The Marvin Gaye album his producer called his greatest leap: “He really began to perfect that”
Despite all of the great work Marvin Gaye produced in his lifetime, there are two almost misrepresentative songs that have defined his career.
‘Let’s Get It On’ and ‘Sexual Healing’ become bedroom anthems to an almost comedic point. The two songs would either be featured on sitcoms or comedy movies as a soundtrack to a bizarre love-making scene, or worse, as the cover song for the next X-Factor star looking to hunkify themselves. Through this lens, many people failed to get stuck into the more interesting and nuanced Marvin Gaye work.
Long before either of those tracks was released, Gaye announced himself as one of the kings of Motown, before going on to release the truly epic 1971 record What’s Going On. It was socially conscious soul that truly platformed Gaye’s voice as one of the most interesting in music at that time.
Despite arguably the title track of that album and maybe ‘Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)’, Gaye’s album wasn’t exactly packed with singles. In fact, the reason why it has been remembered as truly one of the greatest albums is because of how it worked so coherently as a concept. Instrumentals bled from one another, and the lyrical narrative flowed from the very first track, right up until the end.
While he was already a global star, this album confirmed his position as a cultural icon. Two years later, he followed up with an album that many could get their teeth into as a wider artistic concept, but an album that delivered the singles in a way the previous one hadn’t.
Let’s Get It On is obviously famous for its title track, as I outlined, but showcased daring and charismatic hits in ‘Please Don’t Stay (Once You Go Away)’ and ‘Come Get To This’. On both of those songs in particular, you can hear Gaye letting the reins off the vocals in a way his more political songs couldn’t allow.
Harry Weinger, who oversaw the production of the reissue of Let’s Get In On, saw this first-hand when he stepped into the studio and worked on the tracks. He explained, “The privilege for me is unpacking the tracks [for the reissue]. You know what on What’s Going On, Marvin essentially had two voices, but on Let’s Get It On, it’s becoming three or four.”
He continued, “[On Let’s Get It On], you can see he’s making these leaps. He’s realising what he can do with himself. That’s what the ballads tell us, the vulnerable tracks on this album. The interesting thing about Marvin is he really knew where to put his voice, and he really began to perfect that at this stage in his career. In ’73, he’s at the beginning of seeking out another form of expression.”
The two records show the infinite goddamn sides of Gaye as a musician. Deeply philanthropic and considered on What’s Going On, while musically ambitious and engaging on Let’s Get It On. The key to his ability to stretch between the two was undoubtedly his voice, which could contribute to any musical sound possible, and still remains one of the greatest of all time.
