Originally posted February 8 2014 in Classic Albums I Have Never Heard...
Title: What's going on
Artiste: Marvin Gaye
Year: 1971
Chronological position: Eleventh album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Just his hits and I once saw part of a concert he gave transmitted on TV.
Why is this considered a classic? Probably due to the concept nature of it, its dealing with the return of a Vietnam vet to the “land fit for heroes” and the political message that sent for the times. Although there were of course protest songs, this was in the heyday of Motown records and I would hazard that for a black man to make such a damning, indicting record might have been quite a gamble in those times.
My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Great
One track in --- Great
Halfway through --- Great
Finished --- Great
Comments: I have never heard a Marvin Gaye album before but this was recommended to me by Surell (so should maybe find its way to the “Recommended by...” thread in due course) and I thought I may as well give it a shot. Interesting to say that it was eleven albums into his chequered career before Marvin Gaye wrote or recorded what is considered a classic album, preceding a string of albums that all performed very well in the US --- and one or two in the UK --- right up into the early eighties, two years in fact prior to his untimely death. Not only a classic then, but a springboard, it would appear, for a career that really seems to have taken off from here.
Okay well I know the opener and title track and have always loved it. Soft sweet soul with a real late sixties/early seventies vibe to it, maybe a motown peacenik song? Nothing wrong with that, let me tell you. Gotta love those strings; takes me right back. Drug dependence raises its ugly head in “Flyin' high (in the friendly sky)”, sounds a little psychedelic in places. There's a sort of disconnect with the melody that ties in with the idea of being high (I assume) and being somewhat out of control but not really caring.
“Save the children” is an impassioned plea to help the disadvantaged children of the world, a chilling forecast as Gaye sings “There'll come a time when the world won't be singin', flowers won't grow, bells won't be ringin'”. I guess it could also be taken as a warning to save the world itself, though he later tackles this in “Mercy mercy me”. I do find --- and it's not a criticism --- that the same basic melody informs at least the first four tracks, but then this is meant to be a “song cycle” and the tracks to meld one into the other, so I can understand that.
And I now realise I know “Mercy mercy me”, though it's the Robert Palmer cover I've heard. This is of course far superior. One of the first environmental/ecological protest songs? I doubt it: there was much of this going on in the sixties. But this is certainly one of the most influential, and coming aboard a classic album like this --- and released as a single from same --- it obviously got to a lot more listeners than some of the other songs like Barry McGuire's “Eve of destruction” or even Dylan's “A hard rain's a-gonna fall”. The longest track is the first point, oddly, at which I start thinking this album could be less than perfect: just something about “Right on” doesn't speak to me. Maybe it's the flutes, dunno. Just sort of seems to break the mood, to these ears. Nice middle section but other than that it just doesn't do it for me.
The gospel tone of “Wholly Holy” gets everything back on track though, lovely little song, but short, and you can see where the likes of Prince found his inspiration here, and then ending on “Inner city blues” with a nice slow to mid-paced funk vibe, very nice.
Favourite track(s): Pretty much everything apart from
Right on
Least favourite track(s): Right on
Final impression --- I think in general this album can be described in three words: smooth as silk. Just rolls along with effortless ease from one song to the other, the themes meshing and reflecting off one another, building up a picture of a man who truly cared about his fellow man, what was happening in the world around him, the injustices and man's inhumanity to man, and who harboured a -– perhaps naive --- hope that things would get better, that we would wake up and realise “what's going on”, and do something about it. Hey, at least he tried, and left us with one amazing album. God bless you Marvin. Rest in peace.
Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?
Yeah, I'd have to say A certainly.