What's Going On With What's Going On?｜Vinyl Monday
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- Tell me what’s going on, I’ll tell you what’s going on.
Welcome (or welcome back) to Vinyl Monday! This is my weekly series where I chat about classic albums in my collection that I love. My thoughts on Rolling Stone’s greatest album OF ALL TIME. The album that started a soul revolution: Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On (released 1971.) Subscribe for more Vinyl Monday and vintage fashion!
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Timestamps:
intro - 0:00
What’s Going On - 1:17
track listing/release - 13:08
my thoughts - 16:30
thanks for watching! - 36:15
Music:
Intro Music: Yeah Yeah Yeah (Long) by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...) Artist: audionautix.com/
Outtro Music: Ticket To Nowhere Man by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...) Artist: audionautix.com/
#vinyl #vinylcommunity #marvingaye
this is rolling stone’s greatest album of all time, what’s yours? comment below!
Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen
the white album. it's an edifice, it's an american quilt you can't unpick without destroying the whole effect, it's a story, a labyrinth and it's outrageous that one band contained all of that within itself
( of course there's always InTCOTCKing)
`The Doughnut in Granny`s Greenhouse` it utterly amazed me, the first time I played it. Got both Mono and Stereo copies which I play to death. I upgraded one last year and passed old copy (With Booklet) to Abigail along with a few other albums!
You've already covered my favorite which is "Blood on the Tracks". "What's Going On" is a solid and classic album though and Marvin was a great songwriter and singer. Besides this and a 17 tracks collection of his Motown hits I have 2 other CDR discs I made of his work, he's that great.
Mhm i rlly havent ranked them but if i have to choose it would be Station to Station by David Bowie. His greatest work and even doesn't remember making it also all the songs are great but the best track is the title track
Abby brought up an important word that becomes a recurring theme throughout the album: empathy. Empathy for family, community, and the state of the world in general. But when you get so overwhelmed by empathy you develop burnout and fatigue, leading into deep cynicism, nihilism and depression. Which makes Marvin's 1983 comments to David Fricke all the more heartbreaking when I first heard them here... RIP Brother. For all your personal upheavals the world still loves you and the art you left behind...
your dear friend robert christgau gave this a C+ if i'm not mistaken. marvin was morose and magnificent on WGO? and of course empathetic.
@@marcyfan-tz4wj i dunk on both him and fantano for using rating systems at all, i just don’t agree with the process and therefore don’t question their ratings…this is the exception to my rule. C+???
Philosphers since Epicurius have consistently held that that empathy is the least of the virtues - Kant went as far as to say empathy has no moral standing because it is intrinsically connected to inclination. What's Going On's cheif virtue is empathy's harder to come by cousin - compassion.
it's okay with me if you go full lebron on both of them. i'm entertained by christgau but adore marvin at his worst more than RC at his best.@@abigaildevoe
i don't care about the grading of records but you you have no business being a critic if you think "there's a riot goin' on" and "what's goin' on?" aren't important masterworks. you should work at a library.@@Mrvictorfernandes
"The root of activism can't be fear... it's gotta be love..." Bravo! ❤
True story: I was walking down a street late at night in Macon, Georgia, in 1987 with a fraternity brother and best pal of mine, when a slightly soused older African-American gentleman approached us, extremely angry about the world situation. He shouted at us that kids our age didn't know or care what was important, and (shoving his walkman earphones on my head) said "You don't even know who this is!" I instantly said "Marvin Gaye". It was the 1977(or is it '76?) live album, and I identified it. My pal, who was a highly-skilled jazz musician and had schooled me on Coltrane, the early Allman Brothers Band (we hung out with Jaimoe! This was Macon...), and especially Miles Davis, was also a huge Marvin fan, and hummed a few MG tunes. The old guy looked at us, startled, silently shook our hands, and walked away.
This is one of my top few albums of all time; I devoutly worship every millisecond of it; I have gifted copies to younger relatives. Great job, Miz Abbey. And although you fault yourself on musical education, you do an excellent job singling out the good stuff. No clinical language needed, you have the ear.
I am 66 and I love this album. My parents loved Motown and The Beatles, so I grew up listening to white and black music. It is good to mix it up.
This album 53 years later still packs an emotional impact and the messages of these songs is still relevant today in 2024 Marvin was pouring out his heart and soul in this classic album
So I bought What's Going On years and years ago, I'm old. I didn't really like it however I will give it another go. Also as a black viewer I very much appreciate your take on race relations. And as someone who grew up in Detroit thanks for the shout out, I'm also left of center so I like your political views, you are an extraordinary young woman Abigail!
To quote the great Nina Simone “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times” Marvin Gaye did just that so beautifully with this record.
Abby, your review brought me to tears. This is probably my favorite LP of all time - its message hasn't dated one iota. If any album ever had love as its message, this is it. Your review was spot on. Thank you for spreading the love.
A real sense of knowing you are listening to something special from the first few notes to the last. Thanks Abby.
I’ve always enjoyed your videos. Hearing your views on this one has me liking you even more.
I hope all of your fans, ( and Marvin’s, ) will vote this year.
If Marvin’s, ( and Martin Luther’s ) dreams come true, what a happier world this will be! ☮️💙🌱
Yes, sadly the lyrics still apply for today.
I was at the all star game where Marvin Gaye sang the national anthem, having no idea I was watching a historical event, I was too young to appreciate it then. Love his voice now, man could he sing.
"Would you buy this record or buy a sandwich?" Mr. Gordy's quality control techniques were effing brutal.
Berry said in his autobiography that he knew the answer to "if you're hungry would you spend your last dollar"...etc. would be *buy the sandwich* (i think it was generally a hot dog) but he wanted to see how long the listener would take to *think* about it ;)
The album that really got me into soul Music. Marvin Gaye made this amazing record expressing his sorrow about the state of the world and made me cry with him. It saddens me to think that his lyrics are relevant over 50 years after being written.
The funk brother were so very unique. I still think one of the greatest things about staying alive is understanding that there's a magic you can bring to an instrument if you put enough passion into it. To me, when I hear it, it's undeniable, no matter WHAT the genre is.
Although it is generally not brought up when talking about it, this was Marvin’s “angry” album. His divorce album “Here My Dear” was another.
Motown weren't pleased with Here My Dear
Love your coastal sensibilities. I'm to your direct north (sorry about your birthday), but grew up on Canada's west coast amongst conscientious objectors. Despite our geography and skin colour, we loved Marvin, Curtis, Sly, et al. Our vans sported the ecology logo (before the neighbours started Greenpeace), and the closest we came to religion was Monterey Pop. Your analyses are brilliant. ✌️
It's the record that is book ended by Jamerson and Babbit... perfectly in their differences, and the tones of hope and despair, which are ironically juxtaposed between the one who died early and broke, and the one who lived longer...
He recorded the song "What's Goin On" after hearing Steven Stills'/Buffalo Springfield protest song - "For What It's Worth" (Stop. Look. What's that Sound? Everybody Look whats goin' down"). Marvin Gaye congratulated Stills after the song became a hit at one of Buffalo Springfield's legendary gigs on Sunset strip.
Great tunes
Thanks for continuing the humor in such yabject seriousness
“yabject seriousness” sounds like a joke my high school chemistry teacher would’ve made, and i mean that as a compliment i SWEAR. he was the greatest!
"Right On" is probably my favorite song on the whole album. I agree that it can meander, but that groove (especially the piano part) is just so good!!!
My favorite song on the album as well .
I would be happy for that groove to go on for the whole album side .
I hope anyone else that informed you of segue's pronunciation was kind. The fact you read it before you heard it shows a learning mind. We love those. Thank you, in kind, for doing with these albums the same. You are a fantastic educator.
What's Going On is a landmark album and one of my favorite motown albums ever. Would i rank it the greatest album of all time? Not particularly but its in the top 10. Would love to see you cover more motown albums (i.e. stevie wonder, smokey robinson, the temptations). Great show today!!!
NIGHT SHIFT (first verse) Commodores 1985
Marvin, he was a friend of mine
And he could sing a song, his heart in every line
Marvin sang of the joy and pain
He opened up our minds, and I still can hear him say
"Talk to me, so you can see, what's going on"
Say you will sing your songs forevermore
Gonna be some sweet sounds coming down on the nightshift
I bet you're singing proud, I bet you'll pull a crowd
Gonna be a long night, it's gonna be all right, on the nightshift
You found another home, I know you're not alone on the nightshift
Songwriters: Dennis Lambert / Francine Vicki Golde / Walter Lee Orange
Wow, you're reviewing all the music I love: Hendrix, Beach Boys, Bowie, Cream, Layla, Beatles, etc. This record is one of the greatests. Thanks for your work and I love your sense of humor, you're great!
where ever Marvin is, I think you've put a smile on his face. 😉
When Marvin ascends to "save the babies", the music rising with and around him in joy and purpose, i get goosebumps and/or break out in tears every time, I mean EVERY time I hear it.
Same. That song gives me the waterwork feels every. Single. Time. 😭
That was “Save The Children”. Diana Ross did her version as part of a medley with “Brown Baby”, and it was from her 1974 album “Laat Time I Saw Him”
that moment for me was the “MOTHER mother!” in the last verse of the title track. i won’t soon forget that cry
It's truly a brilliant piece of art that is still relevant today.
I am absolutely obsessed with this album. This album and pet sounds are the two greatest albums ever. The lyrics are just as profound and the production still sounds fresh. Truly inspirational. Great video as always Abby!
Deep diving into Pet Sounds
My parents introduced me to this album when it first came out in 1971. I was two years old. It's been part of my life ever since.
"Woke" means anything that doesn't endorse, or at least further the cause of, white hetero-male supremacy. Along with Curtis Mayfield's Superfly, my parents raised me correctly in that regard. I was a little three-year old white boy rocking back and forth on the couch to Freddie's Dead and What's Going On. My future self was already set in fully-awakened stone.
Another case of hearing without listening: John Lennon's "Imagine".
Yeah, I used to like 'Imagine' when I was in my teens. Now that I have 40 more years under my belt, I realize it's a childish, narrow-minded piece of crap.
I get what you mean about spiritual music vs. more specific religious songs. I appreciate George Harrison's and Van Morrison's spiritual stuff without being moved to go to church. It comes from a good place inside, a desire to be better, to live in a better world. I don't think there's anything after this one.
About time you got to some Motown soul, Abby. Motor City rock (MC5, Iggy, Bob Seger) is among the best, too. A black band based in Detroit called Death was one of the first ever punk rock bands, having formed in 1971. There's a documentary about them and I urge all rock and soul fans to look them up. Marvin was a unique talent gone way too soon, as was Tammi.
i have that death record! been meaning to listen to it. detroit gave america so much important art and music. once you know just how important the motor city is to music history, you can’t help but root for a renaissance
Abby..."You have a tuna casserole where your soul should be." I'm gonna use that, with credit to you.
I want to see her do 1970s Japanese Psych or "Space Rock". I think it would be out of her comfort zone, and that's a good place to be, trust me.
Dylan goes electric, Brian Wilson records Pet Sounds and Marvin records What's Going On. All three examples of artists following their heart and soul and defying the box other people painted them into.
Wow I’m so proud of you for tackling the “woke” controversy and religious aspect when your audience is mainly conservative boomers. Stay strong Abbey ❤ ✊🏻
I'll never understand how the brilliant music of the counter-culture somehow produced so many authoritarian id**ts. Sad but true.
"audience is mainly conservative boomers"... how do you know this? what is the word "conservative" supposed to mean?
what is your stance on the 1000's of children recently killed in Gaza?
As a seventy year old boomer, and a witness to and participate of the first youth movement, I know for a fact that not all boomers are conservative. That generation was divided then as it is now.
I didn't say all were but the VC is loaded for sure because this is a luxury hobby. Abbey herself would not have the collection she does if not for the generosity of a few@35
A beautiful homage to an extremely talented man with an even greater heart - thank you Abby for a deep, personal and interesting presentation of one the best albums ... ever? 🙂
Thanks Abb. Aside from the title track, i dont know the rest of it.......yet. And dont EVER short change yourself because youre not a musician. Just tell us how it makes you feeel. Im a musician but i wannt to know how it feels. Cheers.
Also thanks for saying segue.
Woke was originally African American lingo for guys who knew that the white men wrote the laws to go after African Americans (basically, Critical Race theory). Neo-nazis have artificially perverted the word to represent people who aren't neo-nazis. So, why is being woke a bad thing?!
Great video and this one my all-time favorite albums.
The film Jacob's Ladder excellently covers PTSD.
The ironic thing about that movie (which is a personal favorite) is that although it's one of the scariest horror movies ever made imo, the veteran angle is also just as dark, scary, depressing, angering and moving. And then as well, the heartbreaking theme of lost fatherhood and anguish brings me to tears every time....the same as this album.
@@sugadelicsavagesoul8623Agreed 👍 ! Well Said ✌️
Another classic artist and album you've hooked me up with. Thank you Abby, my budget is getting hit hard .... in the right way. 😂😅😊
I'm with you on the album not being a concept album, though there is a definite cohesion to it all. To me it's akin to Sinatra's mood albums with Capitol in the 50s, though thematically more complex than "sad album," "happy-in-love album," etc. You did a great job with this one (as usual).
Always a pleasure to see you post a new video !
Maybe not a concept album but definitely a song cycle. And now of all times we should be listening.
You know I really dig your musical tastes I've noticed that in the videos that I've watched from you good classic albums including this one 👍💯 this album makes me think about my mother rest in peace
Morning beautiful Abby! What a great review. What's Going On is one of my favorite albums of all time. Every song that Marvin wrote or co-wrote in 1970-1971 is still relatable in 2024. Especially everything that I went through with my life (losing family members and friends, depression and alcohol, not having any support on my visions, never done anything musically, etc). Just hearing this album really change everything for me and help me get back into writing again. Thank you my beautiful rock and roll queen for this amazing review. Can't wait for next Monday's review.
I love the new intro because through the seasons and the episodes the scope has grown: the how the where the... i'm going to have to learn it lol.
Change is very difficult for most, they go kicking and screaming until by forces of nature or an epiphany draws them forward. Grace Slick said it best in the song " Crown of Creation " from the LP of the same name " Life is change, how it differs from the rocks , i've seen their way too often for my liking. New worlds to gain "....Indeed, Marvin's father saves him, then ends his life. Dig your style, Aloha
I have heard of this album before and heard Marvin's music before but i can't get into soul and r&b.Still I can enjoy this album bc somehow it brings be warmth and i just want to dance away.
Thx Abbey for another great Vinyl Monday ❤
The bass line to “What’s Going On” is one of the most difficult bass lines of any Motown track if not contemporary pop/Soul/R&B or Rock, and yet, as you’d said, he was too drunk to stand up. Dragging him out of the bar he was half conscious in, put him out in the recording space in the dark, handed him his bass. For how much a physical wreck as he was at the time, in that bass part, you just hear him flying. Berry Gordy tried to keep James Jamerson out of live footage of any artist he backed down they didn’t know who he was or what he was doing, which robbed generations of bassists a larger wellspring of primary source than just a couple brief foreground shots behind Mervin and a “how to” video he did in the late 80’s.
Such an amazing album it blew me away the first time I heard it my dad got me a copy for me in vinyl for Christmas of 2019 and I loved it I went to my local record store recently and motown put out a live album of Marvin Gaye performing the whole what's going on album live I'm going to check it out this week great video Abby ❤❤❤ keep it up
Abby, I like that you'll point things out even if you know some of the audience might get vocal over it! This is a beautiful record; enjoyed your review. Incidentally I've always felt something of a vibe of Rolling Stone's Top 500 in your review choices. Not a bad thing at all, in fact, a great place to start delving into boomer music. I started with this album when it was included in that list in 1987-88; it faired well then too, but Sgt Pepper was at the top.
MISSING YOU (fourth verse) Diana Ross 1984
There was so much you gave me to my heart, to my soul
There was so much of your dreams that were never told
You had so much hope for a brighter day
Why were you my flower plucked away?
Written as a tribute to Marvin Gaye by Lionel Richie.
McCartney, maybe I'm amazed at how fast I got it...
I had no idea Marvin was so badass!
Well I was feeling pretty down in the dumps today. Your beauty, smile, fire. and whitt made things much better. As long as there is someome like you who can appreciate the past and realize things haven't changed too much in 50 yerars for the better, it makes me happy. Abby you are a messanger for the future. You are young but can see "What Is Going On". Don't worry that you are not a muscian. Being a musician for many years it is not what it is cracked up to be. Don't think you need it for the essays. Might get in the way of the message. I hope you can continue on Mondays. I enjoy them very much. See you next Monday!
Another amazing episode of Vinyl Monday! I look forward to these every week to see what albums you'll talk about and hear a potentially different perspective from myself. I am curious, do you prefer the finalized album mix of What's Going On or the original Detroit mixes?
i’ll be honest, i only came upon the detroit mix by accident. i try to stick to listening/evaluating the mix of the album i have my physical copy of
as far as the title track goes, gotta say i prefer the single mix - the dual vocals are more balanced
As part of the nation's soundtrack, if only for a moment here and there how many people have contemplated the lyrics either consciously or subconsciously as they've gone about their lives? It has had a major impact like few other musical works.
congrats on the february videos where the theming, presentation, writing, were terrific and challenging. no other channel has as much visual flair as this one. i would be up for more vids on any of the genres featured but ngl the jazz will always push me to my limit ( that album though was exceptional).
My fav was what's goin' on: big ambition and at least trying to come up with resolutions that barely seemed possible but they resonate down the decades in a land where, increasingly, more wants more. if music can't always change the world i do believe it can change us, if that makes any sense.
this season couldn't be working out any better for us viewers and, essentially, i hope that you are on a journey of discovery too. thank you abby.
Such a subtle, subversive, anti-orthodox album masterpiece. Only perhaps now, when so much "bad" music is being made and Auto-tuned, etc, can we re-evaluate the earlier pioneers. A great sounding album (long before DIGITAL ruined musicality in sound recordings, hence my love for your channel championing vinyl. Fave tracks are Mercy, mercy me and the title track. Thanks, Lovely Lady, perhaps you will provoke more listeners for this timeless classic, with its eternal relevance.
i love the vinyl format for 2 pretty simple reasons: i get to own my very own copy of something many people worked very hard to create, and the album art is the size it was meant to be! hopefully this channel encourages people to engage with the hobby, for whatever reasons they like.
while i’m an analog production fanatic, daft punk’s random access memories makes a serious case for digital/autotune. it’s a futuristic ode to funk and disco, and proof that yes, vocoding and autotune can be evocative and soulful.
It’s also a trip that the Trouble Man soundtrack is revered today.
Hi Abby thank you for this episode ❤❤
Awesome review, Abby, You’re a big girl now! Marvin’s music helped shape who I am. And BTW, that missing RS interview, it must have been Hunter!
Another one new to me that I'll be investigating. For which, thanks :)
Abigail, stop saying that you're not a musician. You are closer than you could possibly imagine. You've got a Rock n Roll ❤️ and you'll get better at being a " musician " faster if you stop saying that you are not. U R
She's not a musician. She could make the effort to understand a few basic concepts which she could use to explain what she's hearing in simple and straightforward terms instead of her typically vapid word salad style.
Very cool that you chose to review What's Going On so close in time to your previous review of There's a Riot Goin' On. The two records are bookends.
*Mel Farr superstar for a Farr better deal." Anyone from Detroit remember that commercial? Never knew he was on Marvin's LP.
Lions 🦁 kick a field goal up 24-10 late in the 3rd & they would have played in the super bowl 🏈 ! Campbell got to cute ..
Beautiful review
“What’s Going On” is one reason I call myself The Peace Train!
🎶 C'mon & Ride It ! The Train 🚆 ! 🎶
The most important part of the album is the album’s opener, and the opening sounds like it came from a restaurant.
nice! i like to think that “god is love” PEACE! played a part in it. ups to the andantes for that memorable moment!
That’s Cat Stevens….
Cameron Crowe was going to make a Marvin Gaye biopic with Will Smith, which wouldn’t have worked. It’s too tragic a story and you can’t slap a happy ending on it.
if he picked a specific era of his life to focus on (like 67-73) it could’ve worked. as for his casting choice….not so sure that would’ve worked
He also tried a Phil Spector movie with Tom Cruise, again, can’t slap a happy ending on that one either
I love this album. This was the first soul/R&B album (not counting compilations) that I owned. When this came out it flew under my radar; I was under the influence of Sticky Fingers, Ram, and Tapestry, among others. I love listening to your fresh take on the album. It also reminded me of Pet Sounds (also Tonight's The Night and Layla).
Also: Sgt. Peppers has always been my favorite album but What’s Going On is right up there too! (and Away We A Go-Go! by The Miracles. )
Yeah. It really is the greatest album of all time. Marvin took all the events of that time and encapsulated all his sentiments into a very compelling warning and echoes strong even today. And now... STEVIE WONDER. I'm thinking Songs in the Key of Life.
Gorgeous album!
While he isn't my personal favourite soul artist (Stevie's my #1 for me), I can't even try to deny that this was a monumental record, the story of how the record came to be really intrigued me, as someone who's fascinated with the origins of some of the most industry-shaking records of all time (Spirit of Eden, Kid A, etc.), this one was right up my alley. The instrumentation is gorgeous, the lyrics are powerful, and the production like you mentioned is phenomenal.
It's always pleasantly surprising when you can connect an album to one of your favourite artists. Because I can sort of see a comparison between Gaye and Mark Hollis, they both strived to escape the pigeonholes they'd been trapped in, and they both succeeded, even if What's Going On was a reaction to just Motown in particular, it still did the job.
Yesterday was the five year anniversary of Hollis's passing, his work is one of the reasons I fell back in love with the music world, discovering the material of an artist who's so forward thinking is always a treat, and I miss him dearly. Another reason was discovering this channel
Thanks again for yet another great video :)
It's barrage (neighbor bombardment) time here in Hollywood. I'll watch after midnight when they STFU. I wanted you to know that it was Felix Pappalardi who played glockenspiel on Passing the Time. I'll come back for you and Marvin later. What it is, as they say.
The word `Seminal` comes to my mind. Motown had put a toe or two in the `Social Commentary` Pool with singles such as `Love Child` (Diana Ross & Supremes) and the Temptations records such as `Cloud Nine` `Ball of Confusion` and `Take A Look Around` were very much in that mode. However, it took Marvin Gave to really shine a spotlight re Social Commentary on record. For me, `What`s Going On` is a `Tour-De-Force`.
As much as I love this album, I always felt people gave it credit for milestones Curtis Mayfield did first and better; I also feel Marvin’s masterpiece is the I Want You album
"A tuna casserole where your soul should be"... Clearly you are taking in some great lyrics and their influence on your own ability to use imagery and metaphor is to our benefit 🤗
Count this among your best videos. You really did a fantastic job. I don't know if What's Going On is the best album ever but it is up there, for sure. There is no greatest album only many contenders. I'd offer: Achtung Baby by U2 or Led Zep IV. Will we be seeing a video for Talking Book by Stevie Wonder?
I was struck by how our host here uses the traditional critical form , without being traditionally critical. Although at times , when considering both her words and her eye make up simultaneously, I was struggling with the dichotomy of serious thought and a young woman's east coast avant guarde' eye make up . I enjoyed that she was dressed in something Foxy Brown might wear, I wondered about the costume challenge when I first saw the posting on the menu.
I was especially pleased to see this album up for review, because I was thinking of buying a recent audiophile re-release of the record, because of the famously high level of accomplishment in the work .
I had skipped over this record a million times in the used bins, preferring Curtis mayfield as a solo choice over Gaye, but then I didn't know much about this album, so was pleased to see this record on vinyl Monday. If I do get the record this information will be only more insightful . I dig insight .
Thanks for another great episode. You fearless critiques of "untouchable" great records is appreciated. Glad your are weeding out the Boomers who don't believe in climate change or gender rights. I also came around about ten years ago to the realization that rock music was a white male dominated genre, and now have much broader tastes by putting a moratorium on that bias. PS - thank you for teaching me the proper was to say "reprise".
Abby, you were born fifty years to late. There was so much music during that time that spoke to injustice, this album was brilliant. Love your videos and album reviews. Thank you.
Didn't hear your reaction to the sad passing of Wayne Kramer, I know how much the Five mean to you. They were saying the same things as Marvin, triple the tempo and cranked up to 11.
If she was 50 years older she'd be a hag and you wouldn't want to Simp over her so bad.
an all time great record!
Great review of one of my absolute favourite albums, which I finally got as an LP a few weeks back after decades of CD and streaming .
If you love What's Going On, i highly recommend 2019's Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka, its absolutely glorious and feels (to me at least) like a modern day masterpiece which deserves to be in the same conversation as WGO. This is not necessarily meant as a show suggestion, just a music recommendation for fans of this wonderful album.
i had no idea this album existed, thank you for bringing it to my attention!
@@abigaildevoe You're welcome, hope you enjoy!
Ms. Devoe. Abby. Having met you a summer (or was it two?) ago in Maxfield Parrish's hometown, it pleases me - in that old-Boomer-watched-Vietnam-on-the-TV-CW-through-GWOT-veteran wisdom way - to see how well and evolutionarily your work has progressed! Your encounter and engagement with What's Going On? and Marvin Gaye's depth of humanity is both spot-on and deeply heartening. I too, once upon a time in a previous life, used this song as a hopeful smack in the face to wake up some so-called RELIGIOUS people, live! and from the pulpit. [No more capital R for me, just a good ole animist in the woods like the boy long ago. Jesus, the dude, is just alright with me, though. ;) ] I confess I do feel somewhat as Marvin did years later about the impact of the song, but your contretemps to the despair of old fighters was, again, the heartening part. Your art historical-ness did indeed aid in your deeper spirit grasping and understanding exactly where he was going and why this song in particular should be re-deployed to the streets by your peers. "Don't punish me/with brutality" knocked me flat when I truly heard it again a decade + ago as a mid-lifer. It took me directly back to the Black men I served with in the early-1980s, who said to me: "Lieutenant, we can't teach you everything about being Black in America, but we'll try." Most of them were Vietnam vets, all were veteran-survivors of the ghettos or rural poverty. That's the moment I became a real American. You do humanly get the human depth of Marvin Gaye - made all the more profound by the horrible and definitionally tragic means of his death. You also get his spiritual struggle. He's a musical spiritual saint, like Coltrane. Well done. Carry on.
Oh, and thanks for pointing out how most of the populace still forgets and does shit for veterans, especially the old Vietnam guys right through to the also tragically hurting (the morally wounded) GWOT vets. It's a little better now than 40-50 years ago, but too many Americans don't believe they owe veterans who came home with real problems, especially when those Americans disagreed with their wars or war in general. War is the greatest tragedy; veterans know this, no matter their type of service; I believe we still have somethings worth defending - like your right to say what you want reviewing albums! - from threats that are real abroad and, unfortunately, domestically as well. And, that's another interesting bit of Gaye's story: he tried to serve, in the USAF, as I did. Reading the letter (www.thesmokinggun.com/file/marvin-gaye-no-military-hit) from his squadron commander recommending his General Discharge, I see what I saw in some people along the way in my career: the real artist personality. I specify "real" because a creative genius like Gaye who doesn't yet know he/she is a real artist will in fact seek service to something larger, higher before he/she knows it in the bones. It's a strange, but not unusual phenomenon. Of course, back in the 1950s there was still mandatory service for all able males, but I've seen - and counseled - the young, searching artist in uniform. I'm an artist though not a real one; my personality was too adaptive as a young man. Nevertheless, I am now proud of my 23-yrs service - even if I did get away as much as I could without getting in trouble to paint or write. The thing is: Marvin Gaye's 8-months in uniform proved he was destined for musical profundity, no regulations for him - see, as you point out, how he eventually broke from the mold to become the artist of What's Going On? Yet, the tragedies of his own life, the losses, abuses, griefs, also shadowed him, while the final conflict that killed him was born out of the family horrors of generational violence and religious contradictions, the facts of 'being Black in America,' as the brothers I served with showed and taught me. I too showed up one-day late for my first tour of active duty, as Gaye did. I guess the difference was that my orders were wrong; I showed up the day printed on those orders. (It's a telling story, opening my own strange career.) To be sure, I don't doubt that Gaye's race factored into how he was perceived in uniform b/c the Air Force was very, VERY white back then and it was only nine years after military desegregation, but I'll posit again that what those officers and NCOs saw that got him booted out was the real self inside him, the musical genius artist, beginning to stir. The genuine artist must NOT conform.
Week 1 of asking a review for Fun House by the Stooges
Always reminded me of a sonar in a submarine...pop pop pop...grew up on Motown.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” (Yeah, the J-man had the modern evangelicals in his sites.)
"Theme Album" should be a thing.
Since you mention it (at around the eighteen minute mark), no -- I don't think What's Going On could get made today. Sure, something LIKE it could get made, but digital production values and 21st century styling would keep it from sounding like this. What's Going On? is as timeless as it is of its moment.
For what it's worth, if you're looking for a more homespun answer to There's A Riot Goin' On and What's Going On, check out Cody ChesnuTT's The Headphone Masterpiece - originally released in 2002, first released on vinyl in 2004.
And thanks for learning how to pronounce segue.
Proudly Made In Detroit 😎 !
Top FIVE would be: 1) The Beatles' (White Album) 2) Pet Sounds (the Beach Boys), 3) Sticky Fingers (The Rolling Stones) 4) THIS album What's Goin' On - Marvin. 5) Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
As a gen x middle class white boy, I agree with 2003 Rolling Stones about What's Going On deserving the title of best album of all time. I don't always agree with Abigail's tastes and opinions, but this is my favorite Abby's Monday ever. I detest hypocrisy, and it's as fitting as ever to call out Amerikkkan values today. If they still can't see how corporations are destroying our environment 60 years after Mercy Mercy Me and don't see the racial apartheid for what it is, f em.
I'm also a spiritual believer but not religious and I noticed Abby picked up on the same lyrical bits like Save the Babies, and Taxes, that took me briefly out of the flow, and those percussion in horns dragging me back!
The only comment I didn't understand is how this isn't a concept album, because it doesn't have a central character? I grew up hearing that Sgt Peppers is a concept album, which is a much bigger stretch. I also heard someone say Dark Side of the Moon isn't a concept album, so I can only conclude there are no concept albums. What's Going On qualifies for me with it's lyrical and musical continuity. My only complaint is it goes by so quickly at 35 minutes.
Hi Abby, do you have plans to do VM on Deep Purple? Or Iron Butterfly? Or Steely Dan? I'd love to see any and all of them! Great videos! ❤
Am not "woke." Was never asleep.
Abby, love this channel! Big record guy myself. Please do Elton Johns' 1970 Tumbleweed Connection. (If you have ...then never mind) It is number 458 on RS top 500. It has a country/Americana feel to it and is a great Headphone LP. Thank you and keep up the reviews!
OMG!!! You would have been the perfect airline stewardess in the 70’s and 80’s!
Probably this one. Incidentally, we have the same “release date.” Check out Ben Edmond’s book about the making and context of the record. Keep up the good work, Abby. Riot, BOG, and this are records I couldn’t live without. What’s next, Talking Book, or Donny Hathaway Live? Hint, hint.😁
I went to concerts in the Big D....and was the only white guy there....been to all the concert halls......the motown acts used to stop in my town to get food and gas up....in high school I was at Mcdonalds on lunch hr...and one of my friends came in and said Isaac Hays was over at the marathon station....we went over and sure enuff there he was..in his full length fur coat....and pimp hat.....custom diamonte car...he autographed my notbook.....great time and place to grow up.