Marvin Gaye - What's Going On: Rated

MARVIN GAYE - WHAT'S GOING ON (1971): 9/10

Rolling Stone Magazine has named this the greatest album of all time, among 500 different bodies of work. Let's see if I agree.

What a great album. Fantastic message. Extremely good production, even by today’s standards. Not to mention Marvin Gaye's incredible vocal skill and warm timbre. I’m obsessed. 

Concept albums are not very common, and to find one that tells the story of the Vietnam War in such a great manner is amazing. This cyclical piece of music also spews each of its songs into the next - I had quite some trouble figuring out where one track ends and the other begins. 

I don't know if this had been done before, in soul or in music in general, I don't know if The Floyd or perhaps others have beat Gaye to it, but as it stands, this idea works absolutely brilliantly on this album. 

I have to admit that it lost me in the middle there for a couple of tracks, but the entry and the coda, along with the concept, was absolutely brilliant. 

However, do I agree that it’s the greatest album of all time? hmm…