SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MARVIN GAYE - WHAT’S GOING ON: 50th ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDITION - The Spill Magaze

Contents:

• MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ GETS 50TH ANNIVERSARY DIGAL REISSUE
• SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDN OF MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ RELEASED ON VYL
• MARV GAYE – WHAT’S GOG ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDN
• MARV GAYE WHAT'S GOG ON (50TH ANNIVERSARY) 180G 2LP
• WHAT'S GOG ON - 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDNISLANDLPX2£49.99£42.99SALEBLACKRELEASED 02/06/2023CATALOGUE NUMBER3558417USUALLY DISPATCHED 5-10 DAYS MARV GAYEWHAT'S GOG ON - 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDN
• MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON: 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDN’ FOR VYL RELEASE
• MOTOWN ANNIVERSARY: MARV GAYE
• GAYE MARV: WHATS GOG ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY
• MARV GAYE, WHAT'S GOG ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY (LIMED EDN 2LP)
• SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MARVIN GAYE – WHAT’S GOING ON: 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDITION
• MARV GAYE WHAT'S GOG ON - 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDN

MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ GETS 50TH ANNIVERSARY DIGAL REISSUE

Marv Gaye - What's Gog On 50th Anniversary (Limed Edn 2LP). Motown/UMe has marked the 50th anniversary of Marv Gaye’s sgle release for “What’s Gog On” — the tle track om Rollg Stone’s Greatt Album of All Time — wh an all-enpassg digal reissue of the 1971 LP out now on streamg servic. To honor the sgle’s 50th birthday, Motown/UMe grouped together all that bon mic for the digal release dubbed What’s Gog On: Deluxe Edn/50th Anniversary, which ntas the origal album pl 12 bon tracks cludg sgle versns, mos and more, the “Detro Mix” of the album and the llectn of “Funky Natn” stmentals om Gaye’s post-What’s Gog On rerdg ssns.

SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDN OF MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON’ RELEASED ON VYL

“The Detro Mix” of What’s Gog On, Gaye’s origal versn of the album before ncelg and reworkg Los Angel, prevly featured on the 30th anniversary reissue of the album 2001. “Funky Natn: The Detro Instmentals, ” a seri of jams Gaye laid down the rerdg ssns after releasg What’s Gog On, was clud the 40th anniversary reissue. “Through the regnn of What’s Gog On Day, we hope to brg awarens to Marv Gaye’s profound words as his timels mic remas our hearts and mds and ntu spirg generatns to e.

A new vyl edn celebratg the 50th anniversary of Marv Gaye’s semal album What’s Gog On has been released today (April 1). For the first time, four rare cuts om Gaye’s talog make their but on vyl, alongsi a prevly unreleased “stripped” versn of the tle track. Last year saw a full 12 months of activy celebratg Gaye’s eleventh stud album and an all-time classic.

The rerd remaed Billboard’s Top LPs chart for over a year and earned Gaye his send No. Fifty years on om s ial release, Marv Gaye’s masterpiece still sounds like an argument wrapped a dream. At the same time, s rhythms, and the timbre of Gaye’s voice, reach for somethg universal; a kd of peace, the reassurance of timelsns.

MARV GAYE – WHAT’S GOG ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDN

Gaye had a lot of qutns 1971.

MARV GAYE WHAT'S GOG ON (50TH ANNIVERSARY) 180G 2LP

What was on Gaye’s md?

Gaye touch on nflict, prejudice, unemployment, dgs, elogy and other poignant tails of “a world that is sted to die”. The bgraphil fluenc on Gaye’s wrg are perhaps ls pertent after 50 years of hdsight.

WHAT'S GOG ON - 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDNISLANDLPX2£49.99£42.99SALEBLACKRELEASED 02/06/2023CATALOGUE NUMBER3558417USUALLY DISPATCHED 5-10 DAYS MARV GAYEWHAT'S GOG ON - 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDN

But some unrstandg of Gaye’s state of md is stctive. Gaye was grievg the tragic ath of his sgg partner Tammi Terrell.

Gaye himself was disillned wh celebry, and – as he told one terviewer – life general. But takg lerally unrtimat the spe of what Gaye achieved.

MARV GAYE’S ‘WHAT’S GOG ON: 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDN’ FOR VYL RELEASE

It’s worth notg too that the tle track me first, and wasn’t wrten wh Gaye md. It was Benson rather than Gaye who wonred what was gog on, workg up the song wh Motown wrer Al Cleveland (the -poser of Smokey Robson’s “I Send That Emotn”).

Gaye, though, was trigued and acrdg to Benson add lyrics of his own, while spicg up the melody.

MOTOWN ANNIVERSARY: MARV GAYE

Gaye ma the song to somethg more like a story.

Berry Gordy was unimprsed wh the jazz fluenc on the sound and nsired Gaye’s st sgg to be old hat. Gordy told Gaye that rerdg an LP of prott songs would end his reer, but the succs of the sgle prompted a pragmatic revelatn, and he bet the sger he uldn’t rerd an album 30 days. The album plays like a ep dive to the them of the tle track, mg Gaye’s malaise.

The Beatl never approached the tense spirualy achieved by Gaye on What’s Gog On. ” Such is the mmeric qualy of the mic that the apolyptic tone of the lyrics seems cintal, but Gaye is mired biblil ptilence.

GAYE MARV: WHATS GOG ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Whout Gaye’s vol mand, such sentiments might sound cranky, but relief quickly “God Is Love”. The album returns to earth wh “Mercy Mercy Me (The Elogy)”, a solo posn by Gaye which scrib a world of polluted air and poisoned seas, of overpopulatn and radiatn. “Right On” tak the mood forward, though s roll ll of ntradictns (peace vers hatred, “enjoyg ourselv” vers drowng “the sea of happs”) is given full exprsn before Gaye offers rolutn wh a visn of pure love which is, by the sound of his voice, both a sexual and an ecumenil matter.

Nyx was spired by a newspaper headle about the troubl of ner cy Detro, and when paired wh Gaye’s sublime melody the song offers some relief s crisp exprsn of polil grievance, before givg way to a fal reprise of the tle track. There is an unplugged timacy when the horns and strgs are removed, but when Gaye’s voice is absent, so is the song’s soul. The ‘stripped’ versn of the song is prevly unreleased and ss alongsi “Symphony (Demo)” as a means of scratchg to the lh surface of Gaye’s masterpiece.

“Symphony” appeared on the luxe versn of Let’s Get It On, but the improvised lyrics fd Gaye still unr the spell of What’s Gog On. The personal is polil, the sense of history is eternal, Gaye’s analysis of world affairs is as prsg as his prcriptn is upliftg.

MARV GAYE, WHAT'S GOG ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY (LIMED EDN 2LP)

Marv Gaye. In 1971, Marv Gaye gave Berry Gordy a ser se of the ld sweats when the artist prented his latt nctn for release on Gordy's Motown.

Crics have long ld s novatns, matury, and bety, and Rollg Stone even revised s "500 Greatt Albums of All Time" list recently to place Gaye's masterpiece the top spot. Pepper's, the disc that set the template for Gaye's), and I don't even thk 's Motown's bt LP-- most of Stevie Wonr's classics om 1972 through 1976 are more varied, energetic, and polilly aggrsive (see the magnificent mi-opera "Livg for the Cy")--but there's no qutng the evolutnary importance of Gaye's achievement, and 's possible Wonr might not have done what he did if Gaye hadn't laid the groundwork. A lovely "stripped versn" uld pass for an early doo-wop disc and shows the heart-rendg licy of Gaye's vols like nothg else.

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MARVIN GAYE – WHAT’S GOING ON: 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDITION

In li of makg-of tails (which have been trotted out plenty of other sourc), poet Hanif Abdurraqib foc his ler not on the album's ntemporary relevance, strikg the same tone of sadns and tratn over the ongog abe of Black Amerins that Gaye stck 51 years ago. Motown’s “Prce Of Soul, ” Marv Gaye, was already a h artist for nearly a when, 1971, he reached new heights wh his album What's Gog On.

An immediate landmark rerdg, was the first of Gaye's albums to break the top ten of Billboard’s Top LPs, and quickly beme Motown's bt-sellg rerd. The sgle “What’s Gog On” origated as a rponse to police btaly at a prott Berkeley, CA and cid wh personal tragedy Gaye's life as well as Gaye’s brother's time fightg Vietnam. Callg out to a broken untry, Gaye searched for reason and hope a world that felt sperate and sensels; a sentiment that many share now more than ever.

Marv Gaye ntu to hold his place as one of the greatt sgers, posers and producers of all time, and this half a century What's Gog On has proven self to be one of the world's most unfettable GayeIslandReleased 02/06/2023Catalogue Number3558417Usually dispatched 5-10 daysMarv GayeWhat's Gog On - 50th Anniversary EdnIslandReleased 02/06/2023Catalogue Number3558417Usually dispatched 5-10 daysMotown’s “Prce Of Soul, ” Marv Gaye, was already a h artist for nearly a when, 1971, he reached new heights wh his album What's Gog On. Marv Gaye ntu to hold his place as one of the greatt sgers, posers and producers of all time, and this half a century What's Gog On has proven self to be one of the world's most unfettable rerds. Marv Gaye - What's Gog On (Lyric Vio).

MARV GAYE WHAT'S GOG ON - 50TH ANNIVERSARY 2LP EDN

Marv Gaye photo: Motown Rerds.

Year-long celebratns of the 50th anniversary of Marv Gaye’s semal 1971 album What’s Gog On ntue wh today’s announcement of Motown/UMe’s December 3 release of the premium vyl 50th Anniversary 2LP Edn. A1What's Gog OnA2What's Happeng BrotherA3Fly' High (In The Friendly Sky)A4Save The ChildrenA5God Is LoveA6Mercy Mercy Me (The Elogy)B1Right OnB2Wholy HolyB3Inner Cy Blu (Make Me Wanna Holler)C1What's Gog On (Stripped Versn)C2What's Gog On (Mix 1 / No Strgs Or Horns)C3What's Gog On (Rhythm 'n' Strgs Instmental Mix)C4Symphony (Demo Versn)Origal Mono SglD1What's Gog OnD2God Is LoveD3Mercy Mercy Me (The Elogy)D4Sad TomorrowsD5Inner Cy Blu (Make Me Wanna Holler)D6Wholy HolyLove Marv Gaye? Be first to know about Marv Gaye merch.

There’s plenty already said about the mil ntent of Marv Gaye’s 1971 classic What’s Gog On so I’ll avoid rndancy and jt say that s spe—om the socpolilly-md lyrics to the refully assembled song cycle stcture and lc mil arrangements—phed the boundari of what a Motown release uld be, and tly stands the tt of time. By the time you’ve heard the first 10 sends, ’s already better: there’s so much more space around the vols (almost as if Marv Gaye is right there), an absurd improvement soundstage pth and three-dimensnaly, ep and strong bass, shimmerg triangl, vivid shakers and ngas, and panoramic strgs. Origally released May of 1971, What’s Gog On was Marv Gaye’s 11th stud album.