The Jacksons / Triumph Tour Compilation (1BRDR)

audience
Opening
Can You Feel It
Things I Do For You
Off The Wall
Ben
Heartbreak Hotel
She's Out Of My Life

Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis July 8, 1981

Opening / Can You Feel It
Heartbreak Hotel
She's Out Of My Life
Intermission
I want you back
ABC
The Love You Save

Reunion Arena, DallasJuly 11, 1981

Can You Feel It
Ben
Things I Do For You
Can You Feel It / chat

Rehearsal in Pensacola July 1981

audience
Can You Feel It

Omni Coliseum, Atlanta July 22, 1981

Opening / Can You Feel It

Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo August 2, 1981

Members
Can You Feel It / Things I Do For You

Madison Square Garden, New York August 18, 1981

Can You Feel It
Heartbreak Hotel

Civic Center, Providence August 21, 1981

Randy & Tito Interview
Can You Feel It
Unknown Song
Heartbreak Hotel
I want you back
Can You Feel It
Heartbreak Hotel

Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville August 31, 1981

Marlon Jackson Interview
Can You Feel It
Off The Wall
Ben

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena September 22, 1981

Can You Feel It
Jackson 5 Medley (Part)
Rock With You
Lovely One
Working Day And Night
Don't Stop 'tii You Get Enough
Shake Your Body Down To The Ground

The Forum, Inglewood, September 25, 1981

Can You Feel It
Opening
Can You Feel It
Things I Do For You
Off The Wall
Ben
Heartbreak Hotel
She's Out Of My Life
Intermission
I want you back
ABC
The Love You Save
I'll Be There
Rock With You
Lovely One

The Forum, Inglewood, September 26, 1981 V1

Can You Feel It
Opening
Can You Feel It
Things I Do For You
Off The Wall
Ben
Heartbreak Hotel
She's Out Of My Life
Intermission
I Want You Back
ABC
The Love You Save
I'll Be There
Rock With You
Lovely One
Working Day And Night
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Shake Your Body Down To The Ground

The Forum, Inglewood, September 26, 1981 V2

Audience / Pro-Shot
207 min.

This title is a Blu-ray R compilation that chronologically organizes live footage and other material from the Jacksons' "Triumph Tour," which ran from July 8 to September 26, 1981.

In truth, there is no single "definitive" pro-shot recording of the tour. Nevertheless, we have painstakingly gathered and included the existing footage available today.

By 1981, the Jacksons had achieved platinum sales with two albums—1978's *Destiny* and 1980's *Triumph*—while lead singer Michael Jackson was wrapping up promotional activities for his massive 1979 hit album, *Off the Wall*.

Although it was a Jacksons tour, songs from *Off the Wall* were performed, and Michael incorporated new stage production ideas that reflected his personal tastes. Drawing inspiration from Earth, Wind & Fire's live shows, he oversaw the costumes and personally directed and designed the stage production, even incorporating magic tricks devised by Doug Henning. The stage setup featured the horn section on the left, drums in the center, and keyboards on the right. Randy Jackson played a key role, performing on piano, keyboards, and percussion.

The Triumph Tour began in Memphis, Tennessee, and concluded with a week of sold-out shows in Inglewood. Every performance received high acclaim, largely due to Michael's leadership and exceptional showmanship. The brothers also received acclaim, with Randy’s musicianship, Tito’s musicality, and Marlon’s dancing ability drawing particular praise.

The Triumph Tour was the last major tour where the Jackson brothers performed together as a unified group. Subsequently, Michael’s massive success as a solo artist would far eclipse his work with his brothers.

A live album, *The Jacksons Live!*, was released at the end of 1981; it achieved gold status upon release and sold over two million copies worldwide.

Michael Jackson remarked that it was the first show they had done that was completely free of "unnecessary elements."

First is the opening night of the Triumph Tour in Memphis. This is a single-camera audience shot filmed by someone associated with the production. While the visuals are relatively sharp, the audio sounds somewhat distant and includes crowd noise. The footage is incomplete, featuring cuts and missing segments between songs; it covers only the early part of the concert.

Next is the July 11th show in Dallas. This is another single-camera audience shot filmed from the back of the crowd. The sound quality is relatively good, and the visuals are fairly clear, though the recording consists only of fragments and partial clips. It includes rare footage of the intermission; the image is blurry, and there is almost no audio for the first half, though footage from the Jackson 5 era is shown on the screen. However, the subsequent conversation between the members is captured well. Michael expresses a desire to sing new songs, but—yielding to the wishes of the other members and, above all, the audience—he performs a Jackson 5 medley, saying he is doing it for them.

Then there is footage from a rehearsal in Pensacola, Florida, in July (the exact date is unknown). It consists of fragments and captures conversations among the members; the image quality is hazy.

Finally, the July 22nd show in Atlanta. The visual quality is relatively good. However, the only footage of the Jacksons performing is of "Can You Feel It"—and even that is a compilation of spliced-together fragments. It may have originated from a news report or a concert promotional clip. First up is the August 2nd show in Buffalo. This is a single-camera audience shot filmed by someone associated with the tour. Both the picture and sound quality are quite clear, though it is only a partial recording.

Next is the August 18th show at MSG. It includes a brief interview with Michael, along with snippets of "Can You Feel It" and "Things I Do For You"—footage likely sourced from a news report.

Then, the August 21st show in Providence. The picture quality is relatively good, but it consists only of fragments.

The August 31st show in Nashville features good footage, including close-ups of Michael, but again, it is only a partial recording.

For the September 22nd show in Oakland, we have a recording containing fragments—including a Marlon interview and some grainy footage. It appears to be news-gathering material; it feels more like archival footage than something intended for casual viewing.

I apologize for the reliance on fragmented footage up to this point, but things improve significantly from here on out. We move to the sold-out September 25th show in Inglewood. While the picture is somewhat grainy and the audio is merely average, the professional camera work makes it a compelling watch. It is a welcome addition, as it captures the latter half of the concert—footage that hadn't appeared in previous entries.

Next is the September 26th show in Inglewood. This is the footage widely considered the best quality of the Triumph Tour, known as "Version 1." Although it isn't a flawless "pro-shot" (there are some image glitches), it utilizes the highest-quality master tape in existence. It includes a timecode display. There are also segments where the screen is split into four panels, showing different camera angles simultaneously. During the intermission, the screen is split into four panels, though there are sections with no audio or no video.

Finally, we have another version of the September 26th show—"Version 2"—which does not feature the four-panel camera display. The picture is slightly blurrier and has more glitches than Version 1, and there are parts where the video is obscured by still images. It includes a timecode. During the first half of the intermission, the video shows only the timecode, though the audio is present. There is footage from "Working Day And Night" onwards, but it is incomplete, with some missing audio and various cuts. The footage for "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" is particularly fragmentary. While there is no single definitive video that perfectly captures the Triumph Tour, the existing footage offers a very clear picture of what the tour was like. I highly recommend experiencing this acclaimed tour—widely considered the Jacksons' best—through this release.