Marvin Gaye – I Want You (Vinyl)

I Want You, while it a Top Ten smash for Marvin Gayein 1976, is not as generally as well-known as its predecessors for several reasons. First, it marked a sharp change in direction, leaving his trademark Motown soul for lush, funky, breezy 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, in retrospect is anybody’s guess. From the amazingErnie Barnescover painting “Back to Sugar Shack” to theColeridge-Taylor Perkinsonstring and horn arrangements toLeon Ware’sexotic production that relied on keyboards as well as drums and basses as rhythm instruments,I Want Youwas 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 aboutI Want Youare its intimacy (it was dedicated to and recorded in front ofGaye’sfuture second wife, Jan), silky elegance, and seamless textures.Gayeworked with producerLeon Ware, who wrote all of the original songs on the album and worked withGayeto revise them, thus lendingGayea 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 beforeGayebegins 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’sengineering rounds off all the edges and makesGaye’salready 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 underGaye’svoice 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.

Tracklisting

Side One:
I Want You (Vocal)
Come Live With Me Angel
After The Dance (Instrumental)
Feel All My Love Inside

Side Two:
I Want You (Intro Jam)
All The Way Around
Since I Had You
Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again
After The Dance (Vocal)