Track Listing
1. What's Going On
2. What's Happening Brother
3. Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)
4. Save The Children
5. God Is Love
6. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
7. Right On
8. Wholy Holy
9. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
| Details | | Number of CDs: | 1 | | Producer: | Marvin Gaye | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Distributor: | Universal Music | | Recording Mode: | Stereo |
Album Notes
This deluxe edition of WHAT'S GOING ON includes a 20-page booklet with complete lyrics, never-before-published photos from personal family collections and an essay by David Ritz.Personnel includes: Marvin Gaye (vocals, piano); David Van Depitte (arranger, conductor); Robert White, Joe Messina (guitar); Johnny Griffith (celeste, keyboards); Earl Van Dyke (keyboards); Eli Fountain (alto saxophone); Wild Bill Moore (tenor saxophone); Jack Brokensha (vibraphone, percussion); Bob Babbit, James Jamerson (bass); Chet Forest (drums); Eddie Brown, Earl DeRouen (bongos, conga); Jack Ashford (tambourine, percussion). Recorded at Hitsville, Golden World and United Sound Studios, Detroit, Michican. Originally released on Tamla (310).Originally released in 1971, WHAT'S GOING ON remains a landmark album, one that redefined music with powerful, anthemic songs that remain pertinent to this day. Up to that point, R&B albums were collections of singles, with secondary material rounding out the LPs. Marvin Gaye changed all this by releasing a concept album that went beyond the usual boy-meets-girl scenario, weaving together an aural collage of societal ills."Crime is increasing/Trigger-happy policing," from "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," is as potent a line today as it was over twenty years ago. With the country still divided over the Vietnam War, the title track became a rallying cry for peace. Layered with lush orchestrations, heavenly background vocals and traces of jazz in particular spots, WHAT'S GOING ON never sounds musically dated. The critical and commercial success of Marvin Gaye's opus also enabled other artists to break free from the creative shackles imposed by Motown, and experience more autonomy in the making of their music.
Editorial Reviews
4 stars out of 5 - ...Revolutionary...Vibe (12/99, p.164) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th CenturyQ (10/99, p.161) - Included in Q Magazine's Best Motown Records Of All Time - ...one of the finest albums ever recorded.... gorgeous soulful settings, bewitching melodies and Gaye's magisterial singing.NME (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #4 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.'NME (9/11/93, p.18) - Ranked #1 in NME's list of 'The Greatest Albums Of The '70s' - ...politicized music has never been done better...it's also infused with a beautiful spirituality...Rolling Stone (9/30/71, p.42) - ...there is no question that he has gotten progressively better...Gaye's multi-tracked lead vocals answer one another like a man talking to himself, finally enveloping the listener in a world view of incalculable intensity...Rolling Stone (8/5/71, p.44) - ...There are very few performers who could carry a project like this off. I've always admired Marvin Gaye, but I didn't expect that he would be one of them...Uncut (5/03, p.116) - 5 stars out of 5 - ...Global and personal anguish were never so exquisitely conveyed...
Rolling Stone (01/23/2003)
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