MARVIN GAYE "WHAT'S GOING ON" FIRST PRESSING 1971 TAMLA TS 310 GATEFOLD LOOK

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MARVIN GAYE "WHAT'S GOING ON" 1971 FIRST PRESSING TAMLA TS 310
MARVIN GAYE "WHAT'S GOING ON" LABEL: TAMLA TS 310 RELEASED: MAY 31, 1971 EDITION: 1971 FIRST PRESSING ~ GATEFOLD RECORD COMPANY: MOTOWN RECORD CORPORATION MASTERING: RCA MID-AMERICA RECORDING, CHICAGO MASTERING: TRACY-VAL (sttlized 'VH' mark in matrix) LACQUERS: DON HOLDEN (stylized interlocking 'dh' in matrix) GATEFOLD WITH LYRICS, CREDITS & 'FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM' INSIDE LINER NOTES: MARVIN GAYE JACKET WITH TS310 CATALOG NUMBER, LABELS w/ T310 CATALOG NUMBER SPINE WITH ORIGINAL "WHAT'S GOIN' ON" TITLE JACKET PHOTO: HENDIN MATRIX (SIDE A):  A4RS-2682-2-D  TS-310 HS1867⪪ S-1 
CONDITION:  VINYL: VG (WEAR BUT PLAYS OK)    JACKET: EX- to EX     INNER SLEEVE: EX (SEE DETAILS ON CONDITION BELOW)
I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection these past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 45 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this rare 1971 First Pressing copy of Marvin Gaye's classic "What's Going On" on the Tamla label.
This is my original copy, purchased back in the early 70's, not long after it's release, that I've taken good care of for many years. See details on Condition below.
A rare, original, complete, gatefold jacket, First Pressing of this classic album.
This 1971 Tamla First Pressing reveals just how deeply layered, dynamic, intense and emotional the music is. The instruments are well separated, Marvin's vocals are crisp & clear, and there's a good sense of space and depth. The overall sound is warm, intimate, vibrant and dynamic.
~~ THE STORY OF "WHAT'S GOING ON"
By the end of the 1960s, Marvin Gaye had fallen into a deep depression. After the death of long-time collaborator Tammi Terrell from a brain tumor, Gaye experienced lots of personal and professional turmoil. He had a growing dependency on cocaine, troubles with the IRS, and his marriage to Anna Gordy was on the rocks.
He was also having conflict and struggles with his label, Motown Records and it's Boss, his father-in-law, Berry Gordy. He withdrew from performing, hung out, grew a beard, and mostly stayed secluded in his home.
He got back in touch with his spirituality and started listening to Classical music. He considered leaving music behind, and got interested in sports, befriending several local Detroit professional athletes, some of whom perform on this album.
Interacting more with his local community, he started exploring more political and social themes in his thoughts and music.
Marvin was sick of being a Motown 'pretty boy,' singing sappy songs about love and girls, when his city was crumbling around him. He claimed that he "felt like a puppet - Berry's puppet, I had a mind of my own and I wasn't using it."
With War, protests, urban blight, and riots all around, Marvin had a tough time writing and singing traditional Motown love songs. He was fed up with what he was seeing happening in his community, and in his personal life, and couldn't take it anymore. He had to let the world know what was really happening, and what better way then through his music!
While travelling on tour with the Four Tops in 1969, they witnessed violence and police brutality at the protests in Berkeley and questioned 'what was going on, what is happening here?' 
Motown songwriter Al Cleveland wrote and composed the song 'What's Going On' based on what the Tops witnessed and talked about, but they turned it down as too dark and too political. Motown records were never political before this album.
Cleveland played the song for Marvin and had to convince him it would be good for him to cover, but Gaye wasn't feeling it. Not yet.
During this time, Marvin was exchanging letters with his Brother, who just got home from Viet Nam, and his brother was commenting on the socio-cultural changes he was also seeing and experiencing.
Gaye added some of those experiences to the song, including some Viet nam and Inner City references, personalizing it. Gaye told his brother: "I didn't know how to fight before, but now I think I do...I can do it with music."
In early June 1970, Gaye entered Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studios to record his reworked version of "What's Going On." At that point it was just a single, not an album concept.
It was created and recorded with a very different approach than Motown was used to. Marvin didn't use the normal 'House Band', instead bringing in his own musicians and selecting only certain House musicians that he personally wanted to work with.
The laid-back sessions made heavy use of marijuana and scotch, but it created the perfect sound and feel Marvin wanted.
The sax intro to the song, unusual for Motown, happened almost by mistake, being played while warming up, but Marvin felt it fit perfectly. and kept it. Motown bassist James Jamerson was reportedly so drunk, that he performed lying on the floor, which created just the right sound Marvin wanted.
Marvin cut several different lead vocal tracks for 'What's Going On' and instead of choosing one, the engineers accidently combined them, an effect Marvin loved. They kept the mult-layered vocal effect for the song, and eventually for the whole album.
When the Single was done, he presented it to Berry Gordy who famously hated it. Gordy thought it was career suicide to release a dark political song. The song had deep lyrics, a jazz feel, and an overall feeling that wasn't upbeat and hip. Motown was used to releasing upbeat, danceable, pop hits.
Marvin refused to let the song go, and went on to making other music that would later be released on "Let's Get it On." Then, with the help of friends at Mowtown, Marvin got the song released without Gordy's knowledge or approval.
The title track was released in January 1971, several months before the album.  It was an instant hit. It was Motown's fastest-selling single at the time, peaking at number 1.
Gordy was stunned and told Gaye that he wanted a full album, quickly, to follow up the single's success. Gordy gave complete control over to Marvin, as long as he made the album quickly, while the single was hot.
Marvin returned to Hitsville and made the rest of the album in just 10 days. Overdubs and strings were added, and by the end of March 1971, the "Detroit Mix" of the album was ready to go.
The 'powers' at Motown didn't like the way the album flowed from one song to the next, fearing there would be no singles on it to release. Gordy wasn't impressed with the album either, so Marvin went to The Sound Factory in Hollywood to tighten the album up and do some more overdubs. He left the album's 'flow' intact.
In May, 1971, Marvin released the full album, just the way it was, the way he wanted.
The narrative is told from the point of view of a disillusioned Detroit native and his brother, a Vietnam vet returning home to witness hatred, suffering, and injustice in his home city. 
Gaye's introspective lyrics explore themes of hatred, drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War. He also promoted awareness of ecological issues, which was a new concept at the time.
The title track, "What's Going On,"  has multi-tracked soulful, passionate vocals, all sung by Marvin, and a strong gospel, jazzy feel. It has strings and other classical instrumental flourishes, all things Marvin was listening to, and all very non-Motown. But it works.
'What's Going On' was a bleak, realistic look at what was happening in the African American community at the time, but it also sounded hopeful, sympathetic and human. A theme that permeated the whole album.
The title track flows right into "What's Happening Brother", a song about Gaye's brother and his disillusionment with being a Vet returning home to a 'foreign' country.
"Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)", was about Heroin addiction, which was ravishing the inner cities.
"Save the Children" was an emotional plea to help disadvantaged children, with Marvin singing "who really cares/who's willing to try/to save a world/that is destined to die?"
A short song "God Is Love" follows, offering some hope and help.
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is next. It's an emotional plea to save the planet, something that nobody else was really singing about at the time. especially not in the R&B world.
"Right On" was a lengthy jam influenced by funk rock and Latin soul rhythms. It features flutes, congas and odd percussion. It was about Marvin's inner soul at the time, which was split between social protest, drugs and God. He sings "true love can conquer hate every time"
"God is Love"/"Wholy Holy" is a soulful, emotional gospel plea for people to 'come together'' and find Love as salvation to their troubles.
The last track on the album, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", focuses on the urban issues and poverty that Marvin saw as an issue keeping people trapped in their destitute lives.
The whole album was created as a concept album, with the songs repeating common themes, giving the whole album a tight cohesive feel. Something very different for contemporary soul R&B music at the time, which was focused on singles and hits. The 'Absolute Sound' described the album as "a brilliant psychedelic soul song-cycle".
The album had a very different feel than anything else coming out of Motown. It was like a long jazz suite, with strings and unusual percussion. Like a story, more than an album.
Marvin Gaye purposely wanted the album to have each track flowing into the next. He wanted to issue a record with a flow, a vision, and a message, not just a collection of songs. It's about war, social inequality and the destruction of our planet. He wanted it to move you, make you feel deeply sad, concerned, worried, but also happy and hopeful, all at the same time.
He wanted the listener to stop all the hate and the madness, to wake up to reality, take care of the world and of each other. His message is strong and powerful.
"What's Going On" was made to make people feel good, and THINK about the world and their lives.
The final version of the album was released on May 21, 1971, and made the charts, where it stayed for over a year. It was Motown's best-selling album to date. The title track hit #1 on multiple charts.
The follow-up singles, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", also both hit #1 on the R&B charts.
The critics praised Gaye's thematic approach towards social and political concerns. Chicago Tribune reviewer Greg Kot described the album as "soul music's first 'art' album."
The album was an immediate commercial and critical success, and came to be viewed by music historians as a classic of 1970s soul and one of the best albums ever made. 
Many fans and critics regard 'What's Going On' as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Today, the album is recognized as an important masterpiece of popular music. BBC Music's David Katz described the album as "one of the greatest albums of all time, and nothing short of a masterpiece" 
In 1985, British music weekly NME voted it best album of all time. Since then it has been called "Greatest Album of the 20th Century" and topped Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums list, beating out The Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and many others.
A remastered deluxe edition with 28 additional tracks was released in 2011, to similar acclaim. 
This is an original 1971 First Pressing of Marvin Gaye's classic album.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What's Going On" unquestionably ranks not only as one of Marvin Gaye's best works, but as one of the best albums of all time. A masterpiece. Amazing and Ageless. An essential, remarkable album, that should be in every serious music collector's vinyl archive.
Here's your chance to get a nice, complete, original First Pressing on Tamla from 1971. Original pressings are rare and don't turn up for sale very often.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
I purchased this copy back in the early 70's, 50 years ago, in Greenwich Village, on one of my regular vinyl digs in those days, and have taken good care of it since.
VINYL: Back when I purchased this album, I was a young teen and didn't take the best care of my records as I do now. The vinyl on this copy has lots of light scratches, hairlines, surface wear and evidence of play. No deep, palpable scratches, but lots of surface stuff.
I played this several time before listing it to make sure. It has some pops and clicks, but no skips and it tracks thru and still sounds great.
I guess I'll call it VG, meaning a little rough, but it's not horrible and does play.
The Deadwax has all the 1971 First Pressing indicators as listed above. 
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how it looks. Not perfect, a little beat up, but it plays and sounds decent. I thought someone out there would like an original first pressing, despite it's flaws.
I haven't messed with it or cleaned it, other than my trusty 1970s 'DiscWasher' brush, since Nixon was President. It could use a good deep cleaning to make it even better looking and better sounding. 
LABELS: This is pressed with the 'classic' Yellow and Brown Tamla labels. The labels are still clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing, despite how the vinyl looks.
This first pressing has the black text on brown and yellow labels, with "A Product Of Motown Record Corp." printed in brown at bottom, and 'Produced by Marvin Gaye' on two lines instead of one. It has the early catalog number T310 and is dated 1971.
JACKET: As you can see from my pictures, this still looks fantastic for a 50 year old OG copy.  Bright, clean and crisp. The classic pictures of Marvin, in the bleak, cold, Detroit sleet, on the front and back look great.
Usually these jackets show significant cover wear and ringwear, but this copy looks great. Clean and bright. A nice survivor.
The corners are sharp, seams fine, spine is straight. This First Pressing has the title on the spine as "What's Goin' On" which was corrected on later pressings.
This is the First Press Gatefold version with the front cover that overlaps the back by 1/4" or so, making it very easy to open the gatefold.
The inner gatefold is clean and bright. Center seam is fine. This has all the lyrics, the musician information, Marvin's notes and the 'Family Picture Album.'
Marvin felt it was important to name the individual musicians who helped create this album. Usually on Motown records they were anonymous, or just lumped under the "Funk Brothers" name, but Marvin lists them and thanks them all by name on the inside of the gatefold Jacket
This comes with the original 2-sided red Motown inner sleeve with other Motown albums on one side and the Motown fan club info on the flip. It's dated 1970. This original inner sleeve is hard to find and is often missing, as most didn't survive.
Overall, I'll call the whole record VG+, due to the fantastic jacket.
This record has been sleeved and stored properly for decades, so the jacket looks fantastic. It would be a great upgrade.
This copy is all original, and a real gem. I'm sure you'll love it, but note that the vinyl is slightly beat up, but plays.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,400 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN