Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye may never have been given his proper due by Motown during his lifetime (that's his perception), but it would be hard to argue with the way the label has treated his work since that time. This is the third title in Gaye's catalog to appear in Universal's Deluxe Edition series; only the Who have been given similar treatment. (What's Goin' On and Let's Get It On were both issued in 2001.) I Want You, while it was a Top Ten smash for Gaye in 1976, is not as generally well-known as its predecessors for a number of reasons. First, it marked a sharp change in direction, leaving his trademark Motown soul for lush, funky, light disco. Secondly, its subject matter is as close to explicit as pop records got in 1976. Third, Gaye hadn't recorded in nearly three years and critics were onto something else -- exactly what is now anybody's guess. From the amazing Ernie Barnes cover painting "Back to Sugar Shack" to the Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson string and horn arrangements to Leon Ware's exotic production that relied on keyboards as well as drums and basses as rhythm instruments, I Want You was a giant leap for Gaye. The feel of the album was one of late-night parties in basements and small clubs, and the intimacy of the music evokes the image of people getting closer as every hour of a steamy night wears on.

But the most astonishing things about I Want You are its intimacy (it was dedicated to and recorded in front of Gaye's future second wife, Jan), silky elegance, and seamless textures. Gaye worked with producer Leon Ware, who wrote all of the original songs on the album and worked with Gaye to revise them, thus lending Gaye a co-writing credit. The title track is a monster two-step groover with hand percussion playing counterpoint to the strings and horns layered in against a spare electric guitar solo, all before Gaye begins to sing on top of the funky backbeat. It's a party anthem to be sure, and one that evokes the vulnerability that a man in love displays when the object of his affection is in plain sight. Art Stewart's engineering rounds off all the edges and makes Gaye's already sweet crooning instrument into the true grain in the voice of seductive need. "Feel All My Love Inside" and "I Want to Be Where You Are" are anthems to sensuality with strings creeping up under Gaye's voice as the guitars move through a series of chunky changes and drums punctuate his every syllable. In all, the original album is a suite to the bedroom, one in which a man tells his woman all of his sexual aspirations because of his love for her. The entire album has been referenced by everyone from Mary J. Blige to D'Angelo to Chico DeBarge and even Todd Rundgren, who performed the title track live regularly. By the time it is over, the listener should be a blissed-out container of amorous vibes.

The first 11 tracks on disc one comprise the album as it was issued. Tracks 11 through 14 are mixes of the title track and instrumental versions of it and "Strange Love (Feel All My Love Inside)." Disc two features unedited mixes of "Come Live With Me Angel" and "I Wanna Be Where You Are," alternate mixes of "After the Dance" and "Since I Had You," among others, and an a cappella vocal mix of "I Want You," as well as ten other versions, outtakes, backing tracks, and rough mixes. Given the high quality of engineer Fred Ross' basic tracks, it's a captivating listen -- perhaps obsessively so -- for those interested in process or even just alternate takes. As if the music weren't enough, the package, in a stunning foldout presentation, includes a booklet with rare photos, commentaries by Ware, Jan Gaye, and Stewart, among others, with captivating and complete session notes by Richard Torres -- including essays on Barnes' cover painting and Perkinson's string and horn arrangements. I Want You and its companion, Ware's Musical Massage, are the pre-eminent early disco concept albums. They are adult albums about intimacy, sensuality, and commitment, and decades later they still reverberate with class, sincerity, grace, intense focus, and astonishingly good taste. I Want You is as necessary as anything Gaye ever recorded, and is as compelling in the 21st century as when it was first issued. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide