MARVIN GAYE Whats Going On-MOST PERFECT EXPRESSION OF ARTISTS HOPE ANGER CONCERN

A MINT MINUS LP ON TAMLA T310

FROM 1971 WITH GATEFOLD COVER

PRODUCED BY MARVIN GAYE

WITH JOHNNY GRIFFITH ON CELESTE

WITH THE ORIGINAL MOTOWN FAN CLUB INNER SLEEVE AS SHOWN

TRACKS AS SHOWN ON THE LABEL PHOTOS

BACKGROUND INFO FROM ALLMUSIC.COM WEBSITE:
What's Going On is not only Marvin Gaye's masterpiece, it's the most important and passionate record to come out of soul music, delivered by one of its finest voices, a man finally free to speak his mind and so move from R&B sex symbol to true recording artist. With What's Going On, Gaye meditated on what had happened to the American dream of the past -- as it related to urban decay, environmental woes, military turbulence, police brutality, unemployment, and poverty. These feelings had been bubbling up between 1967 and 1970, during which he felt increasingly caged by Motown's behind-the-times hit machine and restrained from expressing himself seriously through his music. Finally, late in 1970, Gaye decided to record a song that the Four Tops' Obie Benson had brought him, "What's Going On." When Berry Gordy decided not to issue the single, deeming it uncommercial, Gaye refused to record any more material until he relented. Confirmed by its tremendous commercial success in January 1971, he recorded the rest of the album over ten days in March, and Motown released it in late May. Besides cementing Marvin Gaye as one of the most important artists in pop music, What's Going On was far and away the best full-length to issue from the singles-dominated Motown factory, and arguably the best soul album of all time.
Conceived as a statement from the viewpoint of a Vietnam veteran (Gaye's brother Frankie had returned from a three-year hitch in 1967), What's Going On isn't just the question of a baffled soldier returning home to a strange place, but a promise that listeners would be informed by what they heard (that missing question mark in the title certainly wasn't a typo). Instead of releasing listeners from their troubles, as so many of his singles had in the past, Gaye used the album to reflect on the climate of the early '70s, rife with civil unrest, drug abuse, abandoned children, and the spectre of riots in the near past. Alternately depressed and hopeful, angry and jubilant, Gaye saved the most sublime, deeply inspired performances of his career for "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," and "Save the Children." The songs and performances, however, furnished only half of a revolution; little could've been accomplished with the Motown sound of previous Marvin Gaye hits like "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" and "Hitch Hike" or even "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." What's Going On, as he conceived and produced it, was like no other record heard before it: languid, dark, and jazzy, a series of relaxed grooves with a heavy bottom, filled by thick basslines along with bongos, conga, and other percussion. Fortunately, this aesthetic fit in perfectly with the style of longtime Motown session men like bassist James Jamerson and guitarist Joe Messina. When the Funk Brothers were, for once, allowed the opportunity to work in relaxed, open proceedings, they produced the best work of their careers (and indeed, they recognized its importance before any of the Motown executives). Bob Babbitt's playing on "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" functions as the low-end foundation but also its melodic hook, while an improvisatory jam by Eli Fountain on alto sax furnished the album's opening flourish. (Much credit goes to Gaye himself for seizing on these often tossed-off lines as precious; indeed, he spent more time down in the Snakepit than he did in the control room.) Just as he'd hoped it would be, What's Going On was Marvin Gaye's masterwork, the most perfect expression of an artist's hope, anger, and concern ever recorded.

GATEFOLD COVER IN NEAR FINE CONDITION, SINCE IT WAS STORED IN PLASTIC SLEEVE SINCE PURCHASE. EDGES AND CORNERS ARE CLEAN AND SHARP WITHOUT WEAR. A FINE WHITE LINE DOWN THE FRONT SLEEVE EDGE. NOTWITHSTANDING, A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, SO PLEASE DO LOOK AT THE COVER PHOTOS TO ASCERTAIN COVER CONDITION.

VIRGIN SPINDLE HOLE. THE HIGH LUSTER VINYL BLANK AT FIRST GLANCE OUT OF THE SLEEVE APPEARS UNUSUALLY PRISTINE AND TO HAVE NOT BEEN PLAYED, MUCH LESS TOUCHED, BEFORE NOW. UNDER BRIGHT ANGLED LIGHT AND ASSIDUOUS EXAMINATION A FEW LIGHT SURFACE RUB MARKS AND OR PAPER SLEEVE STORAGE IMPRESSIONS.

ONE OF THE CLEANEST PRESSINGS AND COVER OF THIS ALBUM THAT WE HAVE EVER SEEN

FROM A NOTED JAZZ REVIEWER'S PRIVATE COLLECTION
RARELY SEEN LP WHICH NOW FETCHES 100 PLUS WHEN SEEING THE LIGHT OF DAY

⁂PLEASE NOTE THE VINYL DESCRIPTION IS ONLY A VISUAL INSPECTION UNLESS OTHERWISE MENTIONED. HERE IS A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUR GRADING SYSTEM AND SUPERSEDES ANY OTHER GRADING SYSTEM, INCLUDING GOLDMINE: ALL RECORDS ARE VISUALLY GRADED AND THE RED GRADE ABOVE REFERS ONLY TO THE APPEARANCE OF THE VINYL BLANK. COVER CONDITION IS NOTED SEPARATELY. ANYTHING BESIDES MINT OR MINT MINUS IS USUALLY TEST PLAYED AND THE RESULTS ARE FOUND IN THE LISTING. MINT INDICATES PRISTINE VINYL WITHOUT ANY MARKS ON THE VINYL BLANK. MINT MINUS MAY CONTAIN A FEW VERY LIGHT SURFACE RUB MARKS FROM HANDLING & SLEEVE WEAR OR A FEW PLAYS. IF YOU ARE A REAL VINYL AFICIONADO AND COLLECTOR YOU'LL KNOW THAT EVEN A FACTORY SEALED LP OCCASIONALLY HAS SOME LIGHT RUB OR SLEEVE MARKS FROM TRANSPORT AND SHELVING. ANYTHING IN THE VG CATEGORY WOULD CONTAIN SOME LIGHT AND FINE SURFACE PLAY LINES AND EVIDENCE OF PLAY WEAR THAT IS EASILY SEEN. SELDOM IS ANYTHING OFFERED IN THE "G" STATE.
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