165) Let’s Get It On : Rolling Stone

Listen Now
Download the cd!
Buy the album at Rhino.com

"I mumble things into the microphone," Gaye said. "I don't even know what I'm saying, and I don't even try to figure it out. If I try, it doesn?t work. If I relax, those mumbles will finally turn into words. It's a slow, evolving process, something like the way a flower grows." On this album, those words turn into meditations on the gap between sex and love and how to reconcile them -- an adult version of the Motown tunes Gaye had built his career on. Songs such as "Just to Keep You Satisfied" and "You Sure Love to Ball" are some of the most gorgeous music of Gaye's career, resplendent with sweet strings and his clear-throated, non-mumbled crooning.

Total album sales: 1 million

Peak chart position: 2

Next: Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Back to RS 500 Albums!
Back to RS 500 Songs!