Man, it's been too long. I forgot how good early Motown is. I had been saturated with Motown for years so, while I enjoyed hearing it, I kinda of eased up and didn't actively seek out any more. Worse though, I have all three of these records and I can't tell you the last time I dug them out. I'm an idiot.
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We've all learned of songs from covers and most of us have gone on back to hear the originals. Everybody has made a mix tape (or playlist) consisting of all covers. What I like to do is make mixes of originals of songs that I first heard as covers. But you can't mix the covers in, it ruins it. Because if it's all originals of songs you first heard as covers, there's something a little off. It's like reliving an alternate version of your life. Or something like that.
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When is it an apt time for Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On"? Now. Always. For the past five decades it's never lost it's relevance and never sounded dated. The LP really is a masterpiece. Sound wise is is a huge step up from the feel good Motown pop factory, and it was socially concious. Motown owner Berry Gordy didn't like it a bit. Released almost behind his back, when it became a hit Gordy asked for an LP within 30 days. Gaye did in ten.
There are a lot of ingredients in the song, how it was written, why it was right for Gaye, the initial rejection by Gordy, the accidents kept and adopted, the weed and liquor that made the sessions more leisurely. James Jamerson, the bassist, showed up so liquored he was unable to sit on a stool, so he played laying on the floor. That said, the weed vibe is dominant. This is one of those songs, and LPs, that it really is worth learning more about. The talk by DJ/filmmaker Don Letts goes into detail and there's more on the Wiki page.
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There was a Motown 60th anniversary special on last night. I don't normally watch that sort of thing because they're usually just corny fluff. What the hell, I let it roll. I gotta say, in the short amount of time I was watching there were moments. John Legend did Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and it was very faithful to the original, same arrangement, full band with all accoutrements and so on. Then I realized that it was a timely choice being the eve of Earth Day. Okay, so today's Earth Day. A no brainer is in order.
Gaye's original is down there along with an oddball cover I came across by Eddie Vedder with the backing of the Strokes and it's actually a decent take. A few other things down there because what the fuck. "What's Going On" is godhead.
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Fuck, I'm not even going to try tonight. I got as far as the first song of a Motown podcast and it was off to the races. Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On", I hadn't heard it in at least a year. It's so smooth. If you're familiar with the original, check the demo, Still does the trick. More so in my book.
Man, what a loss. Shot dead by his dad. How fucked up is that? And judging by "Sexual Healing", released two years before his death in 1982, he still very much had it. Guns.
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Not messing around tonight. I was going to post the first song picked at random that was what I considered a really good record. The Slit's cover of "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" fit the bill. I've heard all four of the versions below many times, and the Slits is far and away my favorite, though technically it's probably, no, certainly the worst. But I identify with it, like many of you who know it, because if you are of a certain age, the Slit's version came out during a crucial period in your life. And if you can't identify a good song with an episode, what good is it?
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Two things hit me when I hear the Marvin Gaye songs below. One is an association; I'm riding my cheap Huffy copy of a Schwinn String Ray around the neighborhood, without a care in the world. No time tables or schedules to worry about, other than what time dinner was, and making sure I got up in time for my paper route. Ahead of me, probably an after dinner game of kick the can, and after that, life.
What hits me now, as an adult with a bit more music listening under my belt (and with far better means of hearing it), is how really great these are. The lyrics, the production, the instrumentation, the pace, and that voice. These are perfect songs, stone cold classics. They give me goosebumps, still, now more than ever. As my friend the Swami would say "I dig them the most."
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