Marvin Gaye – Trouble Man

Marvin really went in for this soundtrack. No punches pulled with his profound writing talent.

Highly recommend

How could you ever want
more
than the seventeen minutes
that it takes
to get to you
Thinking about the possibiltiie, that's your problem
that's your trouble. Trouble Man.
Pay Homage to the
History
and the Irony
of Lies
turned into truths turned into lies turned into myth
malifocent
misognist
miscalculatableist
Sons of Temper
Where is your fifth? your cast out. our lost and Loney
Your Mark S.
Where is your Mark S.
Come on trouble Man.
Tell me where your Mark S is.
Is he out there thinkign what none of us know how to think, what none of us know how to say
" how to say what ?"
How to say what
we all want to hear
Tell Me Trouble Man
Tell me Mark S.
Why you so willing to stand up for others?
What does it matter?
What happens to you
Trouble Man
will the whole world come running
come save you
from not making it
the way we all are suppose to make it
Why can't We be I?
die so we all can live
makes
just so
much sense
Ok Trouble Man
Share with me your dreams
I won't you in all the schemes
but I'll hear you out and I'll
think about
alot of things

Album Revolution #3:

There are times when there are opportunities offered to Music Artists, and you wonder what the thought process was....That's the kind of Vibe I get from "Marvin Gaye" being offered to do the Soundtrack to the Movie "Trouble Man"....

Now you might say, "Hey, if "Ike" ("Isaac Hayes") could do "Shaft", and "Curtis Mayfield" could do "Superfly", why couldn't "Marvin" do "Trouble Man"? And see, you would be Correct!!!!

This is where I get myself in trouble!!!! Why? Because when I was younger, "Marvin" was just a Singer to me, not knowing how much of a great Musician he was....It took me to realize it by the time I was 16....So, be that as it may, now knowing what I know, "Marvin" was the perfect artist to pull this off!!!!

This Soundtrack is a Classic !!!!! (I haven't seen the movie though).....The Music is stunning, with "Marvin" expanding his landscape of Productions, and showing the Public how serious of a Musician he really was!!!!!

I am kind of lost on why the Crown Jewel "Main Theme From Trouble Man Part 2" was put before "Part 1" (which was also a Crown Jewel)....It didn't matter though....I guess I am just picky when comes to things like that (see Guys, I can be honest about Myself)....

The next Crown Jewel in ""T" Plays It Cool", is a "Funk Workout"!!!! The keyboards on this t showed that it was in control (also having serious Horn backup)....

Of course, the Ultimate, Ultimate, Ultimate, Ultimate Crown Jewel, the single "Theme From Trouble Man", is an absolute standout!!!!! "Marvin's" delivery with the "Soulful Jazzy t" is just a "Thank You For Being Recorded" vibe....It also tells you that "Marvin" can sing just about everything....When I recorded that song from my Vinyl on my "Made Up Anthology", I also included the "Theme From Trouble Man" outro, because they mashed so well together....

Now, the rest of album was a typical Soundtrack album, in how they used to be (with inserts that are played during the Movie itself)....But even with that, the album still flows very well....

Now do you all understand why I love '70's music so much? To me, it was the only era where an artist like "Marvin" could get away with doing something like this.....Let someone like "Usher", "Ne-Yo", and especially "John Legend" try to do something like this.....I think they could, but the Public would nail them to the wall for it!!!!!!

And to me, that's very, very Sad!!!!!!!!

On Captain America's list of things to catch-up on :)

I would like to know who played and who arranged on this LP, for Motown and the 20th Century Fox film score. Sole credit goes to Mr. Gaye on this master release? Care to fill me in anyone...

Next to Whats Going On this album is my favorite Marvin album. But why there's nearly no vocals?
Because it highlights his brilliance as a musician at the keys, arrangements and commandeering an incredible session of top notch musicians.
Marvin is at the Rhodes and at the Moog tho I think it sounds like an ARP synth but nevertheless Gaye is using all the tools he can to muster up mood for the film(of which Ill probably never see). The music is warm, melancholy as only Marvin can conjure up and best of all so smooth you can slice thru solid steel with the grooves the musicians pontificate thru their instruments! Seriously this is from what 1972 and today is a gift for all curious hungry ears to appreciate! Simply brilliant!

Marvin Gaye - "Trouble Man" on Motown

With the massive commercial success of Isaac Hayes' "Shaft" and Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly", record companies and movie studios alike were in a mad rush to churn out soundtrack music by every major black artist. Just about any and everyone you can name got in on the business, some results proving more memorable than others. Marvin Gaye's sole entry into the field was 1972's "Trouble Man", and as usual, Gaye did not follow the crowd, instead fashioning one of the most unique soundtracks to come out of the "blaxploitation" genre. Gaye sidesteps all of the now stereotypical wah guitar laden tricks that became all too common, and delivered a lush and sophisticated soundscape different than anything else in his discography.

The focus here is not on Gaye's immense talent as a vocalist, but his undeniable gifts as a composer of the highest order - he wrote, conducted, and produced nearly every note of this highly intricate and heavily arranged score, as well as contributing some fantastic keyboard playing. It's a true testament to his depth as an artist, so much beyond the title of a pop singer. Unlike "Superfly", which is a song cycle tailored to that film's plot, the pieces Gaye wrote for "Trouble Man" are much more incidental music meant to enhance and intensify the film's scenes. He clearly took the role seriously, and opted not to just create a "Marvin Gaye album", instead taking cue from other popular film composers such as Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldstein, and Ennio Morricone. It's a record that is best taken as a whole, as its individual pieces morph and fit together like one big puzzle.

The record opens with it's main theme, one that gets recycled in bits and pieces throughout, and also provides the backdrop for the album's title track. Here the track is left instrumental with a tenor sax taking most of the spotlight, and some tasty piano filling in the spaces. Horn and string stabs introduce one of the album's most exciting tunes, "T Plays It Cool", which utilizes a very early example of a looped drum break, rippling synthesizers, shimmering electric piano, and more tenor saxophone. It's arguable the LP's funkiest track, and sounds years ahead of its time. "Poor Abbey Walsh" starts as a sparse melancholy lament with a mournful saxophone playing over the piano and an emotive swirling string arrangement, and turns decidedly dark and tense midway through before giving way to Gaye layering some cool vocals over a shifting backdrop. That track eases into "The Break In", a jerky piece with a syncopated bass and piano figure that dissolves and reforms only to dissolve again into the moody "Cleo's Apartment". That tune finds Gaye delivering some fine doowop harmonies ed by a slow burn groove built on jazzy changes with piano, handclaps, bongos, and the tight swing of the drums and bass.

The title track is really the LP's only full on vocal track and was a hit for Gaye, well suring the minimal commercial success of the film itself. Again, Gaye bucks convention, as I'm sure this bluesy big band affair sounded a bit out of place in the funk heavy landscape of 1972. An almost menacing swaggering groove, the song opens with an ominous burst of dark strings and swinging drums before the bass shuffle settles behind with Gaye's falsetto riding on top. The lyric "there's only three things for sure - taxes, death, and trouble - this I know," proved to be somewhat prophetic for Gaye's own personal life which was riddled with enough drama to warrant its own film (why hasn't this happened yet?!).

Side 2 opens with another take on the main theme, this time the changes arranged as a ballad featuring only strings and horns and crying saxophone. "T Stands for Trouble" is about as close as Gaye comes to giving us the usual blaxploitation formula, as the song opens with low end jabs from the piano, tympani, and horns while bongo drums and a muted guitar click along furiously. About a third of the way in, the band drops fully in and lays down some tight funk featuring the saxophone and plenty of tasteful synthesizer playing. This is followed by yet another reading on the main theme, again focusing in on the strings, saxophone, and synths, followed by "Deep In It", a short freeform piece with a heavy vibe and lots of synth noodling. "Don't Mess With Mister T" again builds on the groove of the main theme, while "There Goes Mister T" rounds out the album with a tune that is the epitome of what you'd expect to hear over a closing credits sequence with the hero walking slowly into the black of night. The final song provides a good example of Gaye's genius ability of combining seemingly disparate stylistic influences - he mingles a warbling Moog synth into a bluesy backdrop of slinky saxophones and muted trumpets slightly reminiscent of Duke Ellington, then brings back the main theme piano figure augmented by layers of his voice, strings and horns building into an abrupt and startling climactic ending.

Fans of Marvin Gaye the vocalist could be disappointed by this one if they listen expecting to hear "What's Going On" or "Let's Get It On". But when taken on its own , "Trouble Man" offers us a rare glimpse into one of the most brilliant musical minds of our time.

my favourite album. but it has to be raining to play it.

This is my fav blaxploitation soundtrack of all time .... and I believe it's the only Marvin Gaye album where every single track was written by him, with no shared credits. I've seen the film, it's poor and not a patch on the album. That said, we should be thankful for the film because without it, this marvellous album would not exist.