Released in late 1974 as a single, it was one of the group's album-oriented efforts as the song went beyond the usual playing time of a pop song, at around 7 minutes and 30 seconds. The song was part-soul ballad (led by Jermaine) and part-funk/rock dance anthem (led mostly by Michael).
On the single release, "Part 1" is an edited version of the entire album track, while "Part 2" is an edit of the faster-tempo second section. Record World said it was "clearly so powerful a production that many programmers will go with the unedited version (side one) over the tighter 'Part II' flip."[1] After the song's success, the group released their last Motown album, Moving Violation in May 1975, before leaving the label for Epic Records (a division of CBS Records) the following month.