{"id":207,"date":"2011-08-08T16:07:50","date_gmt":"2011-08-08T16:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.quiliby.com\/all\/?p=207"},"modified":"2011-08-08T16:32:54","modified_gmt":"2011-08-08T16:32:54","slug":"marvin-gaye-what%e2%80%99s-going-on-40th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quiliby.com\/all\/marvin-gaye-what%e2%80%99s-going-on-40th-anniversary.html","title":{"rendered":"Marvin Gaye- What\u2019s Going On: 40th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a review, <\/em> published in Black Grooves, <\/em>of the Universal Music Group 40th anniversary release of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On<\/em> album.<\/p>\n

album cover: <\/a><\/p>\n

Marvin Gaye wrote and produced the suite of songs that make up What\u2019s Going On<\/em> out of what he called a religious motivation to speak truth to troubled people in a troubled time.\u00a0 That was back in 1971.\u00a0 Men were coming home from an unpopular war, their bodies and souls in tatters, and they couldn\u2019t find jobs. The natural environment was threatened.\u00a0 Hopelessness, drug addiction and violence dominated life in the inner cities.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sad commentary on American society that so many of these beautiful and deeply disturbing songs still ring as true in 2011 as they did in 1971.<\/p>\n

Despite that depressing perspective, this deluxe reissue (a gatefold LP with 2 CDs inserted in the back cover) is a joyous occasion for fans of great soul music. Universal Music Group has remastered the original album (CD 1), with resulting punchier sound.\u00a0 Also included on the first CD are the original mono single versions of several songs plus some unreleased demos and mixes.<\/p>\n

CD 2, called \u201cThe Detroit Instrumental Sessions and More\u201d is, first of all, a sampler\u2019s delight as well as college-level schooling on how great funk beats and hooks are laid into coherent grooves.\u00a0 The tracks also provide a window into Gaye\u2019s creative process right after What\u2019s Going On<\/em> exploded on the scene and raced up the charts, showing what sorts of musical ideas he contemplated exploring and exploiting.\u00a0 Judging from many of the hard-funk grooves, he was headed where Jimi Hendrix had gone in the last year of his life, toward a meeting of rock and soul with a funk beat that included layers of rock-style distorted guitars and heavy electric bass.<\/p>\n

The main feature of the set is an LP of the original \u201cDetroit\u201d mix from April 1971.\u00a0 What was actually issued as Tamla TS 310 in May 1971 was a remix and revision done in Los Angeles, just weeks before the final release date (the new LP was not previewed for this review).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Going On<\/em> represented a new direction at Motown.\u00a0 With this album, Marvin Gaye moved Motown into the \u201870s and moved his music into a new, serious and thoughtful, realm. But it was a struggle to get it released. According to the liner notes, Gaye put his career on the line with Motown founder Berry Gordy, who was also his brother-in-law.\u00a0 After Gordy delayed putting out the single of \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On,\u201d Gaye threatened to \u201cnever record for (Gordy) again.\u201d\u00a0 In a recent interview with Marc Myers, published in the Wall Street Journal<\/em> and also on Myers\u2019 Jazzwax<\/em> blog, Gordy denied there was that much drama but admitted that he had strong reservations about an album he considered commercially questionable and potentially very controversial and divisive.\u00a0 The album did succeed in the marketplace and its prominence grew with time, causing Gordy to later admit that \u201cMarvin was right.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Ben Edmonds\u2019 liner notes, the album was produced and overseen by Gaye, but many others played key parts.\u00a0 The title track was conceived by Obie Benson (of the Four Tops) and Al Cleveland, and then embraced, altered and re-worked by Gaye and the \u201cFunk Brothers\u201d (Motown\u2019s studio musicians).\u00a0 Gaye\u2019s wife, Anna Gordy Gaye, helped with lyrics to \u201cFlying High.\u201d\u00a0 Motown elevator operator James Nyx came up with the lyrics used in \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening Brother,\u201d \u201cGod Is Love,\u201d and \u201cInner City Blues.\u201d\u00a0 Gaye was solely responsible for \u201cMercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).\u201d Gaye also added outside musicians, including jazz drummer Chet Forest and saxman Wild Bill Moore, plus lush instrumentations by David Van DePitte (who was given a credit on the front cover of the LP).<\/p>\n

Following is a clip from the DVD Marvin Gaye: Real Thing: In Performance 1964-1981<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n