Marvin Gaye

Whats Going On is one of my all-time favorite albums. Even before I knew the back story, I was blown away by the composition and production. But to gain even more respect, one must know the situation the album was born out of. This was a time when albums were created to soothe, not arouse. Songs had to be created for easy accessibility and widespread radio acceptance. Whats Going On was created to make people think and question things, not necessarily radio friendly ideas. To understand the significance a little better, try and imagine if Beyonce after 8 successful albums, decided to put out an album exploring the consequences of Iraq/Afghanistan, the economy, and the environment. Picture her trying to convince the exec's at Sony to release this album and picture her trying convince them to let her have complete control of production. Now picture the ablum being released and being a commercial success. That in a nutshell is what happend with Marvin Gaye Whats Going On? And that is why it stands out to me as one of the best albums of all time.