What's Going On

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On may be the most powerful soul record ever made. On this Deluxe Edition, the original recording is embellished with an alternate Detroit Mix of the album (which is almost equally strong) and a previously unreleased recording of Gaye's live performance at the Kennedy Center in 1972. It also includes brilliant liner notes, song lyrics, and a mini-essay by Smokey Robinson, who calls What's Going On his favorite album of all time. The raw emotionality of the live disc further demonstrates Gaye's commitment to his own sentiments and captures the longing and sadness that permeate the album. Gaye went into uncharted R&B territory on What's Going On: leaving love ballads behind, he explored social commentary from an intimate personal perspective. The world weighed heavy on his heart, and the album brings home the confusion of the Vietnam era, when America the Beautiful began to seem a bit ugly. Armed with only his heart and his voice, Marvin Gaye took on Uncle Sam, and won over the hearts of many Americans.