MARVIN GAYE-LET’S GET IT ON.

dereksmusicblog ♦ July 15, 2011 ♦ 2 Comments

MARVIN GAYE-LET’S GET IT ON.

Today I’ve decided to write about one of my favorite albums of all time. This album is one of the most beautiful albums that you’ll ever hear. There are only eight songs on the album, and it lasts just over thirty one-minutes. It’s also an album that was once described as “one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded.” Once you’ve heard this album, you too, will immediately be smitten by its beauty. Released in August 1973, Marvin Gaye’s twelfth studio album Let’s Get It On, went on to become one of the biggest selling albums of all time. In this article, I’ll tell you about Marvin Gaye, and why Let’s Get It On is such a seminal album.

Marvin Gaye’s previous studio album had been 1971’s What’s Going On, an album that is one of the best albums ever made. It was an album that saw Gaye at his most socially conscious, and features some of the best songs he’d ever written. To many people, it was an album he’d never equal. It also saw Gaye break through into the musical mainstream. By the early part of 1972, he was suffering from writer’s block, he was really struggling to write new material. Recording sessions for this album had dragged on from 1970. His only release since What’s Going On, had been providing the soundtrack for the film Troubled Man, released in 1972. At this time, his past was haunting him. He was struggling to come to terms with things that had happened in his past.  Also, his wife’s expectations were proving hard to live up to. Another thing preying on his mind was the one million dollar recording contract he had signed, making him the highest paid soul singer. Gaye truly was a Troubled Man. 

The recording sessions for Let’s Get It On seemed to take for ever, songs were recorded, then shelved, songs were written, then rewritten. Progress was, to say the least slow. Like What’s Going On, Let’s Get It On has various themes running through the album. Love and romance were the themes for Let’s Get It On, and are said to be metaphors for God’s love. There are different styles of music on the album including smooth soul, doo wop and quiet storm. Unlike many of Gaye’s previous albums, the way the album was recorded, was very different, with vocals multi-tracked.

Let’s Get It On truly is one of the most important and innovative soul albums ever recorded. It’s importance was recognized as soon as the album was released. On its release, it was critically acclaimed, and became the biggest selling album Motown had ever released, selling more than What’s Going On. It peaked at number two in the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed in the charts for sixty-one weeks. By 2007, it was estimated that the album had sold over three million copies worldwide. Since its release, the album has found its way into almost every list of the greatest albums of all time. This includes Rolling Stone magazines list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Having briefly told you a bit about the background to Let’s Get It On, I’ll now tell you just why, this is such a classic album. Let’s Get It On is the first track on the album. It was originally written as a religious ode to love. However, this was one of the songs that was rewritten, and was rewritten about “making sweet love.” From that familiar opening, the guitar playing, producing that glorious wah wah sound, your hooked. When Marvin sings, his voice is romantic and sensuous. Behind him, his band are very much playing a supporting role. Having said that, they’re among some of the finest musicians available, and their playing is musical perfection. Never once do they overpower Marvin’s stunning vocal. Sometimes, their playing is subtle and understated, other times, playing a huge part in the track’s success.  Drums provide the tracks heartbeat, a brass section unites, adding to the beauty passion and drama, and a saxophones plays, rasping gloriously. Backing vocals unite, complimenting Marvin’s musical masterclass. As the track draws to a close, a flute plays, Marvin slows the tempo down, he whoops and you hear handclaps, and you feel humbled, humbled and privileged to have heard such a beautiful song.

When you hear Marvin sing on Please Stay (Once You Go Away) you hear an insecure Marvin, pleading with his lover not to leave him. Here the sensuousness present on the opening track is present. It’s like an ode to someone who he’s almost infatuated with, so deep is his love. He sees scared to be hurt again. It’s one of the best songs on the album, his vocal is heart achingly beautiful. The arrangement is perfect for the track, it pulsates along in the background, drums again providing the track’s heartbeat, backing vocalists harmonizing sweetly with Marvin. It’s almost like call and response. What you hear is some of the smoothest soul ever recorded, and a paean to someone very special to Marvin Gaye.

The tempo is slow, the mood extremely romantic at the start of If I Should Die Tonight. Here Marvin Gaye soul crooner takes over, and the arrangement is one of the lushest on the album. Strings and horns accompany Marvin, a piano gently plays. It’s an impassioned performance from Marvin. His voice is soft, gentle, with an understated quality. The arrangement too, is subtle, gently meandering along in the background. One of the highlights of the track is when a tenor saxophone rasps, adding another layer of depth to the song. Again, backing vocalists accompany Marvin, and they and the string section combine beautifully, and help bring out the best in Marvin’s masterful performance.

Keep Gettin’ It On is a reprise of the opening track, Let’s Get It On. It’s as if Marvin wants to reinforce just how brilliant a song Let’s Get It On, by giving us a variation on a theme. Nowadays, this would be called the sequel, personally, I’ll just call this three minutes of gorgeous music. It’s another passionate performance from Marvin, all whoops and hollers, as if, by now, he’s brimming with confidence. His backing singers provide some stunning backing vocals, the brass section play with an understated brilliance. The rest of the band continue where they left off on Let’s Get It On. Their performance still of the highest quality.

As Come Get To Me begins, Marvin almost shouts, horns jam, bongoes play. Here, the sound is much fuller, the tempo quicker. Marvin’s voice is louder and stronger than on previous tracks. The track has a real jazz influence in parts. When he sings, his voice is as soulful as ever. He carries the song really well, and as the track ends, there is a doo wop influence present. Although the song is very different to other tracks on Let’s Get It On, it fits in well with the rest of the album, and doesn’t disturb the flow or theme of the album.

Straight away when you hear the start of Distant Lover, you hear a doo wop influence. It’s a sound that has a lovely retro sound, bringing to mind a time when all music sounded like this. Distant Lover, is slow, romantic and has some beautiful lyrics. After the change in style on the last track, Marvin is back on much more familiar territory. His vocal is slower, softer and the backing vocalists interact wonderfully with Martin. Drums play slowly, leaving plenty space in the music. This sets the tempo wonderfully. Like other tracks on the album, the arrangement is subtle, and thankfully, nothing is allowed to overpower the vocals, on this beautiful song.

You Sure Love To Ball starts with percussion and a saxophone. The sound is sensuous with a capital S. This is Marvin the lover man at his best. It’s an impassioned plea, with a big production. Sultry saxophones play, strings sweep in the background, their sound lush. Marvin’s vocal is one of the best on the album, and made all the better by the change in production style. His voice is smooth, his delivery sensuous in the extreme and what you’ll hear on this track, is a song bristling with sexual electricity. This is one of the highlights of the album, and when you hear it, you’ll see just why.

Let’s Get It On closes with Just To Keep You Satisfied. The start of the song is dramatic, strings play in the background, gradually moving to the front of the mix. Once there, they join Marvin. When he sings, the lyrics are moving, a heartfelt plea, dripping in passion, that reads like an open letter to his estranged wife. Apart from the strings, much of the arrangement is minimalistic. He’s occasionally joined by backing vocalists, and a brass section. A trumpet soars as Marvin lays bare his soul, exposing his troubled life to public scrutiny. You find yourself empathizing with his pain and hurt. Towards the end of the song, he realizes that it’s too late to save their relationship, and all they can hope for, is to be happy. I’ve always been deeply moved by this song, as it’s one that shows a different side of Marvin. During this song, he allows us to see the problems he faced, the worries he had, and how he was as troubled and insecure as the rest of us. Just To Keep You Satisfied is a lovely song, one that lays bare just what was going on in his life then.

That is the story of Marvin Gaye’s seminal album Let’s Get It On, one of the greatest albums ever made. I don’t say that lightly. Nowadays, too many albums are afforded classic status. Let’s Get It On however, has stood the test of time well, it still sounds as fresh and relevant today, as it did back in 1973. It’s an album that’s filled with hooks, and has many subtleties and nuances hiding, waiting to reveal themselves. Every time I hear the album, I hear something that I’ve never heard before. In some ways, it’s almost listening to a new album. Each song on the album is of the highest quality, Marvin’s vocals and lyrics are outstanding, and he is joined by some hugely talented musicians. Together they’ve combined to produce eight of the best songs he ever recorded. 

Between 1971 and 1973, Marvin Gaye recorded three great albums. The first was What’s Going On in 1971. It was followed by the soundtrack to Troubled Man in 1972. That is an album that is hugely underrated, and is one that many people forget to include when talking about his best albums. Let’s Get It On was the third of the three albums, and for me, is the best of the three. It’s an album that deserves a place in every record collection. Should Let’s Get It On not be part of your record collection, it richly deserves to take its place in your collection, along with What’s Going On and Troubled Man, three of Marvin Gaye’s best ever albums. So the next time you’re in your local record shop, pick up these three wonderful albums, you won’t regret doing so. Standout Tracks: Let’s Get It On, Please Stay (Once You Go Away), You Sure Love To Ball and Just To Keep You Satisfied.

MARVIN GAYE-LET’S GET IT ON.