I have to confess, Motown Soul isn’t really my chosen genre, but following the rule that good music is good music, and a rave recommendation from David Hepworth in his 1971 book, I picked this up for pennies in a charity shop not too long ago.
Obviously, I was aware of Gaye as a legend of the genre and remember the reports of his tragic death, but knew little beyond the hits.
So, what’s going on? The title track sets the scene with its titular line asking the question for the whole album, and the unashamedly political theme continues on What’s Happening Brother. Songs segue into one another giving a relaxing listen without diluting the message of love, without any one song making a massive impact, until we get to the sublimely beautiful Mercy Mercy Me.
The whole feel is of a single piece, rather than separate tracks, three strong anthems with about ten minutes of almost incidental (but lovely) small pieces joining first What’s Going On and Mercy Mercy Me, then another similar ten minutes to the climax of Inner City Blues (a song that I was familiar with through Gil Scott Heron’s cover).
4* - it’s a great album and one of the few Motown albums I’ll keep returning to.
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