{"id":40822,"date":"2008-04-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/whats-going-on-deluxe-edition\/"},"modified":"2008-04-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-04-07T00:00:00","slug":"whats-going-on-deluxe-edition","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/whats-going-on-deluxe-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Going On (Deluxe Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marvin Gaye was a genius. But despite the consistently good quality of his artistic output, listening to his catalog can often be puzzling. He was lyrically schizophrenic: the over-sexed content of records like Let\u2019s Get It On<\/i> and I Want You<\/i> are an unfavorable contrast to the messages contained in his powerful record, 1971\u2019s What\u2019s Going On<\/i>. Soulful or not, anyone singing the line \u201cLet\u2019s get it on\u201d runs the risk of sounding pretty silly, even idiotic. Truthfully, Marvin Gaye might have been the only artist ever who could have gotten away with a lyric like that \u2013 had anyone else been singing, it\u2019s doubtful the song would have been as popular as it was and still is. <\/p>\n

The fact that Let\u2019s Get It On<\/i>, released in 1973, was Gaye\u2019s first proper studio album following the seminal What\u2019s Going On<\/i> (Trouble Man,<\/i> an almost entirely instrumental soundtrack album, was released the year before Let\u2019s Get It On<\/i>), speaks to the lyrical and poetic contrasts in his work. Indeed, What\u2019s Going On<\/i> is Gaye\u2019s most important artistic statement, one which stands out among the early Motown singles with which he was so dissatisfied and also his later self-produced, more gimmick-oriented work (\u201cLet\u2019s Get It On,\u201d \u201cSexual Healing,\u201d etc.). Make no mistake, both the early Motown work and Gaye\u2019s post-1971 records are phenomenal showcases of the singer\u2019s extraordinary vocal capabilities and musical vision, but this album is undoubtedly his best and it overshadows every other Gaye album in content, structure, meaning, and composition. What\u2019s Going On<\/i> is a masterpiece, and it\u2019s one of the most important artistic achievements, not only of American popular culture, but of 20th century art in general. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that in 2001, the 30th anniversary of the album\u2019s release, What\u2019s Going On<\/i> was given the \u201cdeluxe\u201d treatment. For the most part, these deluxe reissues of classic albums are just a way to convince consumers to buy a second, sometimes third or fourth, copy of an album they already own. The extras are rarely of any value and the cost is always astronomically high, twice the cost of a standard issue disc. <\/p>\n

Motown Records, now just a trademarked household name of Universal Music Company, has re-issued this disc for two reasons: first, the most obvious and aforementioned reason, to move more copies of a 30-year-old album for twice the cost; secondly, What\u2019s Going On<\/i> deserves a closer look. The mystery and status of the album \u2013 and Marvin Gaye himself \u2013 indicates that there is more to be heard, more to be experienced, more to fall in love with. This reissue delivers on all those fronts, perhaps more than any other release in the \u201cdeluxe edition\u201d series of discs. The album\u2019s artwork is fully restored along with its original liner notes, including Gaye\u2019s own message to the listener. Extended notes are included by music historian and critic Ben Edmonds, who wrote the definitive book on the album, What\u2019s Going On: Marvin Gaye and the Last Days of the Motown Sound<\/i> (also recommended). The set includes the original May 21, 1971 LP release, the April 5, 1971 Detroit mix, a fascinating \u201crhythm and strings mix\u201d of the album\u2019s legendary title track, the complete Kennedy Center concert from May 1, 1972, the original single versions of \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On,\u201d \u201cGod Is Love,\u201d and \u201cSad Tomorrows,\u201d and the single \u201cHead Title AKA Distant Lover,\u201d which Gaye had been crafting for years but that would not be released until Let\u2019s Get It On<\/i>. Of course, all of this audio is gloriously restored and remastered; it\u2019s a shame Gaye won\u2019t ever be able to hear it this way. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s Going On<\/i> is one of the most distinctive sounding records in pop music history. Marvin Gaye had longed to be in creative control with respect to composition and <\/i>production since the very beginning of his Motown days. Even as the single most successful Motown artist, The Prince of Motown had to battle his way into a position that would allow him to create and produce in the style he wanted. Motown was wary of this album; they weren\u2019t especially interested in releasing a political record, one which might upset the production and image of their well-oiled pop-making machine. <\/p>\n

Naturally, Gaye found this unsatisfactory and negotiated the release of \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On\u201d as a single by refusing to make any more music for Motown until they agreed to give it a try. The single shot up the charts and made the record label buckets of money, and so naturally they wanted an album to accompany it. What\u2019s Going On<\/i> was recorded in ten days at Motown\u2019s Detroit Studios. It\u2019s hard to imagine that anyone, even Gaye himself, could have been totally aware of how important this work was. To say the least, Marvin Gaye couldn\u2019t have known that he was making one of the greatest records of all time, although he was known to be pretty arrogant. <\/p>\n

This album doesn\u2019t flow like a typical pop album. The tracks come across more like musical movements<\/i> as opposed to individual songs, each segueing into the next. The album opener and title track moves effortlessly into the next track, \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening Brother.\u201d It\u2019s easy to hear the musical similarities between the two, and of course this is by design. The lyrical content is similar, perhaps asking the same question, but from two different perspectives: one from the protester and one from the veteran who has just returned home. <\/p>\n

\u201cFlyin\u2019 High (In The Friendly Sky),\u201d Gaye\u2019s psychedelic exploration, and \u201cSave The Children\u201d gorgeously bridge the album\u2019s two main musical movements: the first movement being \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On\u201d\/\u201cWhat\u2019s Happening Brother\u201d and the second being \u201cGod Is Love\u201d\/\u201cMercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).\u201d \u201cGod Is Love\u201d is Gaye\u2019s heartbreaking plead to spread the love of God to every corner of the earth, while \u201cMercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)\u201d is his achingly beautiful observation on the state of the natural world (also one of the most beautiful songs ever written). Here, the album switches musical gears with the bluesy \u201cRight On\u201d and then slows briefly for \u201cWholy Holy,\u201d another statement on the religion of Marvin Gaye: spread love, to everyone, everywhere. <\/p>\n

The album concludes with the third and final single, \u201cInner City Blues,\u201d which explores America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>\u2019s ghettos and the social responses of their residents. The final moments of \u201cInner City Blues\u201d feature a reprise of \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On,\u201d bringing the album to a close perfectly. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s Going On <\/i>speaks for itself, with or without this deluxe treatment. But, the best component of this reissue is the inclusion of the original Detroit<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> mix. According to Ben Edmunds, having completed the record, Marvin went to Los Angeles<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> to do some screen acting in an unmemorable film. While on the West Coast, he requested to have the master tapes be sent to him. He then added some more vocals and instrumentation and remixed the entire record in Los Angeles<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, the final product of which is the album everyone has heard. The two mixes vary greatly in their aesthetic and texture, and the final Los Angeles<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> mix is a complete redecoration of the version done in Detroit<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>; it\u2019s fascinating to compare the two. Gaye\u2019s vocals on the Detroit<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> version are pushed so deliciously high in the mix that you can hear every single detail and nuance of his voice, every harmony, every breath. The Detroit<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> mix seems to emphasize each musical component of the record more than the Los Angeles<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> mix. Every instrument can be heard perfectly on the first version; it sounds more \u201clive\u201d than anything else, whereas the final version seems to have a sort of consistent texture applied to every track, making it sound more like a record. It\u2019s difficult to argue for one over the other, but the Detroit<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> mix is incredibly interesting to listen to given most listeners\u2019 familiarity with the final product.<\/p>\n

As is the case with most live recordings from this era, the 1972 concert from the Kennedy<\/st1:placename> Center<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> is pretty muddy. It\u2019s valuable, though, because this was one of the only times What\u2019s Going On<\/i> was performed live in its entirety. The concert begins with a Motown medley (\u201cHeard It Through The Grapevine,\u201d \u201cAin\u2019t Nothing Like The Real Thing,\u201d etc.) and carries the listener through a delightful live application of an out-of-sequence What\u2019s Going On<\/i>. The show is masterfully executed, despite a frustrating omission of \u201cMercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).\u201d <\/p>\n

Marvin Gaye was a tortured soul. He had a colorful and altogether undesirable childhood, something made obvious when considering the tragic circumstances surrounding his death. Gaye\u2019s private life stands in stark contrast to the content of his music. Writing almost entirely about love, both in general and with regard to intimacy and romance, Gaye\u2019s message was always clear: peace can and will be maintained so long as God\u2019s love and the love for one another is spread to every human being on earth. What\u2019s Going On<\/i> as a statement remains just as potent today as it ever was, and this undoubtedly contributes to its long-lasting appeal for music lovers young and old. The current state of affairs begs for more musical statements like Gaye\u2019s. Many thought that 9\/11, the war in Afghanistan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> and the war in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> would inspire a musical response in the same way similar circumstances did in the sixties. In some ways, the post 9\/11 artistic community has responded, but nothing like What\u2019s Going On<\/i> had come before it or has come since. It\u2019s an entirely reliable record, one that demands repeated listens because it\u2019s just that<\/i> important and it\u2019s just that<\/i> good. <\/p>\n

Smokey Robinson said that What\u2019s Going On <\/i>is not only his favorite album of all time, but it\u2019s the<\/i> greatest album of all time. A strong case could be made for Robinson\u2019s assessment, but of course those kinds of statements are never verifiable, even if they\u2019re coming from a credible source like the legendary Smokey Robinson. What is verifiable is how incredibly important this disc is. It\u2019s a record of extraordinary depth conceived, produced, and performed by one of the most soulful, passionate and gifted artists of the last hundred years. Even though his life was cut so criminally short, Marvin Gaye has left a permanent mark on music, culture, and history. This might be the greatest album of all time, it might not be, that\u2019s for you to decide. Regardless of whether or not it\u2019s the best, What\u2019s Going On<\/i> is ranked among<\/i> the best and this reissue somehow managed to breathe new life into a record that\u2019s been alive and kicking for over thirty years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":29278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6968],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-40822","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-marvin-gaye","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40822"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40822"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}