| The Plan | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | The Osmonds |
| Cover: | theosmondstheplan.jpg |
| Released: | June 30, 1973 |
| Recorded: | March 1973 |
| Label: | MGM Records |
| Producer: | Alan Osmond |
| Prev Title: | Crazy Horses |
| Prev Year: | 1972 |
| Next Title: | Love Me for a Reason |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
The Plan is the fifth studio album by The Osmonds, released in 1973. The album contains songs that are about the Mormon faith; its name derives from the Plan of Salvation, a key tenet of the Mormon faith.[1] It reached number 58 on the Billboard Top LPs chart.[2] Two of the album's singles, "Goin' Home" and "Let Me In", both peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] [4] The album's third single, "Movie Man" (an experimental synthpop cut featuring Alan Osmond on lead vocals), did not chart.
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Donald A. Guarisco gave the album a mixed 2.5 stars out a possible 5. He wrote, "Anyone who thinks of this family group as a bubblegum soul outfit will be bowled over by this incredibly ambitious outing, which attempts to explain the family's Mormon beliefs through a series of songs that cut across a wide variety of pop genres." The Osmonds proved themselves versatile at tackling a variety of musical styles, according to Guarisco, but the album was ultimately a "misfire" because the creative diversity led to a lack of cohesion for The Plan as a whole.
Sean Ross of RadioInsight noted that the Osmonds' singles in 1973 had fallen in popularity and radio airplay compared to 1971 and 1972, in part due to increased teen idol competition from The DeFranco Family.[5]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considered the album a major success; by 1976, the quintet had increased the number of new converts to Mormonism by tens of thousands per year, and for this reason, the church exempted the brothers from the requirement to serve a traditional mission on the grounds that their music had evangelized more effectively.[6]
All songs written and composed by Alan Osmond, Merrill Osmond, and Wayne Osmond.
To commemorate the album's release, the band produced a 10-minute music video, performing a medley of the selected songs in the following order: "Traffic in My Mind", "Let Me In", "Are You Up There?", "The Last Days", "One Way Ticket to Anywhere", and "Goin' Home". This medley was performed live, and during Wayne's flute solo intro to "Let Me In", Alan announced the recent release of "The Plan". A full video version of "Let Me In" was also released from the same taping.
| Chart (1973) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] | 58 | |
| Canadian Albums (RPM)[9] | 20 | |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] | 16 | |
| French Albums (SNEP)[11] | 10 | |
| UK Albums (OCC)[12] | 6 | |
| US Billboard 200[13] | 58 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Goin' Home" | Billboard Hot 100 | 36 |
| Canada | 30 | ||
| Canadian AC | 91 | ||
| United Kingdom | 4 | ||
| Australia | 55 | ||
| "Let Me In" | Billboard Hot 100 | 36 | |
| U.S. AC | 4 | ||
| Canada | 15 | ||
| Canadian AC | 5 | ||
| United Kingdom | 2 | ||
| Australia | 65 | ||