Let's Get It On (Deluxe Edition)

Marvin Gaye’s ’70s concept albums spanned wounded takes on sociopolitical concerns (What’s Going On), the collapse of his own first marriage (Here, My Dear), and the deep heat of sex and romance celebrated on Let’s Get It On. Gaye, of course, made seduction the record’s center, but hardly its only subject. Even the title track, used endlessly by media as a cue for unbridled sexiness, has its philosophical bent (“Since we got to be here, let’s live”) and a blurred line between love for a woman and the “sanctified” feel of the church Gaye was raised in. And all the moments of beauty (aided by co-producer Ed Townsend on the album's first half) culminate in the gorgeous but stark “Just to Keep You Satisfied,” a breakup song whose themes would be fully shaken out on Here. It’s another way in which Marvin refuses to make a too-standard sex jam. This remastered edition contains single versions of “Let’s Get It On” and “You Sure Love to Ball.”