Marvin Gaye Going on Sacd

Marvin Gaye’s "What's Going On" was a landmark recording and is considered one of the greatest albums ever made. Rolling Stone named it Album Of The Year when it came out and, in 2003, it was ranked number 6, the highest for a non-rock album, in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has obtained the master tapes of this landmark album and for the first time What’s Going On has been released on the Super Audio CD.

Let's Get It On is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was originally released on August 28, 1973 by the Motown Records subsidiary label Tamla. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles. Serving as Gaye's first venture into the funk genre and romance-themed music, Let's Get It On incorporates smooth soul, doo-wop, and quiet storm. It has been noted by critics for its sexually suggestive lyrics, and was cited by one writer as "one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded".

Rock-solid work from One For All, easily one of the greatest straight jazz combos going, thanks to some tremendous tenor work from Eric Alexander, sweet piano work from David Hazeltine, and snapping rhythms from drummer Joe Farnsworth. The sextet also features Jim Rotondi on trumpet, Steve Davis on trombone, and John Webber on bass, all working here at the height of their powers, and also coming across with a bit more sharpness and soul than even other recent sessions on the Venus label. Arrangements are by all members of the group; the tunes are long and roll out beautifully with a solidly soulful feel — no surprise, given that most of them are covers of classic soul tunes from the '70s.

Rory Gallagher is the man who, without question, spearheaded the entire Irish Rock and Blues movement. More than that, he has had a significant influence on scores of musicians everywhere and has legions of loyal fans around the world to this day, despite his untimely death on June 14th, 1995.

More Stuff is the title of the second full-length studio release by the group Stuff. It was released in 1977, a year after their debut, on Warner Bros. Records. For the recordings, the group teamed up with Charles Kipps and Van McCoy, who by then had a disco hit with a song called "The Hustle". The band also covers the Stevie Wonder song "As", which appeared on his Songs in the Key of Life disc from the same year. More Stuff, like its predecessor, attained gold status in the U.S.

There's a Riot Goin' On is the fifth studio album by American band Sly and the Family Stone. The album was recorded during 1970 and 1971 at Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, with sessions dominated by band frontman Sly Stone during a period of drug use and intra-group tension. There's a Riot Goin' On embraced a darker and more challenging sound than the optimistic style of the group's previous records, making use of hard funk rhythms, primitive drum machines, extensive overdubbing, and unconventional mixing techniques. The album's planned title was Africa Talks to You, but it was retitled in response to Marvin Gaye's album What's Going On, released six months before.

One year later, McDonald again delves into the Motown bag to come up with another 14 selections from such giants as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson. McDonald is a distinctive enough vocalist to bring something to these classics, as tough as that task is. Unfortunately, the uninspired production and stilted musicianship keeps the likes of "I Was Made to Love Her," "Tracks of My Tears," and Nowhere to Run" from being anything more than dubious offerings to McDonald partisans. Motown became a hit factory as much on the strength of its foot soldiers as it did its commanding stars, but producer Simon Cline employs thin and lethargic backing tracks where some of the most inspired pop playing in history once stood. Return to the Motown source to hear inspired pop soul music.

The compilation Big Guns: The Very Best of Rory Gallagher is one of the ways assembling a retrospective should be done. This set offers a portrait of a true guitar hero and songwriter, one whose flash never outweighed his substance, one whose work is so utterly and dazzlingly fresh it not only stands the test of time, but transcends it.