So,is anyone gonna get that 'What's Going On' 40th Anniversary set? This album has been remastered and repackaged so many times and I don't really want to buy it again,but this set might be too hard to resist I especially like the fact that it comes with a vinyl copy.

[Edited 6/30/11 4:14am]

On May 21, 1971, Motown Records released an album unique to its vast, already classic catalog: a suite of protest songs, railing, albeit softly and with an undeniable groove, about the planet’s woes and the pain of war. With What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye forever changed the sound and subject matter of popular music, influencing and inspiring every generation since. Formerly Motown’s reigning smooth-faced, smiling, mass-appeal artist, this album was Gaye’s departure for the bearded, brooding, reflective, angry artist he would become. His first self-production, the album was written, sung and solely produced by Gaye.

Forty years on, the album remains a timeless classic. Speaking boldly and passionately about social issues on the street unlike any other album before, What’s Going On provided a soundtrack to life in America—and still does. It was a smash from the start and it’s still one of Rolling Stone magazine’s top ten Greatest Albums of All Time. Two songs from this album are in the Grammy® Hall of Fame, which honors the most important recordings in history.

In celebration of the 40^th anniversary, Motown/UMe proudly announces the release of What’s Going On – Super Deluxe Edition, on May 31, 2011. This new Super Deluxe Edition includes two CDs and one vinyl LP, 14 unreleased tracks, copious rarities, all complemented by an oversized booklet with two essays and rare photos from the original cover shoot. Inside as well is a reproduction of the album graphics, which showcased, for the first time at Motown, the song’s lyrics—and identified the musicians.

Leading off this lovingly produced, double-gatefold 12×12 package is a newly remastered version of the original album, which delivers a deeper, warmer sound than in previous reissues. Added to the album on Disc 1 are several outtakes from sessions that led up to the recording of the LP—the original mix of the title song Marvin presented to Motown’s legendary Quality Control meeting, where it was summarily rejected; and song demos which show Marvin wrestling with the rejection—as well as the album’s three mono single releases, each of which reached No. 1 R&B and Top 10 pop: “What’s Going On” (in a very different mix than the LP), “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” and “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler),” plus their B-sides, of which two are alternate takes from the familiar LP versions.

Disc 2 of What’s Going On – Super Deluxe Edition is a document of the album’s aftermath, when Marvin Gaye, reluctant to tour and shy about becoming the “spokesman of his generation,” holed up in Motown’s Studio B in Detroit with like-minded musicians—among them the young guitarists Ray Parker Jr. and Wah Wah Watson, and the 20-year-old bassist Michael Henderson, fresh from a Miles Davis tour—and simply jammed over several days. These tracks, mostly instrumental, are as brooding and funky as the What’s Going On album cover. The rest of the disc includes Gaye’s final sessions in Detroit; among the few tunes he recorded was a sequel of sorts to the album, the politically tinged non-LP single “You’re The Man,” which hit the R&B top 10 in spring 1972. Also included are two rare alternate takes of the song.

Capping this special release is the first ever 12-inch vinyl LP of the “Detroit Mix” of What’s Going On, the original, darker mix of the entire album, left behind when Gaye decided to finish the overdubs in Los Angeles.

Inside is an LP-sized booklet with rare photos from the sessions, the original lyrics, detailed recording annotations and two essays: one by Gaye biographer David Ritz describing the “Why” Marvin Gaye created his first-ever self-produced album, and another detailing the “How” by Ben Edmonds, author of What’s Going On: Marvin Gaye and The Last Days Of The Motown Sound.

The anniversary will also be marked on stage this summer when Rickey Minor, Stevie Wonder and Friends (including special guest Janelle Monáe) perform a July 24 Hollywood Bowl concert concluding with a tribute to What’s Going On. In May of next year, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the National Symphony Orchestra with John Legend and The Roots will collaborate for a special What’s Going On concert to note the 40^th anniversary of Gaye’s legendary performance at that venue.

fuck him

Gordy should have retired after 1968...

JoeTyler said:

fuck him

Gordy should have retired after 1968...

Then we might not have had that awesome J5 music.

Adisa said:

JoeTyler said:

fuck him

Gordy should have retired after 1968...

Then we might not have had that awesome J5 music.

ha!

J5 should have signed with Atlantic or whatever since the BEGINNING. With Motown they were just bubblegum. That's WHY they left Motown in the mid-70's anyway...

JoeTyler said:

Adisa said:

Then we might not have had that awesome J5 music.

ha!

J5 should have signed with Atlantic or whatever since the BEGINNING. With Motown they were just bubblegum. That's WHY they left Motown in the mid-70's anyway...

With Motown they obtained a level of fan hysteria that was compared to the Beatles, recorded some of the best music for all ages, set the standard for all family acts and "boy bands" since then, and was the training ground for the biggest entertainer the world will ever know.

We can only speculate what would have been if they were not signed to and spit-shined by Motown. And they left for artistic reasons, which is not uncommon even in 2011. I dare not rattle the hives of MJ stans (not calling you one, just sayin) by suggesting that they were doomed or would not have been as great without BG and Motown. Clearly they were talented as hell before they even met BG. I'm just saying that being a part of the magical Motown brand is a part of the attraction. I mean, they were "introduced' to the world by Ms. Ross. It didn't get any better than that in 1969.

Adisa said:

JoeTyler said:

ha!

J5 should have signed with Atlantic or whatever since the BEGINNING. With Motown they were just bubblegum. That's WHY they left Motown in the mid-70's anyway...

With Motown they obtained a level of fan hysteria that was compared to the Beatles, recorded some of the best music for all ages, set the standard for all family acts and "boy bands" since then, and was the training ground for the biggest entertainer the world will ever know.

some of the best music for all ages? really?

wow

the standard for family acts and boy bands? sure: Blandess and endless filler

sorry, but I certainly prefer Sony's The Jacksons...

JoeTyler said:

Adisa said:

With Motown they obtained a level of fan hysteria that was compared to the Beatles, recorded some of the best music for all ages, set the standard for all family acts and "boy bands" since then, and was the training ground for the biggest entertainer the world will ever know.

some of the best music for all ages? really?

wow

the standard for family acts and boy bands? sure: Blandess and endless filler

sorry, but I certainly prefer Sony's The Jacksons...

That's nice.

JoeTyler said:

Adisa said:

Then we might not have had that awesome J5 music.

ha!

J5 should have signed with Atlantic or whatever since the BEGINNING. With Motown they were just bubblegum. That's WHY they left Motown in the mid-70's anyway...

Other labels probably wouldn't have tolerated Joseph. Another label definitely would not have moved them from Gary and let them stay with the label boss or with their other acts for a year. Also if they went to some other label, Jermaine wouldn't have discovered Switch & DeBarge. They left Motown because they weren't getting paid, and the label wouldn't let them write their own songs or produce them, and Motown stopped promoting their records in which the group was charged for recording costs, whether or not the songs were actually released. The same reason many other acts left, such as Gladys Knight & The Pips or The Isley Brothers, who didn't make "bubblegum" records. Ironically, Gordy let Jermaine write and produce his solo records after the other brothers left (and also work as an A&R person and produce other acts on the label). Motown sued the other brothers and said they owned the name "Jackson 5".

HEY DON'T MAKE MY MARVIN/BERRY THREAD ABOUT THE JACKSONS!

Timmy84 said:

HEY DON'T MAKE MY MARVIN/BERRY THREAD ABOUT THE JACKSONS!

My bad for bringing it in here. LOL. That's why I haven't and not going to reply to J5 stuff anymore in here.

I sawwy

Adisa said:

Timmy84 said:

HEY DON'T MAKE MY MARVIN/BERRY THREAD ABOUT THE JACKSONS!

My bad for bringing it in here. LOL. That's why I haven't and not going to reply to J5 stuff anymore in here.

I sawwy

SoulAlive said:

So,is anyone gonna get that 'What's Going On' 40th Anniversary set? This album has been remastered and repackaged so many times and I don't really want to buy it again,but this set might be too hard to resist I especially like the fact that it comes with a vinyl copy.

well that's different.

I was reading a recent issue of Rolling Stone when I was in the library and it had a review of this package. According to the article, the record contains the earlier mix, not the one that was originally released.

MickyDolenz said:

I was reading a recent issue of Rolling Stone when I was in the library and it had a review of this package. According to the article, the record contains the earlier mix, not the one that was originally released.

I'm getting this set!

SoulAlive said:

MickyDolenz said:

I was reading a recent issue of Rolling Stone when I was in the library and it had a review of this package. According to the article, the record contains the earlier mix, not the one that was originally released.

I'm getting this set!

Both of you.....

SoulAlive said:

MickyDolenz said:

I was reading a recent issue of Rolling Stone when I was in the library and it had a review of this package. According to the article, the record contains the earlier mix, not the one that was originally released.

I'm getting this set!

If you have the Deluxe 2 CD version from a few years ago, both the original mix and the mix on the released album are on it.

MickyDolenz said:

SoulAlive said:

I'm getting this set!

If you have the Deluxe 2 CD version from a few years ago, both the original mix and the mix on the released album are on it.

Yeah,I have that 2-CD set I know I'm just wasting my money (lol) but I gotta have this new set too.

TD3 said:

SoulAlive said:

I'm getting this set!

Both of you.....

Bear with me...

I listen to all kinds of music; and when I say "all", that is what I really mean <insert any genre hear>. Does that make me a snob or elitist? No. I am already a snob and an elitist. But those things have nothing to do with musical taste; it just means that my taste isn't too constricted.

That being said, I've favorite albums that I hold as seminal because of the production, the compositional skills of the composer, the musicianship, the lyrics, the album cover, the motiffs and

anything else. I am sure most of us could rattle off all kinds of seminal albums as well - some of us honestly and some of us disingenuously.

Now...

Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On is the best popular album ever made (I could, if I really really wanted to, say that it is the best album made if one were to include jazz as well, but it would take some serious musical criticism and I'm too lazy and unlearned to do so). The best "circular vinyl object that has music placed onto it to be heard via a record player outfitted by a spectacular album cover" album ever made. It's not the best music ever written, not the best singing ever done, not the best production, lyrical craftsmanship, theme or anything.

But these things together, cot damn - this is the best album of all time. I only listen to it once every two or three years because like the resplendent glory of God, you can only bear so much. Can you imagine existing in the glory of God? At some point, you either pass out or crawl away. What makes this the best album of all time?

.........

gah I want it but I don't NEED it

TD3 said:

SoulAlive said:

So,is anyone gonna get that 'What's Going On' 40th Anniversary set? This album has been remastered and repackaged so many times and I don't really want to buy it again,but this set might be too hard to resist I especially like the fact that it comes with a vinyl copy.

well that's different.

Adisa said:

JoeTyler said:

some of the best music for all ages? really?

wow

the standard for family acts and boy bands? sure: Blandess and endless filler

sorry, but I certainly prefer Sony's The Jacksons...

That's nice.

TD3 said:

In short his side of the story is the same damn one that everyone then knew, Gordy was quaking in BVD's: "MY GOD WHAT ARE THE WHITE PEOPLE GOING TO THINK!" Please.

--------------------------------------------

[Edited 6/28/11 17:42pm]

He stood in the way of Stevie Wonder in the early 70s too, and had Stevie not been guarded by these gorillas of lawyers who chewed on steel, he TOO like Marvin would've kicked an awful fuss. If Marvin who had an ace in his cards had to go through all the fight, imagine what the other Motown artists who had a weaker clout had to go through.

There's no shame of being a business man who regards the cons & pros in every difference, I just wish Mr.Gordy like most aged men do would wear his "not giving a measly fuck anymore" hat on and admit it, instead of hogging the credit.

JoeTyler said:

Adisa said:

With Motown they obtained a level of fan hysteria that was compared to the Beatles, recorded some of the best music for all ages, set the standard for all family acts and "boy bands" since then, and was the training ground for the biggest entertainer the world will ever know.

some of the best music for all ages? really?

wow

the standard for family acts and boy bands? sure: Blandess and endless filler

sorry, but I certainly prefer Sony's The Jacksons...

I also prefer The Jacksons during the CBS/Sony era as well. But we can NOT overlook the fact that The Jackson 5 were THE last ever great act from the Motown golden era.

Even today, I Want You Back, ABC, & Dancing Machine still have serious bite because the riffs & the chord progressions are catchy as hell.

^ OK you made your point now back to Marvin and Berry.

Timmy84 said:

^ OK you made your point now back to Marvin and Berry.

BACK ON TOPIC: Berry Gordy should have and retired around the time Teena Marie filed that lawsuit to get out of Motown. It's downright disappointing that Berry never learn his lesson from his disputes with Marvin & Stevie that you have to let recording artists be "artists".

TonyVanDam said:

Timmy84 said:

^ OK you made your point now back to Marvin and Berry.

BACK ON TOPIC: Berry Gordy should have and retired around the time Teena Marie filed that lawsuit to get out of Motown. It's downright disappointing that Berry never learn his lesson from his disputes with Marvin & Stevie that you have to let recording artists be "artists".

Yeah that fucker was trying to keep his artists under seige. Rick learned to never trust Berry with a contract thanks to sound advice.

^^^What's the difference between Motown and any other label (or any business for that matter)? They all rip off and exploit the acts, and have done so since the record business began.

MickyDolenz said:

^^^What's the difference between Motown and any other label (or any business for that matter)? They all rip off and exploit the acts, and have done so since the record business began.

Because "this label ain't just a label, it's a family, you can't go nowhere and if you do, we'll make sure you get blackballed! "

That's why.

That's what many of those who left after the label's so-called "glory years" learned the hard way.

Timmy84 said:

MickyDolenz said:

^^^What's the difference between Motown and any other label (or any business for that matter)? They all rip off and exploit the acts, and have done so since the record business began.

Because "this label ain't just a label, it's a family, you can't go nowhere and if you do, we'll make sure you get blackballed! "

That's why.

That's what many of those who left after the label's so-called "glory years" learned the hard way.

Families rip each other off too and many don't get along. Look at when some rich people die, the children and/or other relatives fight over the money or estate. Some people (especially ones who talk about "family values"), think a family is like Leave It To Beaver when it's more like the ones on a soap opera.