What’s Going On

I always thought this album was overrated due to how much it leaned into being a snapshot of American (underline that word) history. A lightning bolt caught in a bottle which Americans ate up, and in turn defecated a turd with a sign that says "best album of all time (or close to it". I get the idea of being emotionally invested into something and getting your heart strings tugged into loving something, I'm a victim of that, just look at my top-rated albums, but something that can't even cross the neighbouring borders should not be even put on the same street as the Pantheon of greatest albums of all time, let alone be let inside.

That was me before I heard this album. Nothing too new to me, mind you, I always had that habit of taking revered albums with a spoon full of salt. Most of the time I was right, but on a faithful day sometime last autumn, that all changed. A guy who sells records around the town I'm studying in has a tendency to have a few gold nuggets, be it in wisdom, old musical stories, or in the currency of those aforementioned records. Sometimes it was 70s or 80s Yugoslav rekkerds, sometimes it was All Things Must Pass for 25 bucks, and sometimes it was full of absolute junk that's overpriced to the point of laughter. You never know with this geezer. One of those records was the album you've stumbled upon here, minty first UK press, promotional copy. "How much do you want for it?" "20 bucks." I was on the fence for it. I thought, even if I didn't like it, I could at least triple it on the open market. And just before I could make up my mind, he said: "Take it home and listen to it, if you like it, bring the 20 bucks tomorrow."

I took it home, put it on the platter, and my god was I blown away. I instantly realized why people love it. This is dream soul. Nothing sounds like this beautiful piece of hazy lush soul that doesn't rely on bombastic melodies, and/or piercing sexy vocals, but on sensual sounds and calming instrumentation. Oh, and the whole "American history" thing I yapped at the beginning? Scratch that. My father, who only knows how to say "Hello" and "How do you do", thought this album was one of the most beautiful soul albums he's heard, and he's one of those guys who doesn't even like soul. I consider that a huge stamp of approval.

This is an album with objective "good-ness" to it. Marvin pierces the ears of those who don't want to listen, and the hearts of those who don't want to feel. And even after listening, if you still aren't on the right side of good music, I have no words for you. You are truly lost.

I often think about the fact that he gave me the album on his own personal accord. I could have stolen it and never bring it, or the money back. I think Marvin was smiling on that day from the skies above. Partly because of me being an honest bloke, and partly because his music is finding new audiences from generation to generation

Oh 1971, why do you have to be so wonderful? What a summer it must have been after this beautiful, heartbreaking album dropped! I mean, how does one sing so beautifully about the inevitable destruction of us all? The underpinnings of themes of love hold the whole message together.

An album whose message resonates just as deeply today as it did 55 (!) years ago, when it was first released. What’s Going On is a defining statement - not only Marvin Gaye’s finest work, but one of the greatest albums ever to grace our ears. A healing transmission for our troubled times, created by a troubled artist. And what a towering, life-affirming, love-affirming achievement he gave us. Transcendence. Bliss!

Favorite track(s): What's Going On, What's Happening Brother, Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky), Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology), Right On, Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

Of course it stands up on relisten, but I couldn't help thinking of There's a Riot Goin' On the whole time. Hopefully I see it someday soon.

Heard before
Previous rating: 9/10

I’ve listened to this many times and each time I wish I could love it the way so many people do. The title track and “mercy mercy me” reach those heights, and I think everything else is good.

Llevo toda la vida pensando que este era el de "i said hey what's going on" y resulta que eso son las 4 Non Blondes. El disco es una pasada, cortito pero pasan muchas cosas y está hecho como con mucho gusto. Me recuerda a sonidos que luego usará por ejemplo Prince.

An okay listen for a rainy autumn night. There’s something undeniably fitting about the warm, melancholy atmosphere of What’s Going On when the weather is grey and everything outside feels a little slower. Gaye’s voice is beautiful, and the album’s themes of war, poverty, love, and social unrest give it a weight that still comes through.
It’s thoughtful, soulful, beautifully arranged, and very much a product of its time without feeling completely trapped in it. Just not a personal favorite — although perhaps a rainy autumn evening was exactly the right setting to give it a chance.

_smooth_

Always find this a hard one to connect with despite its legendary status and the talent involved. Maybe it's been parodied too much? Just can't really listen to Save The Children with a straight face.

Even though it’s not my personal favourite, is this objectively the best album of all time? Perfect flow, amazing production. All round groovy. Good album for the background of a party too.
Lyrics occasionally too on the nose? Maybe. But its messaging is sweetened by the amazing music and soulful voice of Marvin. A classic!

At first, I was tempted to write:

Just listen.

But now I’ve decided to write a few lines after all. This concept album from 1971 (!), in which most of the songs flow seamlessly into one another, was revolutionary in the world of soul music. The narrative woven through the songs is told from the perspective of a Vietnam veteran who returns to his homeland, only to encounter hatred, suffering, environmental destruction and injustice. Gaye’s introspective lyrics, the perfectly arranged and produced music, Gaye’s voice – all of this makes "What’s Going On" a timeless (and alarmingly topical) classic of 20th-century music as a whole. If one focuses solely on the sound and the vocal lines, it becomes clear just how profoundly Gaye influenced not only soul music but also pop and rock music of the 1970s and 1980s with this album. Even in the trip-hop of the 1990s, one can recognise unmistakable elements from this music.

This is one of the absolutely greatest albums in music history.

Just listen.

This was fine. Not amazing, not bad, just fine. 2.5/5

I always held this album in high regard, but in retrospect the only songs that are clear 5s are What's Going On, Mercy Me and of course the perfect Inner City Blues. These songs are well placed in the album and are so great they outweigh the meh moments, but not as perfect a project as I once thought. 3.6/5 -> 4/5

4
Flows so well from song to sing, especially in the first half

There are very few albums I would agree are “important” and this is definitely one of them.

Not bad as a bg music

ha gaye

I'll be honest, it was a little depressing listening to this in 2026 when things don't seem much different...
Can't deny the music is great though, even if I don't come back to it much personally.

It’s a 10.

I don’t think it’s the best album of all time, but I can see exactly why some people will preach by it. It’s because it’s damn near impossible to structure an album more perfectly than this. With the tone set from the title track, and Marvin’s clear discomfort at everyone else’s nonchalance towards the state of the world, he sets out to tell us what’s going on, what to be aware of, and tells us exactly what he thinks we need to do to fix it, while lamenting the pain in his own life & showcasing sympathy for other people going through similar struggles. That’s the concept of the album, and Marvin Gaye executes it as perfectly as you can possibly execute it. In the most technical sense, it might be the ‘best’ album ever made.

With the transitions between tracks adding a smooth flow, interweaving themes throughout (“Flyin’ High”, for example, is that Vietnam veteran on the prior using drugs to escape PTSD), & ending on a slight reprise of the opening track, it just creates a seamless energy for Marvin to preach to. He really does preach; so much of this album is centered around his own spiritual beliefs & the strength of his faith in God to plead to people that inclusivity, kindness, love & sympathy are the ultimate saving graces to lift us out of the issues he’s talking about. It has been 55 years since this dropped. I fear that pleading may not have worked, and unfortunately, this is all still going on, in increasingly worse ways than I think he could’ve imagined. Marvin Gaye is probably still rolling in his grave.

He’s also rolling on every single one of these tracks; his vocals are so good that it’s easy to hear them as just another instrument. He’s more sparse here than I would've imagined, lacking some of the slightly hammier & more present energy he’d showcase on “Let’s Get It On”, and instead just chiming in when the flow of the music itself calls for it. It’s not an instrumental album by any means, as he strikes with a precision on each line that makes his voice carry greater weight. It’s just not quite as lyric heavy as I assumed it would be, and frankly, that’s a good thing. This album thrives on the unspoken as much as it does the actual lyrics; Marvin’s pictures are ripe with scenery, and it’s up to the brain to fill out the actual people suffering through these struggles. It’s impossible to not imagine those people.

Overall, I loved it. It definitely lives up to being a landmark of soul music, the pinnacle of Marvin’s career, and as a 55-year-old monument that makes up one of the core pillars defining popular music in the late 20th & 21st century. Without this album & Marvin’s specific push for full creative control, Stevie Wonder wouldn’t have pushed for the same control that led to his stretch of classic albums, including “Talking Book”, “Innervisions”, “Fulfillingness’ First Finale”, & “Songs in the Key of Life”. Without those albums carrying the torch that Marvin Gaye lit as brightly as possible here, it’s impossible to know where the entire art form would be right now. We have Marvin Gaye to thank for it. This could very well be one of the most impactful records ever made, even beyond the scale of soul music. Combine that impact with a musical bliss to it that’s impossible to deny & execution that you can’t possibly improve on, and you end up with a masterclass in how to make an album. It’s a 10.

A timeless classic. Ultimate soul music.