Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (40th Anniversary Box Set)

Marvin Gaye‘s Motown classic ‘What‘s Going On' is now 40 years old, and to commemorate this milestone in the life of an album that‘s widely considered to be one of the most influential of all time, Universal have released a special deluxe edition containing a wealth of new and unreleased material.

The original release of What‘s Going On came at a critical point in American history; America was fighting a losing and widely condemned battle in Vietnam, and urban deprivation and unemployment were on the increase, especially in largely black areas or those populated by immigrants. The oil crisis was biting hard, the economy was faltering, and the Nixon era characterised by controversy, scandal and cold war tension was coming to a close. The carefree 60s had definitely reached an abrupt end

Marvin Gaye, whose career had previously steered closer to cabaret pop than soul, found himself in a low following the death of his singing partner, and unsure of where to go next. Gaye found himself saddened by the sweeping social changes along with a series of letters from his brother stationed in Vietnam, and this combination kickstarted a body of work that would invigorate a new wave of artists interested in using music as a form of political protest.

What‘s Going On marked a huge changed in the Motown sound, just as the Motown label itself was moving from Detroit to LA - ironically a part of the same urban flight that devastated Detroit‘s economy and spurred Gaye‘s own musical examination of crumbling inner city conditions. The album nearly wasn‘t released at all because of the dramatically different sound and the sharp political edge, but 40 years on those 9 tracks are stronger than ever, and still worryingly relevant.

The 40th anniversary box set brings together a remastered version of that original recording with 28 additional cuts, ranging from alternate mixes and demos to unreleased jams. It also an LP format photo book containing the back story to the album, and a vinyl disc containing a specially engineered version of the ‘Detroit Mix' of the album - an airier, slightly more raw early take on the final work. We didn‘t have these items available to review, but the slightly rougher Detroit mix from the 30th anniversary release is well regarded so this should be no exception.

The additional tracks contain a few absolute gems and intriguing alternate takes that show the level of care lavished on the release version. For example: an early unreleased single mix of the title track pushes a far drier take on Gaye‘s vocal way back in the mix relative to the album version, and softens the irresistible push of the bassline. The dry mix follows through into the center section where the lush, free-form warmth of the album version is replaced by a far more sparse and brittle arrangement. It‘s gratifying to hear the track growing from these origins through the slightly more punchy mono single mix to the classic it became.

Other notable rarities include a demo version ‘Distant Lover' which would kick around for three years before landing on a successive album in a far more subdued form. There‘s an edge to the demo that was somehow lost in the interim, but that may have been a wise move artistically to meet changing tastes. Disc two contains six cracking, mostly instrumental, jazz-funk tracks co-credited to Funk Brothers arranger David J. Van De Pitte. This includes the improvisational ‘Checking Out (Double Clutch)' , and the deep and driven ‘Chained'. There are a couple of unusual and experimental instrumental jams in the form of ‘Funky Nation' and ‘Infinity' before the disc wraps up with the original two-part version of the intensely political ‘You‘re The Man' and two surprising alternate takes that seem to tame the critical nature of the lyrics.

Whichever way you look at it, any version of What‘s Going On is going to be a good one, and should be in everyone‘s collection; any collection of tracks that deal with such harsh topics in a way that remains relevant 40 years later should be considered essential listening. Whether the additional cost of the 40th anniversary set is justifiable depends on your interest in the artist and Motown itself, but if you do feel it‘s a price worth paying you definitely won‘t be disappointed.