Marvin Gaye - What's Going On [180g Black Vinyl LP, Gatefold]

What's Going On arrived on May 21, 1971, as Marvin Gaye's eleventh studio album, released through Motown's Tamla subsidiary. This 180-gram black vinyl pressing in a gatefold jacket presents one of the most important albums in popular music history. Recorded between 1970 and 1971 at Hitsville U.S.A., Golden World, and United Sound Studios in Detroit, with additional sessions at The Sound Factory in West Hollywood, it was Gaye's first album to credit him as producer and to credit Motown's in-house session musicians, the Funk Brothers. The album has been categorized as a concept album and song cycle, with most songs segueing into the next, told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning home to witness hatred, suffering, and injustice.

The album delivered three consecutive Top 10 singles on the pop charts: the title track, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," making Gaye the first male solo artist to achieve this from one album. Additional standout tracks include "What's Happening Brother," reflecting conversations with his brother Frankie who had returned from Vietnam, and "Save the Children." Gaye's introspective lyrics explore themes of drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War, while promoting awareness of ecological issues before public outcry had become prominent. The album blends lush string arrangements with Latin percussion and jazz elements, creating a sophisticated sonic landscape that balanced protest with beauty.

The 180-gram black vinyl pressing captures the album's nuanced production across its nine tracks in a gatefold configuration. Motown arranger David Van DePitte received unusual front cover credit for his work creating seamless transitions between songs, while Eli Fontaine's scene-setting alto saxophone introduction on the opening track became iconic. The pressing preserves the warmth and detail of the original analog recordings. Multiple critics and musicians consider What's Going On one of the greatest albums of all time, with Rolling Stone listing it as the greatest album of all time in their 2020 and 2023 revisions.

• Format: 180g Black Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: "What's Going On," "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)"
• Pressing details: 180-gram vinyl, gatefold jacket
• Genre/style: Soul, Funk, R&B, Progressive Soul
• UPC: 731453002210

Gaye's masterwork transcends its era, addressing social and environmental concerns with artistry and compassion that resonates as powerfully today as it did over five decades ago.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. What's Going On
2. What's Happening Brother
3. Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)
4. Save The Children
5. God Is Love
6. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)

Side B:

1. Right On
2. Wholy Holy
3. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)