I've been jamming this album a lot recently. I just recently saw the "Unsung" documentary on The Sylvers, and it prompted me to pull out this gem (that episode was very good by the way--one of the best Unsung documentaries I've seen so far). Released in 1973, some would say that they were Jackson 5 influenced, being a soulful family band. Yet as much I love the Jackson 5, The Jacksons, and everything related to MJ, I don't know if any Jackson 5 album is quite as complete as this album from beginning to end. The first two tracks on this album especially, "We Can Make It If We Try", and "Through the Love In My Heart", provide a great 1-2 punch, and the album flows wonderfully throughout, and closes with a beautiful a-cappella cover version of The Beatles "Yesterday". Certainly, the Jackson 5 have a more complete discography, from Diana Ross to ABC to Dancing Machine. Unfortunately, after The Sylvers third album (titled III), they turned into more of a disco-influenced group, and lyrically more fluffy than their first three albums. The Sylvers II is a monster of an album, criminally underrated in it's time, and up there with some of my favorite soul albums of all-time.
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