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Marvin Gaye What’s Going On, Deluxe Edition Out Friday

The Weeknd Dawn FM

Out Friday (CD & LP) Out now (streaming)

At Christmas, an 18-year-old I know popped up on Instagram, posting about his favourite present. 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. In 2020 he was No 1.

Now What’s Going On is about to return in an expanded edition, marking its 50th birthday, which actually came along last May. 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. Soul was never more searching. But you can fall for it without sharing its world view, because the magic lies in the music.

Gaye, who was dealing with personal grief as well as political dismay, turned his pain into exquisite pleasure. He took the easy swing of Motown, the horns and strings and hedonism, and added depth. 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. Its finale, Inner City Blues, has prompted 51 covers and 99 samples.

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 new album Dawn FM, rush-released online two weeks ago, knocked Ed Sheeran off the No1 spot.

The Weeknd’s sound is 1980s synth-pop with added soul. The singing is good, the production super-smooth, but the songs are often middling. 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.

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2022-01-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/283008288151004

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