Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On (1971) – CD review –

The Dark Side of the Moon of soul music.  Artists on Motown records were only allowed to sing, and were not involved with the creative process, until Marvin broke free with this stone-cold masterpiece, which he helped write and produce.

Covering topical subject matter like war, race relations and pollution, you’d think What’s Going On is a bummer.  But, that’s what makes this so special: Marvin wraps these songs in lush arrangements that are as sweet going down as honey.  Yet, never once does he sound preachy.  This is the art of gentle persuasion (something he would perfect in the bedroom suite Let’s Get it On two years later).  “What’s Going On,” “Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology),” and “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler),” were all singles, but the entire album is flawless.  And the whole record fades from one song to the next, a trick Pink Floyd would use to great effect a couple years later. Marvin Gaye actually did the impossible: he made a listenable protest album. –Tony Peters