Marlon Jackson

* 1/2 MARLON JACKSON. "Baby Tonight." Capitol. * * 1/2 LEVERT. "The Big Throwdown." Atlantic. Former Jacksons member Marlon Jackson has produced his own debut solo album and written most of the tracks. He shows promise, especially when it comes to cooking up a chunky, fat-bottomed dance jam. But as a singer, Jackson is toe-curlingly bad. (And unlike the street vernacular in big brother Michael's hit of the same name, that ain't good.

Will Michael Jackson's death result in a career rebirth for the R&B group the Jacksons? Four Jackson brothers, members of the hit-making quintet that counted Michael as a member until his solo career skyrocketed, have been in negotiations with AEG Live about performing at the O2 Arena in London. Specifically, they want to take over some of the dates the venue had earmarked for Michael Jackson's 50 comeback concerts, said a source with knowledge of the situation who declined to be identified because the person is not authorized to speak publicly.

Will Michael Jackson's death result in a career rebirth for the R&B group the Jacksons? Four Jackson brothers, members of the hit-making quintet that counted Michael as a member until his solo career skyrocketed, have been in negotiations with AEG Live about performing at the O2 Arena in London. Specifically, they want to take over some of the dates the venue had earmarked for Michael Jackson's 50 comeback concerts, said a source with knowledge of the situation who declined to be identified because the person is not authorized to speak publicly.

What's it like to be a Jackson? That, said singer Marlon Jackson of the noted Jackson clan, is a question he's asked all the time, and he repeated his stock reply. "It's like being a Smith or a Jones or any other average person. . . . We're just like anybody else. But when I say this, people don't believe me. " You can't blame them. It's like saying the Reagans are just plain folks. "I don't feel any different from anybody else," Jackson insisted during a recent interview.

In his final day in Ethiopia, Marlon Jackson was entertained the way a visiting dignitary should be: --by a spear-toting break-dancer, complete with a mini-harem of singing orphans; --by a rock combo, performing "Oh! Susannah" to a reggae beat; --by several hundred well-behaved, well-nourished children who danced, sang and clapped on command at the government's Zerai-Deres village for Ethiopian waifs. Jackson, the 28-year-old brother of Michael, was touched.

The first planeload of food, medicine and clothing bought with royalties from the hit song "We Are the World" left New York today for the famine-stricken people of Ethiopia and Sudan. Marlon Jackson, brother of Michael Jackson, accompanied the relief supplies on a flight that originated in Los Angeles. Among those at Kennedy Airport to see the shipment off was Diana Ross. "We made music," Ross said. "Now we're talking about saving lives and spreading love."

Clad in his USA for Africa sweatshirt and a New York Yankees ballcap, Marlon Jackson knelt in the dust with a pair of Ethiopian orphans for the first of many, many photo opportunities Thursday. The ragtag population of this dirt-destitute resettlement area in the Northeastern Tigre province alternately cheered and begged for money from the latest entourage of press and celebrities to visit their camp in recent months.

* 1/2 MARLON JACKSON. "Baby Tonight." Capitol. * * 1/2 LEVERT. "The Big Throwdown." Atlantic. Former Jacksons member Marlon Jackson has produced his own debut solo album and written most of the tracks. He shows promise, especially when it comes to cooking up a chunky, fat-bottomed dance jam. But as a singer, Jackson is toe-curlingly bad. (And unlike the street vernacular in big brother Michael's hit of the same name, that ain't good.

What's it like to be a Jackson? That, said singer Marlon Jackson of the noted Jackson clan, is a question he's asked all the time, and he repeated his stock reply. "It's like being a Smith or a Jones or any other average person. . . . We're just like anybody else. But when I say this, people don't believe me. " You can't blame them. It's like saying the Reagans are just plain folks. "I don't feel any different from anybody else," Jackson insisted during a recent interview.

In his final day in Ethiopia, Marlon Jackson was entertained the way a visiting dignitary should be: --by a spear-toting break-dancer, complete with a mini-harem of singing orphans; --by a rock combo, performing "Oh! Susannah" to a reggae beat; --by several hundred well-behaved, well-nourished children who danced, sang and clapped on command at the government's Zerai-Deres village for Ethiopian waifs. Jackson, the 28-year-old brother of Michael, was touched.

The USA for Africa Foundation now has a Wells Fargo Bank vice president as a financial adviser and a four-person steering committee but reached no decision regarding what--if anything--it will do as an encore to Hands Across America. An all-day board meeting Tuesday, the foundation's first since the May 25 mega-event, was "far and away the most productive and the longest board meeting we've ever had," said Ken Kragen, foundation president.

Freshmen Lindsey Nelson and Tracy Lin advanced at the Easter Bowl tennis tournament Saturday in Palm Springs and will play this morning in Palm Springs at 10 in the round of 16 of the girls' 16 division. Nelson, from Villa Park High, defeated Ashley Lipton of Saratoga, 6-2, 6-0, and Canyon's Lin defeated Leslie Koffi of Los Angeles, 6-2, 6-4. Nelson has beaten Lin twice, most recently in three sets in the Century League finals. Also today, in a 1:30 p.m.