Released only a matter of days after Michael Jackson's tragic June 2009 passing but in the works long before that, Hip-O Select's HELLO WORLD: THE MOTOWN SOLO COLLECTION collects the entirety of his solo recordings for Motown in a triple-disc set. Although Michael had some major hits during this period--notably "Got to Be There," "Ben," and "Rockin' Robin," all Top Five hits on both the pop and Black Singles charts--it's fair to call these years Jackson's awkward adolescence, perched partway between the preteen dynamo of the Jackson Five and the cool, confident entertainer of OFF THE WALL. There's nothing new here for collectors, but much of this material has been out-of-print for a long time, so it's useful putting the somewhat forgotten recordings of a major artist back in circulation even if the music doesn't hold any new insights. Essentially, these three discs confirm the basic narrative of Michael Jackson's career to be correct: he was drifting at Motown as a solo artist, trapped both by his adolescence and the unwillingness of the label to give him anything to do other than follow shifting trends from bubblegum soul to disco. Naturally, the aforementioned big hits retain their power and there are some gems scattered throughout each of the discs--and those gems come entirely from Jackson's pure, natural charisma--which may be reason enough for serious fans to get this handsomely produced set.

Rolling Stone (p.78) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Jackson summoned pains beyond the realm of adolescent experience on his aching cover of 'Ain't No Sunshine'....'Ben' remains eerie and extraordinary."

Entertainment Weekly (p.58) - "[This] collection of Jackson's 1971-75 solo work is a sad but timely reminder of how gifted he was from the start." -- Grade: A-