Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’ To Be Reissued For 50th Anniversary
The celebration will include a Vinylphyle edition of the acclaimed album.
Described by Pitchfork as “one of the sexiest albums in music history,” Marvin Gaye’s number one record I Want You is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In celebration, UMe has planned multiple vinyl releases.
The first highlight is a premium Vinylphyle reissue of the original album; the latest entry in a series of critically acclaimed audiophile releases. As with all releases in the Vinylphyle series, lacquers were cut from the original analog tapes and pressed at 180gm at RTI. The packaging features a tip-on gatefold jacket with the now-iconic cover by Ernie Barnes, reproductions of the original tape boxes, and liner notes by producer and songwriter SaLaAM ReMi.
“I’ve been listening to ‘I Want You’ repeatedly in different ways for most of my life and have gotten a perspective of it over time,” ReMi writes in the liner notes. “I realized this album is when I realized my adulthood… [it] gives me all the things I look for in music.”
The celebration continues with I Want You 2, a special 2LP set featuring bonus tracks, alternate takes, and rarities first issued on CD in 2003. Pressed on 180g vinyl, the packaging houses an exclusive lithograph, and introductory liner notes by R&B artist and songwriter Arin Ray.
Gaye had a big task following up 1973’s Grammy Hall of Fame album Let’s Get It On. He found a collaborator in Leon Ware, known for his work with Michael Jackson, The Miracles, and Minnie Ripperton among others, and the two worked on the record in Marvin’s new custom studio, now known as “Marvin’s Room,” on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Those sessions yielded such staples as “Come Live With Me Angel,” “I Wanna Be Where You Are” (a reworking of the Michael Jackson hit), “Since I Had You,” and “After The Dance.”
