Hello everyone out there! This is Su Alif. I’m a beat maker hailing from The Garden State. This is my very first blog ever, so please be patient with me. I wanted to pose a simple question for potential discussion, which is: What would be your favorite album of all time? I realize everyone will have various responses and various reasons for those answers. I’ll start off with mine. For me, it is “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye. Firstly, he is also my favorite singer and artist of all time. As a child growing up, I was a 70’s baby. My father, like most adults of that era, cherished a substantial vinyl collection, all of it strictly being R&B. He didnt really listen to anything else. Marvin was the one cat in my household that got the most rotation. It got to a point where my mother dreaded the repitition of anything “Marvin”. As a kid, I remember enjoying the music without really understanding the underpinnings of the album’s brilliance. Marvin’s sound grew on me as time wore on. By the time I reached my mid-twenties, I began to learn how and why Marvin carved out this magnificent work. He was a man with many faces and demons like the rest of us. Music was his way of calming the savage beast. He was also enraptured by sensuality and a strong sense of spirituality that created a mixture of expressions throughout each song. The most famous of these, the title track, perfectly captures the conflict and inner grace of his art. At one point, he seductively mentions his undeniable attraction to a young lady who was about half his age at the time. Then, at another point in the same song, he rejoices in spiritual sanctification. He trusted his instincts at that moment and struck immortal gold. This approach resonates through the whole project. The production provided by Ed Townsend was sensational. He stayed in tune to Marvin’s frequent changes in vocal ranges between falsetto, mid-range, and the gruffy sounds. Mavin wasn’t afraid to be fully human on this one. It paid off well. If any of you out care to share your views on the subject, feel free to respond. PEACE!!!
