What's Goin' On

Even before What's Goin On Marvin Gaye was a respected member of the Motown crew and that cohesiveness. Musically he was heavily into jazz and reluctant to do R&B in his early career. He also had little or no interest in political activism. At the time of What's Goin' On Gaye was upset with the death of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy as well as the general suffering and violence associated with the African American Civil Rights Movement. He was also influenced by America's ongoing involvement in the Vietnam War, from where his brother had just returned. This is reflected in the songs "What's Happening Brother" and "Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)" which both deal with the struggles of returning soldiers. Gaye had a difficult time "…stay(ing) away from anything resembling a standard Motown beat." when the was recording the album right in Motown. Gaye shook up the sound by bringing in outside drummer Chet Forest and others to play on the record. The biggest obstacle was the refusal of Motown emperor Berry Gordy to release the album. Marvin tried to play hardball but ended up playing the long game and the record was released right under Gordy's nose. The fact that Gaye sang, played, and produced his album was very unusual for Motown releases. He also eschewed the typical practice of using Motown's usual background singers and assembled a ragtag group of his friends. As a listener I was drawn hypnotically towards the vocals. I felt the cohesion of the album was palpable and felt compelled to listen to the album start to finish uninterrupted. As an industry professional I was particularly impressed with the use of "happy accidents" on the album. The double layered vocal, the sax opening, and the box drum are all "happy accidents" that work so well in the album.

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