Marvin Gaye - What's Going On Front Cover

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Marvin Gaye

What's Going On

Original Release: 1971

Synopsis

Released on Motown’s Tamla imprint in May 1971, and selling two million copies by the end of 1972, Rolling Stone’s Album Of The Year was the first album where Gaye received a sole producer credit. Emerging after a bout of depression that he’d suffered following the death of fellow Motown recording artist Tammi Terrell in 1970, the record was an immediate critical and commercial success upon its release. The album is almost conceptual in structure, with a social conscience that deals with themes such as war, poverty and drug abuse across its nine tracks. One of the most important albums of all time, it was initially considered too political to deserve a release, a point proved wrong when the title track became Motown’s then fastest selling single. Also featuring the singles ‘Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)’ and ‘Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)’, this landmark album was important in setting a new trend for soul and R&B artists and the themes they could explore, and according to Billboard’s 1971 review, “Marvin’s on top again.”

Side 1

What's Going On (3:53)
What's Happening Brother (2:44)
Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky) (3:50)
Save The Children (4:03)
God Is Love (1:42)
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) (3:16)

Side 2

Right On (7:32)
Wholy Holy (3:08)
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (5:33)
God Is Love (The B-Sides - Bonus Track) (2:50)
Sad Tomorrows (The B-Sides - Bonus Track) (2:23)

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