Are the deluxe editions worth buying, or should i just stick with my original 1 disc albums?

I've had my eye on the deluxe "Whats Going ON" for a while. From my understanding, the 1st disc is remastered and the 2nd is live. Ive heard great things about it, but havent heard it personally.

I plan on getting all of them

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If you just want the albums, the songs by themselves---the regular versions are fine. But if you also love to hear extra unreleased tracks, plus alternate versions to compare and contrast, and have extensive liner notes and commentary on the sessions, then the Deluxe editions are Essential...





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[Edited 1/12/07 9:29am]

paligap said:

x 1 million

I own all 3 deluxe editions. What's Going On is the least interesting of the 3, but it's worth owning for more reasons than just the prinicple of having all 3 of Marvin's deluxes. The live stuff is ok, but there's better live Marvin available (like Live at the Palladium and Live!). However, the single mixes of What's Going On, God Is Love, and the others (I forget which ones are on there) are VERY interesting to see where Marvin's head was at at the time. Let's Get It On is worth it soley for the original Black Power version of "Let's Get It On". The liner notes and alternate mixes are decent. I Want You is the must-have of the set. Besides some really interesting liner notes that make you view the album and Marvin in a new way, the extended version of "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and "Come Live With Me" are great. The flute version of "After The Dance" also is really good.

So, you can buy all 3 if you want, but I Want You is the main one that I'd recommend.

CoolMF said:

Great reply, thank you

They are all great ! I mostly dig the "I want you" one ! but then again i dig that album more than the other two anyways..Now when do we get a
"Here my dear" ???!!! that would be the BOMB !!!!!

I actually adore all 3 of them, but I have a very minor nitpick with the 20th Anniversary deluxe edition of What's Going On. Why is it that it seems that there are 3 versions of the album that is contained in the set: the original album, the live session of the album, and the mixes of the album? That edition of WGO seems kind of redundant, but it's still a great set overall. Even it has that amusing version of Distant Lover at the end of the second disc! The deluxe editions of Let's Get It On and I Want You are definitely brilliant, but i don't really think it's for the casual or novice fans. These include so many unreleased gems and unheard versions of classics that are very convincing and magical. The liner notes are very revealing and fully detailed and the rare photos are just unbelievable. The Master 1961-1984 4-disc boxset is also recommendable too because it's one of those sets that you can listen to from beginning to end! Now all we need is that long-anticipated reissue of his final album on Motown, In Our Lifetime, from 1981...
[Edited 1/12/07 16:35pm]

Icicle said:

Oh hell to the YES

I found this good overview of the deluxe edition of Let's Get It On from soulpatrol.com (Realplayer needed):

http://www.soul-patrol.net/lgo.ram

If you already have the originals, then download the extra discs by using a filesharing application. Marvin's not going to get to enjoy his money anymore.