2024 the best of marvin gaye album review

Price: $29.99 - Amazon Music Unlimited
(as of Nov 17, 2024 11:04:09 UTC - Details)

(VINYL REISSUE).
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.48 x 12.48 x 0.31 inches; 8.32 ounces
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Motown Records
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 28935722
Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2008
Run time ‏ : ‎ 33 minutes
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ November 15, 2008
Label ‏ : ‎ Motown Records
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00006OA8C
Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
Reviewer: johnf
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Marvin Gaye's Gift To the World.
Review: There's nothing else like it. Marvin Gaye's sublime and transcendent album, What's Going On, had a musical style and depth of feeling that lifted it up into the highest level of pop and soul releases and made it uncopyable even by Gaye himself, who was smart enough not to try. It seems to float, practically luminous in a sea of congas and percussion, talking and strings, saxophone and multi-tracked Gaye and background singers in a constantly changing mix that bursts with energy like life itself. It passes through many moods: hope, anger, desperation, depression, joy and prayer. It offers no glib slogans, no easy answers and mostly calls for a more spiritual existence that might lead mankind to a better place. It's as relevant today as it ever was though sad to say, I believe times are even worse now than they were when the album was made.The big surprise was that it was Marvin Gaye who made it. Gaye was Motown's superstar solo act who had had a hit filled career since Stubborn Kind of Fella in 1962. His image was that of a suave, smooth, happy-go-lucky guy, always well dressed and somewhat of a ladies man, an image reinforced by his many duets with Mary Welles, Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell. But that was a record label image. The real Marvin Gaye was aware of the time in which he lived, a time that had left the sunny early 60's behind and which had become turbulent and torn by a multitude of problems: the Vietnam War and its protests, the counterculture, life in the ghetto, drugs and the only recent realization that the natural environment was being destroyed in a way no one had suspected. Then came a personal crisis of the worst kind, the death of his singing partner and friend Tammi Terrell from a brain tumor. We all go along in life thinking there's some kind of sense and justice to it all, then something really horrible happens to someone really good and undeserving of such a fate and that shakes you to your foundations. I think that her death, on top of everything else really shook Marvin Gaye and made him realize he couldn't put out another happy, bouncy Motown album as he always had.The song came from Obie Benson the deep voice of the Four Tops who co-wrote it with Motown house songwriter Al Cleveland. But the other Four Tops didn't want to do what they saw as a protest song and passed on it. But Gaye was interested and cut the single in the Summer of 1970. Then came the resistance to it in the form of Berry Gordy Jr. who called it "The worst thing I have ever heard" and vetoed its release. But Berry Gordy Jr. was very old school. His dream had been to make popular music for the mainstream and get black performers out of the isolation of the R&B charts and onto the pop charts. He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. But beyond that he only wanted to get his acts into fancy clubs like the Copa and on network TV. He didn't seem to have much of a social consciousness and if he did, it didn't matter because he saw anything controversial as something that could ruin Motown. Norman Whitfield had been able to update the Temptations into edgier songs but nothing as all-encompassing as this.But Marvin Gaye was fired up by this song, truly inspired. He went on strike, swearing not to record anything until the song was released. Motown was forced to release a Super Hits album instead of a new one and some weak singles that didn't chart very high. In the end Gordy gave in and the single, What's Going On was released in January of 1971. Opening uniquely with a party in full swing then the clarion call of a beautiful alto sax, it commanded the immediate attention of everyone by its sheer originality. It soon was #2 in the country and stayed on the charts for months. Gordy had to give the green light for the album, which was recorded over just ten remarkable days in March. Gaye often called it "God's album" not only because he sought a spiritual answer to mankind's problems but because he, the musicians (Motown's Funk Brothers house band), the producer (David Van De Pitte) and his co-writers all felt a rush of inspiration like they had never felt before.The result was unique among Motown albums. Songs flowed into each other without breaks. Instead of the usual punchy beat this album seemed to float effortlessly, buoyed by multiple rhythms and jazz sax that continued throughout most of the tracks. Only Right On leaves this sound world and inhabits an earthier kind of jazz that almost brings the album down a bit too much until it ascends again with Wholly Holy. Each song is its own vignette from the puzzlement of the returning soldier of What's Happening Brother who comes home to a decade's worth of change in just a few years (which is how fast things were changing in the 60's) to the addict of Flyin' High (In the Friendly Skies (the United Airlines slogan) who knows he's hooked. Mercy Mercy Me is still practically the only ecology song that isn't cloying and it has one of the eeriest endings ever in a pop song. and direct pleas like Save the Children and God Is Love are sincere pleas for some kind of sanity in this world. It all ends with the album's final hit single, Inner City Blues which ends us where it all began with the beginning of What's Going On.Universal owns the Motown master tapes and this CD sounds fantastic, with every note clear and full. Many good things have been said of this album. Many claims of greatness have been made. They're all true.

Reviewer: Frank Chirco
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Nice
Review: Good music , what's not to like

Reviewer: Shining Star
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Marvin, Marvin, Marvin
Review: Brilliance many times comes out of pain and a tortured soul, never more has this statement been true than when describing this artist and this wonderfully historic album. WHAT'S GOING ON is the album Marvin had wanted to make for a very long time but was held back from making due the strictness of Motown's founder and president, Berry Gordy. Marvin, who went through many trauma's as a child and young adult with an alcoholic & abusive father as well as a marriage that was beginning to fall apart, had a lot of emotions bottled up inside.He truly needed an outlet and wasn't being given the freedom to do so musically which is one of the reasons I believe he turned so heavily to drugs early on. It was through a series of letters he received from his brother who was serving in Vietnam that this incredible album and it's overall message would come into being. His brother was informing him about the war and what that all entailed and Marvin begin to tie that in with life here in the U.S. and what it was going to be like for his brother, or anyone in his situation, to return home. And from that, WHAT'S GOING ON was conceived and born.It truly is a tortured soul, begging, no, SCREAMING for all to come together and put aside petty bigotry, hate and war. But it's also, in many ways, a confessional for Marvin as, if you pay close attention, he is revealing many of the thoughts and struggles he's personally dealing with at the time. It's Marvin's life struggles, the "microcosm" relaying the overall issues and struggles facing the nation and world as a whole, the "macrocosm." It's an album that really and truly needs to be listened to all at once as it truly was meant to be a continuous message and not a series of "singles."We've heard of "concept" albums before but this was the truest since of that term as each song is a part of an overall story that Mr. Gaye takes us on. With each note he sings, you can hear the plea in the man's voice calling out for both outward togetherness and inner peace. He was actually contemplating leaving music behind altogether prior to the creation of this album. However, his brothers stories plus his own personal demons, compelled him both to write & record this album as well as fight Gordy and the powers that be at Motown for it's promotion and release. It's amazing to listen to Gordy now as he reflects back on what he told Marvin about the album then versus the conversations they had in the years after it's release and historical success.I may never have been as moved as when I first heard this album for the first time, the tears flowed, I danced, shouted, cried out and expressed just about every kind of emotion humanly possible. I truly love this album and pray that this brilliant, loving, tortured soul has finally come to know the peace he agonized over and sang about to us on this record so long ago. This is a quintessential album and EVERY music lover no matter what genre you may prefer should give it a listen. I promise you will not be disappointed.There was never an album recorded like this one up to that point, it truly was/is one of a kind as was/is it's creator. Marvin Gaye was a true musical giant and deeply profound man, his work is being reassessed more and more as it should be as some of the very best ever recorded. While my personal favorite album of his is HERE MY DEAR due to it's extremely personal nature, this is, without question, his most influential and historic album worthy of any and all conversations about the greatest recordings of all time.

Reviewer: Linda
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Timeless!!!
Review: Will we Ever learn?

Reviewer: Al A
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Marvin.
Review: This Is a great album. The songs are great and there are eleven cuts. I can say maybe one or two songs a little weak . But every thing else is very good.

Reviewer: javier hernan aranguren moreno
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excelente producto
Review: Excelente producto en cuanto a calidad musical, debe cuidarse la forma de embalaje del producto, casi siempre las cajas de cd llegan con alguna fractura. En este caso es pequeña pero sí deben embalarse con más papel de burbujas.

Reviewer: just Studebaker
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Pckg
Review: Album in perfect condition

Reviewer: Rancho DeLuxe
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: '33' minutes of the greatest music of all time
Review: I had to give this 4 stars because I REALLY want someone to give this the remastering it deserves. I know that Marvin got push-back from the Motown execs about the politicization of his music, and then when it charted like crazy they wanted more... I guess record execs are all the same regardless of race, color, or creed.It has everything: Theme, instrumentation, lyrics and remains relevant even OUT of its historical context. For me, it is reminiscent of my high school years in an inner-city high school and remained with me throughout the 70s. I always associated it with rolling on the Cross Bronx Xpwy with my brother behind the wheel of my dad's 71 Riviera.I wish someone would do this work justice with a proper remaster by someone who knows what they're doing!!!!There's a DEEP Christian message there too, and I know you can guess why the album was "33" minutes long ( Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" ran the same 33 ).

Reviewer: John Black
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Always wanted to pick this up and was happy to find it on vinyl.

Reviewer: Claudio Broliani
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Esse LP é atemporal, dispensa comentários à qualidade de produção, é Marvin Gaye em seu melhor trabalho, edição simplesmente maravilhosa, disco (180gr) robusto, som perfeito, Gatefold lindo e com as letras em seu interior e o envelope do vinil muito bom! Vale muito ter em sua coleção.

Reviewer: Paul Vlaminck
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a masterpiece.

Reviewer: M.A
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Un des must de Marvin Gaye. Pour tous les amateurs de cet artiste. Un de ses meilleurs albums. A écouter sans modération.

Reviewer: Typ B
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Marvin Gaye, 'Whats going on'_Gatefold-Cover;Oh Mann, das Album ist eine Wucht!Jetzt, kurz vor Weihnachten '23, runtergesetzt auf 15€ ein schönes Schnäppchen 🙂🩵🌲Dies Album ist bei Motown 1971 herausgekommen und begründet die Legende dieses Plattenlabel mit. Soweit die historische Erzählung. Gepfiffen drauf!Die Musik ist so gut arrangiert, aufgenommen und produziert, dass sie schlicht noch Aliens die die Erde besuchen noch in 150000 Jahren begeistern! Sie werden sich über die gänzlich verschwunden Hochkulturen dieser Welt wundern während sie verzückt dieser Musik lauschen die sie in einem Tresor in der Arktis gefunden haben, als Platinscheibe natürlich 🙂💙Kurzum hier stimmt alles. Das Vinyl genauso wie das Klappcover mit den Songtexten. Die Scheibe hört sich sehr gut an. Keine Nebengeräusche hörbar, Lochung in der Mitte geringe Welle, 140g. Alles bestens, eine schöne Bescherung! 🎅🏼👼Schenkempfehlung! ❤️🎈🩵