Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On

Enough has been written about this masterpiece, and yet it is strangely absent from the general public’s consciousness. Most will recall the title track from this album being crassly reproduced by Bono and several other self-righteous egoists as a charity Christmas single several years ago. They even introduced a rap verse at the obligatory point – 2/3rd’s of the way through the song, in an attempt to make it more commercial. Nothing short of an insult to Marvin I’m sure you’ll agree. If you are not aware of the album in its entirety I strongly urge you to discover it. I admit that it took me some time to truly appreciate it. Albums are like women. They can be nice in company, but you have to get them on their own to find out what they’re really like. I guarantee that if you give this album your time, it will give you endless hours of entertainment, be it personal, musical, though-provoking or otherwise.

This album is markedly different from its contemporaries in several ways. It is an actual album & not just a collection of songs. Motown specialised in bringing out singles, not albums. This point is particularly relevant considering today’s consumerist attitude to music (one of the negative aspects of mp3s has been the glorification of the single track and the need for instant gratification, the lost art of listening as opposed to hearing, and general impatience– to think that less than a century ago, classical pieces lasted as long as several albums combined, which audiences would savour in one sitting!).

There is a common theme, not just lyrically, but musically. The syncopated djembe percussion combined with major 7th chords, floating strings and Marvin’s trademark multi-tracked vocals throughout (this album was his first display of this particular recording technique) give it an instantly recognisable timbre. The Beatles’ influence is tangible, as the songs smoothly run into each other, enforcing the suggestion of a ‘concept album’ – the opening theme is reprised in the last song. Lyrically, from the simple yet soulful social consciousness of the opener to the final song, a funky critique of modern establishment, his words are both poetic and philosophical. There is a genuine disaffection and cynicism with the Vietnam war (‘What’s Happening Brother’), with the plight of modern American values (‘God Is Love’, ‘Wholy Holy’), drug abuse (‘Flying High In The Friendly Sky’) and with the environment (‘What’s Going On’). ‘Save the Children’ sounds schmaltzy in today’s context, but is not out of place on this album, simply for its pure optimism and passion, conveyed in the strength of Marvin’s vocals. He preaches love and peace, which is easy to sneer at (Let’s not forget his father was a preacher, and always wanted his son to follow in his footsteps). ‘Inner City Blues’ deals with the fraction between a disillusioned America suffering from a hippy hangover, and the ruthless opposition from its out-of-touch establishment. Its bass line and falsetto vocals evoke Curtis Mayfield, but the style is unmistakably Marvin’s. It was his first conscious foray into funky territory (‘Right On’ also features funky flute, of which I am partial to, with some bias), and The Funk Brothers (who unbelievably played on every single Motown record but received little accolades) clearly relished playing it. These social and political issues are universal, but are also clearly very personal to Marvin (it was conceived when his brother returned from Vietnam), as is the music. Singing about war was not a new theme, but connecting it to the war of everyday life in urban America hadn’t been done like this before.

Elements of Jazz (individual embellished brass lines, the apparent disregard for pop structure) and Classical music (the reprisal of themes, the orchestra) are fused with Marvin’s distinct take on Soul (double and sometimes triple-tracked vocals, interchanging between harmonising with himself, repeating lines and ornately emphasising them). The key to his recording technique is that his many vocal tracks are not treated as harmonies, but as an equal main vocal. The effect is that we don’t know which one is in fact the main vocal, and are free to choose our favourite ones to follow, or to treat each voice as single instrument moving in polyphony, not unlike the interweaving melodies of Renaissance composers such as Palestrina, Duvay or Taverner.

Amazingly ‘What’s Going On?’ was rejected by Gordy Berry and the Motown suits, considering it too ‘political’ and not commercial enough. It has since proved them very wrong indeed, spawning endless covers by artists such as Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, among others. In my mind, Marvin Gaye is the single most important R&B singer of all time, and this is his finest record.

Danny

Posted by Ciaran