During his childhood, Gaye had been physically abused by his preacher father Marvin Gay Sr., who disciplined his son under extremely moralistic and fundamentalist Christian teachings. As a result, the meaning and practice of sex had later become a disturbing question for Gaye. As an adult, he suffered from impotence and became plagued by sadomasochistic fantasies, which haunted him in his dreams and provoked intense feelings of guilt.
In the album's liner notes, Gaye explained his views on the themes of sex and love, stating "I can't see anything wrong with sex between consenting anybodies. I think we make far too much of it. After all, one's genitals are just one important part of the magnificent human body ... I contend that SEX IS SEX and LOVE IS LOVE. When combined, they work well together, if two people are of about the same mind. But they are really two discrete needs and should be treated as such. Time and space will not permit me to expound further, especially in the area of the psyche. I don't believe in overly moralistic philosophies. Have your sex, it can be exciting, if you're lucky. I hope the music that I present here makes you lucky."
Recording
thumb|Gaye during the album's recording at [[Hitsville West in Los Angeles, 1973]]
Gaye proceeded to record some more politically conscious material at the Golden World Records studio, known as Motown's Studio B, as well as the preliminary vocals and instrumentation for some of the material to be featured on Let's Get It On.
The album's first recording, "Let's Get It On", was composed by Gaye with friend and former Motown label mate Ed Townsend. Gaye and Townsend rewrote the song's lyrics together with the original arrangements and musical accompaniment of the demo intact. The lyrics were inspired by Janis Hunter, whom Gaye had become infatuated with after meeting each other through Ed Townsend during the initial sessions. Gaye's intimate relationship with Hunter subsequently became the basis for his 1976 album I Want You. While recording the title track, he was inspired to revive unfinished recordings from his 1970 sessions at the Hitsville U.S.A. Studio. They worked on four songs together, including the ballad "If I Should Die Tonight", while Gaye composed most of the other songs, including those from past sessions. Music journalist Jon Landau dubs the song "a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable".
The third track, the ballad "If I Should Die Tonight" originally appeared on the vinyl LP in a shortened version lasting only 3:03. For the 1986 'twofer' (with "What's Going On") CD reissue of the album, Motown recording engineers for the first time restored the missing verse which had been omitted from the LP. The full length track, which has been used for all subsequent releases, runs to 4 full minutes.
"Distant Lover" has Gaye crooning over serene instrumentation, leading to soulful screams near the end; from a heartbroken croon to an impassioned wail. The song's lyrics chronicled the yearning its narrator feels for a lover who is "so many miles away", as he pleads for her return and laments the emptiness he feels without her.
Marketing and sales
thumb|Gaye in a trade ad, 1973
Released on August 28, 1973, Let's Get It On surpassed Gaye's previous studio effort, What's Going On, as the best-selling record of his tenure with Motown. The album peaked at number two on the US Billboard Top LPs chart, behind The Rolling Stones's Goats Head Soup (1973), while it also managed to reach number one in Cash Box for one week, as well as two weeks at the top of Record Worlds music charts. Let's Get It On charted for 61 weeks on the Billboard charts, and remained at the top of the Billboard Soul Albums for 11 weeks, becoming the best-selling soul album of 1973.
Two of the album's singles reached the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including "Let's Get It On", which became Gaye's second number-one US single, and the top-30 hit "Come Get to This", which peaked at number 23 on the chart.
Along with the album's music and sexual content, Let's Get It Ons commercial success and promotion helped establish Marvin Gaye as a sex icon, while helping further expand his artistic control during his tenure at Motown.
Critical reception
Let's Get It On received positive reviews from music critics. Billboard called it "fine in terms of vocal attack and material [...] touches on the excellent in terms of instrumental support", while citing the title track and "Distant Lover" as the album's best recordings.
Since its initial reception, Let's Get It On has been viewed by writers as a milestone in soul music. Allmusic's Lindsay Planer cites it as a "hedonistic R&B masterpiece."
Accolades
Much like What's Going On, Let's Get It On has been included in professional lists of the best albums. It was ranked number 58 on The Times<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 1993 publication of the 100 Best Albums of All Time. Blender magazine ranked the album number 15 on its list of the 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time. In 2003, it was ranked number 165 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time publication; the 2023 edition of the list ranked it 422nd. Also in 2003, Let's Get It On was reissued by Universal Music; the re-release was later given a silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry. In 2004, Let's Get It On was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and cited by The Recording Academy as a recording of "historical significance".
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Publication
! Country
! Accolade
! Year
! Rank
|-
| Bill Shapiro
|rowspan=13|United States
| The Top 100 Rock Compact Discs
| 1991
| align="center"|*
|-
| Blender
| The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time
| 2002
| align="center"|15
|-
| Dave Marsh & Kevin Stein
| Top 40 Chartmakers - 1973
| 1981
| align="center"|6
|-
| Elvis Costello (Vanity Fair)
| 500 Must-Have Albums You Need
| 2013
| align="center"|*
|-
| Jimmy Guterman
| The 100 Best Rock and Roll Records of All Time
| 1992
| align="center"|27
|-
| Kitsap Sun
| Top 200 Albums of the Last 40 Years
| 2005
| align="center"|67
|-
| Paul Gambaccini
| The World Critics Best Albums of All Time
| 1987
| align="center"|84
|-
| The Recording Academy
| Grammy Hall of Fame Albums and Songs
| 2005
| align="center"|*
|-
| Rolling Stone (Steve Pond)
| Steve Pond's 50 (+27) Essential Albums of the 70s
| 1990
| align="center"|39
|-
|rowspan=2|Rolling Stone
|rowspan=2|500 Greatest Albums of All Time Gaye used his artistic control to modify the sound and incorporate funky instrumentation, melismatic vocalization, and heavy vocal multi-tracking, in much contrast to the established production style at the label. In contrast to Motown's previously successful process of emphasizing an artist's single releases rather than their album, Gaye and fellow producer Ed Townsend followed a similar formula previously used on What's Going On, in which the album's songs flow together in a suite-form arrangement, opposing label CEO Berry Gordy's strong emphasis on hit single success.
The album's sexual content pushed creative barriers in the recording industry and led to an increased popularity of sexual themes in contemporary music. Gaye achieved further success with I Want You (1976), featuring more sexually explicit lyrics and expanded use of vocal multi-tracking, and with Here, My Dear (1978), which he based entirely on his tumultuous marriage to Anna Gordy.
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|US Billboard Soul LPs
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|US Cashbox Tops LPs
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
! Chart (1984)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|US Billboard Top 200
| 22
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable"
! align="left" |Chart (1973)
! style="text-align:center;" |Peak
positions
|-
| align="left" |U.S. Billboard Top Soul Albums
| style="text-align:center;" |29
|}
{| class="wikitable"
! align="left" |Chart (1974)
! style="text-align:center;" |Peak
positions
|-
| align="left" |U.S. Billboard Pop Albums
| style="text-align:center;" |46
|-
| align="left" |U.S. Billboard Top Soul Albums
| style="text-align:center;" |8
|}
Certifications
See also
- List of 1970s albums considered the best
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1973 (U.S.)
- Smooth soul
References
Bibliography
External links
- Let's Get It On at Discogs
- [ Let's Get It On (Deluxe Edition)] at Allmusic