Marvin Gaye
The Deluxe Edition: What’s Happening On Friday
Rating: 
The Weeknd
Dawn FM Out Friday (CD & LP) out now (streaming)
Rating: 
A Christmas 18 year old I knew posted his most favorite present to Instagram. It wasn’t a gizmo, it was an LP by Marvin Gaye, the soul singer who died about 20 years before that young man was born.
On the global stockmarket of pop, Gaye’s share price is still rising. In 2003, when Rolling Stone magazine listed the 500 greatest albums of all time, he was at No 6 with What’s Going On. His No. 1 spot was in 2020.
Act Now What’s Going On is about to return in an expanded edition, marking its 50th birthday, which actually came along last May.
Marvin Gaye (above), who was dealing with personal grief as well as political dismay, turned his pain into exquisite pleasure in What’s happening?
There’s an extra disc of alternative mixes, but the real draw is the original album, now remastered and issued on heavyweight vinyl.
What’s Going On has a fabulous title, a question that never goes away. It has themes – police brutality, environmental degradation – that are all too relevant now.
The soul was always searching. You can still fall in love with it, even if you don’t share its worldview. The magic is found in music.
Gaye, who had to deal with political and personal griefs, transformed his suffering into extraordinary pleasure.
The easy-swinging Motown sound, along with the strings, horns, and hedonism, was given depth by Gaye. Every track can be enjoyed on different levels, from Gaye’s vocals, silky yet steely, to James Jamerson’s sinuous basslines.
What’s Going On touches today’s teenagers because it inspires their heroes. The album’s final, Inner City Blues has inspired 51 covers and 99 sample tracks. And among those influenced by Gaye’s singing is the man of the moment, The Weeknd.
This Canadian musician became a star in 2020 when Blinding Lights was Britain’s biggest hit of the year. His latest album Dawn FMTwo weeks ago, a rush release online of ‘” was made and went right in at No1.
The Weeknd’s sound is 1980s synth-pop with added soul. While the songwriting is great, the vocals are not as strong, although the production is very smooth.
Dawn FM feels like 1980s music for people who weren’t there at the time. If I’d been reviewing it for Smash Hits I would have said it was better than A Flock Of Seagulls, but not a patch on Eurythmics.