Motown / Pgd
1976
I Want You (Deluxe Edition)
About This Album
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.
Track List

Disc 1 (try track 9)

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Disc 2

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