Whats Going On is the eleventh studio album by American motown singer Marvin Gaye, released in May 1971. The concept album is told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran who has returned home to observe a country full of hatred, misery and injustice. This album has been credited with bringing awareness to issues such as poverty, drug abuse and war ahead of public outcry over these controversial issues.
MARVIN GAYE Whats Going On (Essential UK/EU 9-track LP remastered and pressed on 180-gram black vinyl. Marvin Gayes 1971 masterpiece Whats Going On is widely regarded as the most important and passionate album to emerge from soul music. A deeply personal and socially conscious statement, the record addresses Vietnam, civil unrest, environmental issues, poverty and addiction with warmth, grace, and unflinching honesty. Initially resisted by Motown, the album went on to inspire a generation of artists – including Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield – to seize creative control of their music. Produced and co-written by Gaye himself, it features his signature layered vocals set against lush arrangements of strings, horns, hand percussion and jazz-infused grooves. Housed in a deluxe gatefold picture sleeve – Ranked 1 in Rolling Stones Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.)
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Sly and the Family Stone might have psychedelicised soul music, but Marvin Gaye personalised it. Although the powers-that-were Motown didnt even want to release the record, the unexpected success of Whats Going On, issued in 1971, inspired Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and just about every other black artist on the planet to take greater responsibility for their music and its meaning.
Gaye co-wrote the songs and produced the album, flavouring it with layer upon layer of his own multi-tracked vocals, oceans of hand percussion, strings, flutes, and jazzy horn solos. spacey and loose as a spliff-fuelled Sunday afternoon jam in the park, the nine songs all played like a hit single. The title track – inspired by his brothers return from the Vietnam war – and the obvious social commentary of Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) and Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) actually were hit singles. Two other tracks (Wholly Holy and Save The Children) would inspire hit covers by Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, respectively.
Nevertheless, Whats Going On sounds as fresh today as it did the week that it came out.
Side 1
1. Whats Going On
2. Whats Happening Brother
3. Flyin High (In the Friendly Sky)
4. Save the Children
5. God is Love
6. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
Side 2
7. Right On
8. Wholy Holy
9. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
