Five isolated vocals that prove Marvin Gaye was a genius
People have been calling Marvin Gaye a genius ever since he initially picked up a microphone. He was influential in shaping Motown but also took significant risks as a solo artist, fearless in leaning heavily into politics and concepts.
Gaye is the definition of an infectious voice, renowned for his sweet-sounding tenor, which he could modulate with ease, going from baritone to falsetto without breaking a sweat. Throughout his discography, there are several stand-out performances. However, generally speaking, it’s hard to find any song of his that he doesn’t sound excellent on.
Some of his recordings done later on in his life helped to not only cement Gaye as a vocal genius but also developed various subgenres, including ‘quiet storm’ and ‘neo-soul’, both of which are still prevalent in modern music with the likes of The Roots, Erykah Badu and Common being some of the most famous artists in the world.
His vocals need to be heard separately from the music to truly appreciate how much of a talent Marvin Gaye was. His voice is the personification of perfection as he conveys joy, sadness, and everything in between within melody and harmony. As such, here are some of his best-isolated vocals, which prove Marvin Gaye is a genius.
Marvin Gaye’s five best vocal performances:
‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’
It’s bizarre that one of Gaye’s most well-known and well-renowned tracks, ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’, almost didn’t exist. The song, which surrounds a man’s grief when hearing about his wife’s infidelity, was initially rejected by Motown Records during a weekly quality control meeting. Gaye’s version was recorded and put on his 1968 album In The Groove, where it originally became noticed. “The DJs played it so much off the album,” said Barry Gordy, “That we had to release it as a single.”
There’s a lot to admire about this song; the instrumentation is stunning, the chorus is catchy, and the entire vocal melody moves the listener through the track seamlessly. Without a doubt, one of the main highlights is Gaye’s voice. Gaye takes what would have been a good song and turns it into a classic, thanks to his stunning vocal ability.
‘Let’s Get It On’
Soulful music straddles the line between sexy and revolutionary exceptionally well. The power and grit that vocalists such as Marvin Gaye have is enough to make you either listen intently or dim the lights. Comparing the likes of his more political concept work to ‘Let’s Get It On’ is the best way to highlight this.
‘Let’s Get It On’ is the title track from Gaye’s 13th studio album. The theme of the album was sex, pure and simple, as the songs had a loving quality to them which could drive anybody crazy. On the track, his vocals flip from a relatively monotone “let’s get it on” to the screaming sounds of soulful goodness, highlighting his fantastic ability but also reflecting the act he’s referring to.
“I contend that sex is sex and love is love,” he said, “When combined, they work well together, if two people are of about the same mind. But they are really two discrete needs and should be treated as such. Time and space will not permit me to expound further, especially in the area of the psyche.”
‘What’s Going On’
Gaye’s relationship with Motown started to fall apart because he decided he wanted to focus on creating politically charged music. This went against the Motown ethos of music being fun, simple and easy to dance to. Gaye wanted to write about more prevalent matters, such as the Vietnam War.
This is a concept album from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran who has returned from war to see his country divided. It’s a tricky concept to execute, but one Gaye manages thanks to how he can emote with his voice. It’s beautiful and sad, a performance that deserves to stand the test of time as it does.
‘Sexual Healing’
When Gaye eventually left Motown Records, his career slumped slightly. In 1982, he released ‘Sexual Healing’, part of the Midnight Love album. This was a massive comeback for Gaye and acted somewhat as a renaissance for his career.
The song is fun and allows Gaye to show off his vocal ability. People immediately heard Gaye’s vocals and identified with them; it was nostalgic for a time that wasn’t unattainable. He never struggled to win over audiences with his singing, and this song proves that even later in his career and without the backing of Motown, that was still the case.
‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’
Ashford and Simpson managed to launch their Motown careers with this song. They had a few people who wanted to sing on it, including Dusty Springfield, but they turned her down so that they could focus on securing Motown. The track was performed by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, who scored a massive hit.
The song went on to do well as Diana Ross achieved her first solo number one with a cover version. It’s a challenging song to sing, so anyone who performs it has to be worth their salt, but Marvin Gaye is on another level altogether.
