Prior to the recording of What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye was considered a sex symbol and an American R&B sensation. His work was mainly consisted of strong passionate love ballads with heart-felt lyrics. Now in 1970 a close friend of Marvin’s, Tammi Terrell died as a result of a brain tumor which was an extremely emotional time for him where he insisted that he would no longer record duets with any other female performer nor was he going to perform on stage again since the incident. However June 1st 1970 he returned to Hitsville to record the song “What’s Going On”, which was inspired by Marvin’s brother and his experiences in the Vietnam War. Co-writer Renaldo “Obie” Benson of the Four Tops also played a major role in the input of the song with his own experiences of police brutality against anti-war protesters in San Francisco. However Motown CEO Berry Gordy was not as enthusiastic about releasing the song, afraid that it could interfere with Marvin’s image as a sex symbol, and after many meetings and even some very heated debates between Motown and Marvin, Berry Gordy eventually gave in certain that it would flop. Now one of the main differences between this album and other R&B albums at this time would be its socially standing in society and the viewpoints that were hit on from the lyrics of the album. It was a very risky call for Marvin to make due to the fact that he did not have much support from his label and was pretty much taking a shot out on his own. It was amongst the first soul albums to touch on such social concerns such as environmentalism, political corruption, drug abuse and the war, and was known as the first soul concept album due to the structure of the songs leading into the next. This album left me with an impression that even though socially driven music may not appear popular, its really exactly what people want to hear because it’s the issues that they deal with on a day to day basis and to hear someone else touch and relate on those topics is a sure way to generate a large mass of people behind the cause and that is what this album was for people at that time.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Velvet Underground & Nico Entry
From my opinion the imagery of this album was pretty dark in comparison to the context of the songs and the stories that were depicted through them. With such lyrics bringing to life stories about a mans efforts to obtain heroin and the effects that it has on people and the type of highs that you receive. With at least four songs on the album foreshadowing drugs and the use of them, Im pretty sure that was the direction they were going in. Lou Reed was responsible for writing majority of the albums lyrics and being a fan of poetry, he could easily translate that content over to rock and roll music. Reed always was an English major studying at Syracuse University. Now John Cale was more responsible for the “sound” of the album and really took on a big role with being experimental and trying some new innovative things. He would often tune the guitars down a whole step to produce a lower, fuller sound that he called “sexy”. Although Andy Warhol was credited as the producer for the album, he really did not have much direct input on it besides paying for the recording sessions. However John Cale and Tom Wilson were better known for the acting producers, handling majority of the albums musical arrangements. Far as some characteristics of the album I feel as though it was ahead of its time for when it was released due to its lacking debut success. It was fresh, new, and very experimental and I feel as though sometimes and takes the music industry and its listeners to catch up to the hears of the artists to grasp what was really a great album and what was not. My impression on the album comes with all high regards. I appreciate the realism of its stories and the truth behind the times and era that was depicted.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Pet Sounds Entry
Prior to the Recording of Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys sound was very raw and somewhat ragged but yet spirited with group harmonies, and color beach imagery, helping to spark the California Sound Revolution. Their sound was the California boys dream, filled with ambitions of hot rods, leading up to their song “409” which in-turn kick started the hot rod music craze. Brian Wilson played a major role in the sound of the beach boys due to his original and unorthodox way of bringing a sense of authenticity to his recordings. For example with “409” he decided that he wanted to record the sound of a real car for the demo, so around 2 a.m they placed a tape recorder beside the car’s hood and repeatedly reved the engine to get the sound that he had in his head. Brian’s influence for Pet Sounds was different than all the rest as he wish to only do better and top himself with every recording while trying something fresh. With Pet Sounds a lot of things were done differently. None of the Beach Boys were used in the instrumentation of the album, just soley their vocals and harmonies, with avant-garde string and horn arrangements to unorthodox instruments such as the theremin, bicycle bells, and makeshift percussion instruments. The album also included two instrumental tracks as well which was far left from their original direction. I feel as though Pet Sounds is what good music and being a producer is all about, breaking the mold and setting the foundation for others to follow through creative experimentation and fearless direction. The ability to run with what you hear in your head and have it put to life not just for sales but for your own approval is something I can respect and appreciate as a listener and industry professional.