Is What's Going On good?

Riffiter listeners rate What's Going On 4.7/5 from 17 ratings.

What is the highest-rated track on What's Going On?

What's Going On, rated 5.0/5 by 1 listener on Riffiter.

When was What's Going On released?

What's Going On was released in 1971 on UNI/MOTOWN.

How many tracks are on What's Going On?

What's Going On has 9 tracks, with a runtime of 35 minutes.

What genre is What's Going On?

What's Going On is catalogued under Soul, R&B, Motown.

What BPM is What's Going On?

What's Going On runs at a median tempo of 102 BPM across its tracks, most often in C major, measured from audio analysis.

What albums are similar to What's Going On?

Listeners of What's Going On also rate Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, Easy (with Tammi Terrell) by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Innervisions by Stevie Wonder.

Who produced What's Going On?

Marvin Gaye produced 7 of the 9 tracks on What's Going On.

Who wrote the songs on What's Going On?

What's Going On was written by Marvin Gaye, Al Cleveland, James Nyx and Renaldo Benson. Marvin Gaye wrote 2 of them.

Album · 1971

What's Going On

by Marvin Gaye

What's Going On is a 1971 soul album by Marvin Gaye. It runs 9 tracks across 35 minutes on UNI/MOTOWN. Riffiter listeners rate it 4.7/5 from 17 ratings.

prod.

Marvin Gaye 12connections

Soul · R&B · Motown

Best albums of 1971→

#1 in Best albums of 1971 · #1 in Best soul albums

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4.7 /5
17 ratings: 92 /100
10 critics: 9
Tracks: 35 min
Runtime: 102 bpm
Tempo: C major
Key

Ratings

17 ratings · avg 4.7

0.5★5★

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Critics

10 publications

Scores collected from the English Wikipedia ratings box (CC BY-SA). Ratings belong to the publications; follow a link to read the review.

What's Going On album cover

The What's Going On cover was photographed by Hendin and The Gaye And Gordy Family Archives, illustrated by Tom Schlesinger, and art-directed by Curtis McNair.

Photography: Hendin, The Gaye And Gordy Family Archives
Illustration: Tom Schlesinger
Art direction: Curtis McNair

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Tracklist

9 tracks · 35 min

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Ranked by listeners

5 rated tracks

According to Riffiter listeners, the best track on What's Going On is What's Going On — rated 5.0/5 by 1 listener.

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About

What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1970 and March–May 1971 at Hitsville U.S.A., Golden World and United Sound Studios in Detroit and at The Sound Factory in West Hollywood, California. The first Marvin Gaye album credited as being produced by the artist himself, What's Going On is a unified concept album consisting of nine songs, most of which lead into the next. It has also been categorized as a song cycle; the album ends on a reprise of the album's opening theme. The album is told from the point of view of a Vietnam War veteran returning to the country he had been fighting for, and seeing nothing but injustice, suffering and hatred.

What's Going On was the first album on which Motown Records' main studio band, the group of session musicians known as the Funk Brothers, received an official credit. The album features introspective lyrics and socially conscious themes of drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War. What's Going On was both an immediate commercial and critical success and has endured as a classic of early-1970s soul. A deluxe edition set of the album was released on February 27, 2001, and featured a rare live concert shot at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center from May 1972. In worldwide critics', artists' and public surveys, it has been voted one of the landmark recordings in pop music history and is considered to be one of the greatest albums ever made. In 2003, the album was ranked number six on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, placing that same position nine years later.

In brief

Is What's Going On good?: Riffiter listeners rate What's Going On 4.7/5 from 17 ratings.
What is the highest-rated track on What's Going On?: What's Going On, rated 5.0/5 by 1 listener on Riffiter.
When was What's Going On released?: What's Going On was released in 1971 on UNI/MOTOWN.
How many tracks are on What's Going On?: What's Going On has 9 tracks, with a runtime of 35 minutes.
What genre is What's Going On?: What's Going On is catalogued under Soul, R&B, Motown.
What BPM is What's Going On?: What's Going On runs at a median tempo of 102 BPM across its tracks, most often in C major, measured from audio analysis.
What albums are similar to What's Going On?: Listeners of What's Going On also rate Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, Easy (with Tammi Terrell) by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Innervisions by Stevie Wonder.
Who produced What's Going On?: Marvin Gaye produced 7 of the 9 tracks on What's Going On.
Who wrote the songs on What's Going On?: What's Going On was written by Marvin Gaye, Al Cleveland, James Nyx and Renaldo Benson. Marvin Gaye wrote 2 of them.