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at a glance...
Hometown:
Detroit, MI
First Recordings: 1961
Personnel:
Marvin Gaye - Piano, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals
Ed Townsend - Producer
Rene Hall - Arranger
And dozens of the best session musicians around …
In the Family :
Everyone on Motown
Notes:
What do you say about Marvin Gaye that hasn't been said already? Sweet-voiced vocalist trained in gospel by his authoritarian preacher father; got into pop music and helped Motown expand into an empire with his boyish good looks and loverman persona; fought against Berry Gordy for artistic control, and won, leading to What's Going On and Let's Get It On; descended into drug- and rage-induced spiral; big comeback in early 80s with "Sexual Healing"; shot to death by drug-crazed father. Wanna learn more? Read Trouble Man.
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Marvin Gaye
Let's Get It On
Motown, Released 1973
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After What's Going On, Marvin Gaye moved from the social to the sexual with his follow-up release, Let's Get It On. The definitive example of aural seduction, yet also a treatise of sorts on the very nature of love, this album finds Gaye unapologetic in his relentless pursuit of the sensual truth and exhibits a kind of sordid spirituality that is both his poison and his sustenance. Touching every part of his soul, this is Marvin Gaye at his best.
Over the years this album has been justly regarded as the ultimate make-out record, but as the man urging you to 'get it on' is Marvin Gaye, then the artist's own troubled soul has to be taken into account. This isn't conventional romantic love that Gaye's aching voice is talking about, and the sultry grooves which surround it are far removed from the commercial innocence which characterised much of Motown's previous output. "Lets Get It On" is definitely not the sound of a man simply asking for some loving. Instead it's the pleading, earnest and impassioned cries of a voice wrought with lust and desire, positively threatening to explode.
As Gaye states in his sleeve notes, 'SEX IS SEX and LOVE IS LOVE', but nevertheless, concepts of love and lust are intrinsically linked and represent a formidable force that is simultaneously sincere and sinister. So while there is an ever-present, explicit eroticism here that constantly borders on gratuity, it is always redeemed by the honesty of Gaye's heartfelt delivery. He opens himself up, dissects his desires and offers them to us, and the experience for both artist and listener is clearly not without pain. The troubled soul of What's Going On is still present, but there is a sense of Gaye attempting to reconcile his socio-political concerns with his more intimate, primal emotions.
'Lets Get It On' is often overshadowed by its illustrious predecessor, and in the process has become much misunderstood. Yes, it makes you horny, but it's so much more than mere stimulation. It is as honest a depiction of love and its many vicissitudes, in all their unfathomable glory, as has ever been recorded. It begins with the sound of raw sexual yearning and carnal desperation on the eponymous title track, but ends on a more sombre note with the lyrics 'God knows we tried. Now it's too late' on the final song 'Just To Keep You Satisfied'. There is an innate spirituality in every word and every beat, and a cathartic quality that reveals a depth of understanding that separates Marvin Gaye from the countless imitators who followed him. More than just a lover, he possessed the divine insight of the truly gifted.
If you like Marvin Gaye, check out:
Marvin Gaye What's Going On
Marvin Gaye Here, My Dear
Curtis Curtis
Isaac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul<br>
Al Green Call Me
D'Angelo Brown Sugar
-- Charith Sarathchandra
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