What's Going On: Abbey Road Half Speed Mastering

Abbey Road Studioでハーフ・スピード・マスタリングにて再度リマスタリングされたLPが登場。180g重量盤、デラックス・パッケージ、特製帯付。Abby Roadのマスタリング・エンジニアのMiles Showellによってアナログ・テープから高音質でデジタルトランスファーされた音源を使用。この音源はLPのみでのリリース。
1971年発売11枚目のアルバム、自身2度目のR&Bアルバムチャート1位を獲得。社会情勢が激化する70年代の幕開けと、ニューソウル・ムーヴメントの始まりを告げた1971年発表の歴史的名盤。この4LPヴァージョンには、オリジナルのLP、オリジナルのデトロイト・ミックスやライブ音源に加えて、モノヴァージョンなどを収録。

Rolling Stone (p.90) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Greatest protest album ever made? Most stirring soul-music symphony? Yes and yes. And then some." Rolling Stone (1/23/03, p.68) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Revolutionary..." Rolling Stone (8/5/71, p.44) - "...There are very few performers who could carry a project like this off. I've always admired Marvin Gaye, but I didn't expect that he would be one of them..." Rolling Stone (9/30/71, p.42) - "...there is no question that he has gotten progressively better...Gaye's multi-tracked lead vocals answer one another like a man talking to himself, finally enveloping the listener in a world view of incalculable intensity..." Rolling Stone (1/23/03, p.68) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Revolutionary..." Rolling Stone (9/30/71, p.42) - "...there is no question that he has gotten progressively better...Gaye's multi-tracked lead vocals answer one another like a man talking to himself, finally enveloping the listener in a world view of incalculable intensity..." Rolling Stone (8/5/71, p.44) - "...There are very few performers who could carry a project like this off. I've always admired Marvin Gaye, but I didn't expect that he would be one of them..." Rolling Stone (1/23/03, p.68) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Revolutionary..." Spin (p.80) - "[A]n indelible quiet-storm jeremiad." Spin (p.51) - Ranked #9 in Spin's 'The Top 10 Reissues Of 2011' -- "[T]he sound is honeyed, feather-light....For protest music, it sure glides." Spin (p.122) - "The godhead of '70s soul albums plays like one seamless groove-song, with jazzy orchestrations..." Q (p.120) - "[T]his was the first soul album to engage directly with the political and social upheaval of the times, from the Vietnam War to environmental pollution." Q (1/03, p.69) - Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" Q (10/99, p.161) - Included in Q Magazine's Best Motown Records Of All Time - "...one of the finest albums ever recorded.... gorgeous soulful settings, bewitching melodies and Gaye's magisterial singing." Q (10/99, p.161) - Included in Q Magazine's Best Motown Records Of All Time - "...one of the finest albums ever recorded.... gorgeous soulful settings, bewitching melodies and Gaye's magisterial singing." Q (6/01, p.128) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...The live album that forms the centerpiece of this re-packaged version of Gaye's greatest work is... astonishing..." Uncut (p.95) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "WHAT'S GOING ON is a fully rounded auteur classic, a sort of soul version of PET SOUNDS..." Uncut (5/03, p.116) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Global and personal anguish were never so exquisitely conveyed..." Uncut (5/03, p.116) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Global and personal anguish were never so exquisitely conveyed..." Vibe (12/99, p.164) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Vibe (12/99, p.164) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Living Blues (5-6/01, p.100) - "...A masterwork....Sumptuous packaging, insightful liner notes, and voluminous session information underscore the first-class presentation..." Living Blues (5-6/01, p.100) - "...A masterwork....Sumptuous packaging, insightful liner notes, and voluminous session information underscore the first-class presentation..." Billboard (p.52) - "[H]is melodic treatise on war, drugs, poverty, spirituality and ecology still rings disturbingly true 40 years later." Mojo (Publisher) (5/01, p.97) - "...Stands as both a eulogy and testament to a spirit of co-operation, understanding and harmony. It's a vision of Utopia in words and music one could wander around in forever." Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) - Included in Mojo's "Best Reissues of 2001". Mojo (Publisher) (5/01, p.97) - "...Stands as both a eulogy and testament to a spirit of co-operation, understanding and harmony. It's a vision of Utopia in words and music one could wander around in forever." NME (Magazine) (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #4 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All