[Today: Marvin Gaye weighs in on the fine art of making love...]
The best sex – like the best music – goes beyond mere stimulation and grabs for the soul. It becomes a transcendent sensual experience that touches the head, the heart, and yes, the groin, all at once. Marvin Gaye’s 1973 album Let’s Get It On is an epic ode to the spiritual liberation of sex that conveniently doubles as one of the most smoldering mood-setting devices* of all-time.
Gaye was raised in a deeply religious household, and much of his music in the 70′s attempted to philosophically reconcile the sacred with the profane. Gaye was moved by his love of God, but he was even more inspired by earthly temptations, including those of the flesh. Let’s Get It On is overtly about getting it on, but the album celebrates sex as a religious experience. For Gaye, desire was a natural outgrowth of love, and love was a natural outgrowth of God – so hey, let’s ball.
Soul music, of course, has always been headquartered at the intersection of God Avenue and Sex Boulevard. Ray Charles invented soul in the late 50′s, when he fused gospel with R&B, outraging audiences of the day. Sam Cooke and Otis Redding perfected the formula in the 60′s, but no album has ever simmered soul music down to its pure essences like Let’s Get It On. Hearing Marvin Gaye pour a lifetime of desire into the course of 8 songs and 31 minutes is to behold a master at work.
Listen: Let’s Get It On
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*Results may vary.
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“Love, and do what you like.” – St. Augustine
15 February 2008 at 8:05 am |
by the end, getting it on wasn’t really an option for marvin because he couldn’t get it up…too coked up. irony’s a bitch.
25 February 2008 at 4:03 pm |
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that was really funny
His Album “Whats Going On” was my 1st Eye opener to Soul when I was about 16
Great Valentines Day Pick