Track Listing

1. What's Going On
2. What's Happening Brother
3. Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)
4. Save the Children
5. God Is Love
6. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
7. Right On
8. Wholy Holy
9. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
10. God Is Love (Bonus Track)
11. Sad Tomorrows a/k/a "Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)" (Bonus Track)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1678 in Music
• Released on: 2003-01-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

From Amazon.co.uk
Sly & The Family Stone might have psychedelicised soul music, but Marvin Gaye personalised it. Although the powers-that-were Motown didn't even want to release the record, the unexpected success of What's Going On, issued in 1971, inspired Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and just about every other black artist on the planet to take greater responsibility for their music and its meaning. Gaye co-wrote the songs and produced the album, flavouring it with layer upon layer of his own multi-tracked vocals, oceans of hand percussion, strings, flutes and jazzy horn solos. Spacy and loose as a spliff-fuelled Sunday afternoon jam in the park, the nine songs all played like hit singles. The title track-- inspired by his brother's return from the Vietnam War--and the obvious social commentary of "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" actually were hit singles. Two other tracks ("Wholly Holy" and "Save the Children") would inspire hit covers by Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, respectively. Nevertheless, What's Going On sounds as fresh today as it did the week that it came out. --Don Waller

Amazon.com essential recording
Sly & The Family Stone might have psychedelicized soul music, but Marvin Gaye personalized it. Although the powers-that-were Motown didn't even want to release the record, the unexpected success of What's Going On, issued in 1971, inspired Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and just about every other black artist on the planet to take greater responsibility for their music and its meaning. Gaye co-wrote the songs and produced the album, flavoring it with layer upon layer of his own multi-tracked vocals, oceans of hand percussion, strings, flutes, and jazzy horn solos. Spacey and loose as a spliff-fueled Sunday afternoon jam in the park, the nine songs all played like a hit single. The title track--inspired by his brother's return from the Vietnam War--and the obvious social commentary of "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" actually were hit singles. Two other tracks ("Wholly Holy" and "Save the Children") would inspire hit covers by Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, respectively. Nevertheless, What's Going On sounds as fresh today as it did the week that it came out. Recommended reading: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz (McGraw-Hill, 1985). --Don Waller

Un Essentiel amazon.fr
L'un des plus beaux disques, toutes catégories confondues, de l'histoire de la musique chantée, et l'avènement d'un artiste hors du commun. Après des débuts plutôt orientés rhythm'n'blues, l'auteur, compositeur et interprète Marvin Gaye entame la décennie libertaire avec un concept-album spirituel, pacifiste et écolo dans lequel la musique atteint un degré de sophistication confondant. 1971, entre Amérique de Nixon et guerre du Vietnam qui n'en finit plus, s'élève la voix troublante d'une colombe de la paix réincarnée en chanteur de soul. Epaulé par des collaborateurs émérites et des musiciens de première classe (dont un orchestre), celui qui était surtout connu pour son tube sixties ''I Heard It Through The Grapevine'' s'installe définitivement dans l'Olympe des mélomanes avec ces neuf diamants éblouissants de pureté et de savoir-faire. Chaque note enregistrée ici est d'essence divine et les interrogations existentielles de Marvin sont malheureusement toujours d'actualité. Sauf pour lui, évidemment. A moins que son esprit ne continue tout là-haut à se préoccuper de "Ce Qui Se Passe" ici-bas. --José Guerreiro