Had hoped to find a video of wotsit dancing to this in Charlie's Angels.... failed! Punishment is hula hooping to parts 1 and 2 in limited kitchen space!
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One of the best disco soul tracks of all time,from 1977 (albeit missing the 'party' intro in this Part 1 edit). This song has been hugely influential, covered by many & recently made infamous by the court case over the song 'Blurred Lines'. In this song, Gaye shows the value of vocal control. His falsetto isn't tempted to over-sing the notes, favouring sliding and bending a long note around the addictive syncopation. The clipped steady rhythmic accompaniment keeps everything together on the pulse. His texture comes from multi-tracking his voice so that small natural interpretative variations in pitch shine through. The simple & at times extended chord changes, must owe something to earlier 70s funk like James Brown's 'Superbad', where repetitive riffs & motifs through simple chords let Brown's vocal mobilise around the rhythm and melody. Gaye has done something similar here but in a disco soul genre. Note the innovative sound world of an ongoing party in this too. One to treasure.
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