers: Niko Bolas, Ollie Cotton, Paul Erickson, Bino Espinoza, Matt Forger, Stuart Furusho, Mitch Gibson, Mike Hatcher, Shep Longsdale, Brian Malouf, Terry Stewart, John Van Nest
Additional recordings technicians: Allen Sides, Ann Calnan, Brent Averill, Brian Malouf, Jermany Smith, Michael Schulman, Robin Laine
Mixing: Niko Bolas, Bill Bottrell, Greg Ladanyi, Bruce Swedien
The song "State of Shock" peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Torture", reached No. 17, and "Body", the third single, became a moderate hit peaking at No. 47. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in the week of August 4, 1984. The fourth single, "Wait", was released in 1985 in the UK, Canada and Brazil only - it is not known to have charted anywhere, and was possibly withdrawn. The single version of "Wait" is a remix which features a slap bassline in place of the original synth bass, as well as additional lead synth - and has never been released elsewhere.
Charts
Certifications
Remastered version
A remastered version was released in July 2009 in Japan only, with cardboard sleeve packaging. It was part of a six-album Jacksons cardboard sleeve reissue series, featuring the albums The Jacksons, Goin' Places, Destiny, Triumph, The Jacksons Live!, and Victory.
