I Want You (album) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

I Want You is the thirteenth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

by American soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

musician Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

, released March 16, 1976, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place throughout 1975 and 1976 at Motown Recording Studios, also known as Hitsville West, and Gaye's personal studio Marvin's Room

Marvin's Room (studio)

Marvin's Room is a recording studio founded by American soul musician Marvin Gaye.Created by the singer in 1975 shortly after renegotiating a deal with Motown Records, the singer built the studios in Los Angeles as a spacious apartment-like complex big enough to be a studio, a home and, for a...

in Los Angeles, California

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. The album has often been noted by critics for producer Leon Ware

Leon Ware

Leon Ware is a soul music singer, songwriter and producer. Best known for crafting the hit album, I Want You, originally recorded for Ware, until friend and Motown icon Marvin Gaye was assigned to the album in 1976...

's exotic, low-key production and the erotic, sexual themes in his and Gaye's songwriting. The album's cover artwork adapts neo-mannerist artist Ernie Barnes

Ernie Barnes

Ernest “Ernie” Eugene Barnes, Jr. was an African-American painter, well-known for his unique style of elongation and movement. He was also a professional football player, actor and author.- Childhood :...

's famous painting The Sugar Shack (1971).

I Want You consisted of Marvin Gaye's first recorded studio material since his highly successful and well-received album Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...

(1973). While it marked a change in musical direction for Gaye, departing from his trademark Motown and doo-wop

Doo-wop

The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...

-influenced sound for funky, light-disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

soul, the album maintained and expanded on his previous work's sexual themes. Following an initial mixed response from critics, I Want You has earned retrospective recognition from writers and music critics as one of Gaye's most controversial works and influential to such musical styles as disco, quiet storm

Quiet storm

Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinson's like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third solo album, lent its name to the format...

, R&B

Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

, and neo soul

Neo soul

The term neo soul was originally coined by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s as a marketing category following the commercial breakthroughs of artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell...

Background

By 1975, Marvin Gaye had come off of the commercial and critical success of his landmark studio album Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...

(1973), its successful supporting tour following the album's release, and Diana & Marvin
Diana & Marvin
Diana & Marvin is a duets album by soul musicians Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, released October 26, 1973 on Motown. Recording sessions for the album took place in 1972 and 1973 at Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Featuring vocal collaborations by Gaye and Ross, widely recognized at...

(1973), a duet project with Diana Ross

Diana Ross

Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

. However, similar to the conception and recording of Let's Get It On, Gaye had struggled to come up with an album to compete it with. And much like Let's Get It On, outside help and assistance came in the form of Leon Ware

Leon Ware

, a singer and songwriter who had found previous success writing hits for fellow Motown alum, including pop singer Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

and the rhythm and blues group The Miracles

The Miracles

The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...

. Ware had been working on songs for his own album which he later titled Musical Massage, a collection of sexually erotic singles Ware had composed with a variety of writers, including Jacqueline Hillard and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross, brother of Diana Ross. When Motown CEO Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...

paid a visit to Ware, the songwriter was more than happy to play Gordy his selection of tracks. After hearing a preliminary mix of the songs, however, Gordy figured that Ware let Gaye handle his material.

While the majority of the album's songs were conceived by Ware, I Want You had been transformed into a biographical centerpiece for Gaye, who was then in a volatile marriage with Anna Gordy, sister to Berry Gordy, and also in a long-standing affair with Janis Hunter

Janis Gaye

Janis Gaye is best known as the second wife of American musician Marvin Gaye.-Biography:...

, who would later become the mother of his two youngest children. Gaye and Hunter were introduced to each other by producer Ed Townsend

Ed Townsend

Edward Benjamin 'Ed' Townsend was an American attorney, songwriter, and producer. He was best known for performing his composition, "For Your Love," a rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and as the co-writer of "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye.-Biography:Although he was born in Fayetteville,...

, while him and Gaye were recording Let's Get It On in early 1973 at Hitsville West. In his book Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye, literary author and music writer Michael Eric Dyson elaborated on the relationship between I Want You and Gaye's affair with Hunter that had influenced the music on the album, stating "I Want You is unmistakably a work of romantic and erotic tribute to the woman he deeply loved and would marry shortly, Janis Hunter. Gaye's obsession with the woman in her late teens is nearly palpable in the sensual textures that are the album's aural and lyrical signature. Their relationship was relentlessly passionate and emotionally rough-hewn; they played up each other's strengths, and played off each other's weaknesses."

Though it was often hinted that Let's Get It On was the album Gaye had dedicated to her, Marvin cited this album as being dedicated to Hunter, with whom is believed to have been in the studio when Marvin recorded the project. Her presence may have increased the emotion in Ware's and Gaye's conception of I Want You, according to music critics.

Recording and production

Gaye and Ware recorded and mix

Audio mixing (recorded music)

In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

ed the album at Marvin's newly-christened "Marvin's Room Studio

Marvin's Room (studio)

", located on Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...

in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

and at Motown Recording Studios. The recording sessions took place throughout 1975 and 1976. Much like Gaye's previous studio effort Let's Get It On, I Want You featured Gaye's contribution of background vocals and their heavy multi-tracking. The style of Gaye's vocalizing was in classic doo-wop

Doo-wop

tradition accompanied by the low tempo

Tempo

In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

of string arrangements and other instrumentation, which was provided by The Funk Brothers

The Funk Brothers

The Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...

, the same group of studio musicians who had backed Gaye up on his breakthrough album What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...

and its follow up Let's Get It On.

The production of Gaye's albums, especially Ware's production for I Want You, has been influential on modern soul music and contemporary R&B. EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

Artists and Repertoire executive Gary Harris, who later assisted neo soul

Neo soul

singer D'Angelo

D'Angelo

Michael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is an American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is known for his production and songwriting talents as much as for his vocal abilities, and often draws comparisons to his influences,...

in recording his highly acclaimed debut album Brown Sugar (1995), later commented on Gaye's significant artistry on I Want You and its opening title track. In an interview with writer Michael Eric Dyson, Harris said:
Another significant feature of the recording sessions for I Want You was Gaye's use of the synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

in his music. During the time of recording, the instrument had entered its modern period of use and had been included in the music of such popular acts as Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

and Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

. For the instrumental version of "After the Dance

After the Dance

"After the Dance" is a slow jam recorded by singer Marvin Gaye and released as the second single off Gaye's hit album, I Want You. Though it received modest success, the song served as one of Marvin's best ballads and the song served as part of the template for quiet storm and urban contemporary...

", Gaye implented it for a more spacey sound than his previous recordings had featured. Other recordings from these sessions to feature Gaye's synthesizer were later featured on the deluxe edition re-release of I Want You.

Artwork

The original Sugar Shack painting, which was later used for the front album cover of I Want You, was painted and released by neo-mannerist

Mannerism

Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...

artist Ernie Barnes

Ernie Barnes

in 1971. In 1974, Barnes redesigned the painting for use by television producer Norman Lear

Norman Lear

Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...

for the opening credits of Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...

, his hit CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

sitcom that ran from 1974 to 1979. The Sugar Shack portrays a cultural image of a shack full of black people

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

dancing. The Sugar Shack was painted by Barnes in his signature post-mannerist style, using serpentine line

Serpentine shape

Serpentine refers to the curved shape of an object or design which resembles the letter s, a sine wave or a snake; the latter is the derivation of the term.- Examples :* The Serpentine River...

s, elongation of the human figure, clarity of line, unusual spatial relationships, painted frames, and distinctive color palette

Palette (painting)

A palette , in the original sense of the word, is a rigid, flat surface on which a painter arranges and mixes paints. A palette is usually made of wood, plastic, ceramic, or other hard, inert, nonporous material, and can vary greatly in size and shape...

s. This style of technique and composition is similar to the mannerist style of 16th century artists such as Michelangelo

Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...

and Raphael

Raphael

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...

, which has led Barnes to be credited as the founder of the Neo-Mannerism movement. Art critic Frank Getlein later called The Sugar Shack a "stunning demonstration of the fusion of Neo-Mannerism and Genre painting that Barnes alone has perfected and practices", and went on to say:
The Sugar Shack has been known to art critics for embodying the style of art composition known as "Black Romantic

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

", which, according to Natalie Hopkinson of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

, is the "visual-art equivalent of the Chitlin' circuit

Chitlin' circuit

The "Chitlin' Circuit" was the collective name given to the string of performance venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that were safe and acceptable for African-American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers to perform during the age of racial segregation in the United...

." According to Barnes, he created the original version after reflecting upon his childhood, during which he was not "able to go to a dance." In an interview with SoulMuseum.net, Barnes was asked whether there were any messages he was attempting to express through the painting. He stated "'Sugar Shack' is a recall of a childhood experience. It was the first time my innocence met with the sins of dance. The painting transmits rhythm so the experience is re-created in the person viewing it. To show that African-Americans utilize rhythm as a way of resolving physical tension"

Marvin Gaye was initially introduced to Barnes by colleague Barbara Hunter, which led to him buying eight Barnes originals, including The Sugar Shack. After Gaye asked him for permission to use the painting as an album cover, Barnes then augmented the painting by adding references that allude to Gaye's album, including banners hanging from the ceiling of the shack promoting the album's singles. Since receiving wide acclaim for The Sugar Shack, Barnes has gained recognition from art critics as one of the best black painters of his time and was cited by the Oakland Tribune as the "Picasso of the black art

African American art

African American art is a broad term describing the visual arts of the American black community . Influenced by various cultural traditions, including those of Africa, Europe and the Americas, traditional African American art forms include the range of plastic arts, from basket weaving, pottery,...

world."

Commercial performance

I Want You was released March 16, 1976 in the United States on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. While not as successful sales-wise as Gaye's previous landmark albums What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...

and Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...

, I Want You sold in excess of 1 million copies in the United States with help mostly coming from its first single "I Want You

I Want You (Marvin Gaye song)

-Background:Madonna recorded a cover version of "I Want You" with British trip-hop group Massive Attack for her ballads compilation album Something to Remember and the Marvin Gaye tribute album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye in 1995...

". The single topped the Billboard Soul Singles

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

chart, quickly becoming Marvin Gaye's eleventh number-one hit on that chart, while peaking at number fifteen on the Billboard Pop Singles

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

chart.

The album's second single, the quiet storm

Quiet storm

track "After the Dance (Vocal)

After the Dance

", charted modestly, peaking at #14 on the Soul Singles chart and #74 on the Pop Singles chart, while another single release version of the song, a double A-sided vinyl record for dance clubs and discothèques, hit the top ten of the Billboard Disco Singles

Hot Dance Club Play

The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

chart. The song became a staple of dance clubs and discothèques during the late 1970s. "After the Dance" was hailed as one of Marvin's signature songs during the late 1970s and was later described by Gaye-biographer David Ritz

David Ritz

David Ritz is an American author, most of whose books are biographies of soul music and R&B legends such as Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Janet Jackson. On four occasions, his co-authored autobiographies of musicians have been awarded the Ralph J...

as "emblematic for the final chapter of his career." I Want You became his fourth album to reach the top ten of the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

chart and his fifth number-one album on the Soul Albums

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

chart.

Critical response

Despite its chart success, I Want You initially received mixed reviews from music critics. It has been noted by music writers that the critical reception of disco music in general had been poor and ill-conceived, which may have caused the slightly disco-styled I Want You to suffer critically, in comparison to Gaye's previous albums. Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

writer Dennis Hunt called the album "disappointing" and "only partially commendable". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

s Vince Aletti

Vince Aletti

Vince Aletti is an American music journalist and photography critic.Vince Aletti was the first person to write about disco , writing a weekly column about disco for the music trade magazine Record World and reporting about early clubs like David Mancuso's Loft for The Village Voice in the late...

criticized Leon Ware's production for being too low-key

Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

, and perceived that Gaye lacks the certain passion in his lyricism and singing from his previous records. Aletti compared the album to Gaye's previous work, writing "Gaye seems determined to take over as soul's master philosopher in the bedroom, a position that requires little but an affectation of constant, rather jaded horniness. The pose has already been established in Let's Get It On, on which Gaye was hot, tender, aggressive, soothing and casually raunchy—the modern lover with all his contradictions. I Want You continues in the same vein but with only the faintest traces of the robust passion that shot through and sustained the earlier album... one expects something with a little more substance and spirit. But there's no fire here, only a well-concealed pilot light."

Cliff White of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

called the album "almost a voyeur's delight", and was not favorable of Gaye's sensual themes, stating "Although getting down, getting mellow, and getting it on are paramount considerations in the privacy of my own home, I don't particularly want to be party to someone else's night life. Not on record anyway ... Like peeking through the windows of the Gaye residence in the wee wee hours. Perhaps that's your kick, but personally I find it a mite frustrating." White also criticized the album's sound, describing the songs as "all expressions of the same mood. Sensual, satisfied, and spaced out", and calling I Want You "simply the explorative aftermath of Let's Get It On. The sweet nuthin's of a drowsy, sweat-streaked lover." Rock critic Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

wrote favorably of the album's sound quality. However, he criticized the lyrical content, as well as Ware's involvement in songwriting, stating "was it Ware who instructed Marvin to eliminate all depth and power from his voice? I mean, if you're into insisting on sex it's in bad taste to whine about it."

Following the release of I Want You, Ware released his second studio album, Musical Massage (1976), which received little mainstream notice. Despite this, the album became a cult hit

Cult following

A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...

among soul music fans who were intrigued by I Want You and songs from that album's producer. Critical recognition of Ware's album later improved, with it being cited by Allmusic as "the perfect mix of soul, light funk, jazz, and what was about to become the rhythmic foundation for disco."

Legacy and influence

After critical re-examination of the album, I Want You has been recognized by writers and music writers as one of Marvin Gaye's most controversial and influential works, and, much like its predecessor Let's Get It On, has served as a major influence on the quiet storm

Quiet storm

and contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B

genres. Its standing has also improved among critics following an expanded edition release of the album in 2003, which featured extensive liner notes and photography by Ryan Null. Following the expanded edition release on July 29, 2003, Allmusic reviewed I Want You, praising Gaye's different direction in music and the eroticism

Eroticism

Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...

portrayed in Leon Ware's smooth-tempo production and Gaye's intimate lyricism. Reviewer Thom Jurek wrote:
I Want You has also been noted as influential by musicians such as from Todd Rundgren

Todd Rundgren

Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...

, Robert Palmer, Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

, while songs from the album have sampled by hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

artists ranging from EPMD

EPMD

EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...

to Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...

, who sampled the title track for her hit song "Be Happy

Be Happy (song)

"Be Happy" is a song co-written and performed by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. Alongside Blige, the song was written with Chucky Thompson, Diddy, Arlene DelValle and J.C. Olivier, and produced by both Thompson and Combs. The song is featured on her second album, My Life...

". The careers of neo soul

Neo soul

and R&B

Contemporary R&B

musicians such as D'Angelo

D'Angelo

, Musiq Soulchild, R. Kelly

R. Kelly

Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...

, Maxwell

Maxwell (musician)

Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...

, Sade

Sade Adu

Helen Folasade Adu OBE , is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.-Biography:Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria...

, and Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

show influence from the soulful sound and equally romantic

Romantic love

Romance is the pleasurable feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.In the context of romantic love relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one's love, or one's deep emotional desires to connect with another person....

and erotic

Eroticism

lyrics of I Want You, as well as Gaye's previous studio effort Let's Get It On and Leon Ware's Musical Massage. Maxwell's debut album Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is the debut album of American recording artist Maxwell, released April 2, 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during 1994 to 1995 at Electric Lady Studios, RPM, Sorcerer, and Chung King Studios in New York City and...

(1996) shows a presence of Gaye's and Ware's musical style on I Want You and Musical Massage. According to one critic, Ware's arrangements "solidified the suite-like theme for the album." Much like Let's Get It On, slow jam

Slow jam

A slow jam an umbrella term for music with R&B and Soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or down tempo songs. The term is most commonly reserved for soft-sounding songs with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. This definition has led to intense debate over whether...

music, as well as modern soul and the quiet storm

Quiet storm

genre, have been seen by critics to have been engendered by I Want You and by Gaye.

Original LP

Deluxe edition

On July 29, 2003, I Want You was reissued by Motown as a two-disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

expanded edition release, featuring 24-bit

24-bit

Notable 24-bit machines include the ICT 1900 series and the Harris H series.The IBM System/360, announced in 1964, was a popular computer system with 24-bit addressing and 32-bit general registers and arithmetic...

digital remastering of the original album's recordings, previously unissued material, and a 24-page booklet, which contains the original LP liner notes

Liner notes

Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...

by Marvin Gaye, as well as comprehensive essays by writers including David Ritz

David Ritz

.
Original LP (Disc one)

"I Want You (Vocal) – 4:36
"Come Live With Me Angel – 6:30
"After the Dance (Instrumental)" – 4:25
"Feel All My Love Inside" – 3:23
"I Wanna Be Where You Are" – 1:17
"I Want You (Intro Jam)" – 0:19
"All the Way Around" – 3:50
"Since I Had You" – 4:05
"Soon I'll Be Loving You Again" – 3:13
"I Want You (Intro Jam) Ross, Ware" – 1:40
"After the Dance (Vocal)" – 4:42
"I Want You (Vocal) (Promo Only Version)" – 3:38
"I Want You (Instrumental)" – 4:39
"Strange Love (Feel All My Love Inside) (Instrumental)" – 2:57

The Sessions: alternate mixes, vocals & outtakes (Disc two)

"I Want You (Vocal & Rhythm)" – 5:05
"Come Live With Me Angel (Alternate Version)" – 7:37
"After the Dance (Instrumental)" – 5:33
"Feel All My Love Inside (Alternate Version)" – 3:52
"I Wanna Be Where You Are (Alternate Version)" – 6:07
"I Want You (Guitar Jam)" – 0:29
"All the Way Around (Alternate Version)" – 3:52
"Since I Had You (Alternate Version)" – 4:16
"Soon I'll Be Loving You Again (Alternate Version)" – 4:30
"I Want You (Jam) (Undubbed)" – 4:52
"After the Dance (Vocal) (Alternate Version)" – 5:14
"I Wanna Be Where You Are (After the Dance)" – 4:01
"You Are the Way You Are (Instrumental)" – 4:26
"Is Anybody Thinking About Their Living?" – 4:23

Personnel

Artwork by: Ernie Barnes
Ernie Barnes
Ernest “Ernie” Eugene Barnes, Jr. was an African-American painter, well-known for his unique style of elongation and movement. He was also a professional football player, actor and author.- Childhood :...

, Frank Mulvey
Arranged by (Strings, Horns): Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson was an innovative American composer whose interests spanned the worlds of jazz, dance, pop, film, television, and classical music.Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson was Afro-American...
Bass: Chuck Rainey
Chuck Rainey
Chuck Rainey, is an American bass guitar session musician, known for playing with many well-known American musicians and acts, including Donald Byrd, Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, and Aretha Franklin.-Biography:Rainey's youthful pursuits included violin, piano and trumpet...

, Henry Davis, Ron Brown, Wilton Felder
Wilton Felder
Wilton Lewis Felder is both a saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of The Crusaders, initially called the Jazz Crusaders. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper founded the group while in high school in Houston...
Bongos, Congas: Bobbye Hall Porter, Eddie "Bongo" Brown
Drums: James Gadson
James Gadson
James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
Electric Piano (Fender Rhodes), Piano: Jerry Peters, John Barnes, Sonny Burke
Sonny Burke
Sonny Burke was a big band leader. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke Ambassadors....
Engineer: Fred Ross, Art Stewart
Executive Producer: Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...

, Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
Guitar: David T. Walker
David T. Walker
David T. Walker is an American guitarist born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to numerous session musician duties since the early 1970s, Walker has issued over twelve albums in his own name.-Career:...

, Dennis Coffey
Dennis Coffey
Dennis Coffey is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings.-Biography:Coffey learned to play guitar at the age of thirteen, in the Michigan Upper Peninsula town of Copper City...

, Jay Graydon
Jay Graydon
Jay Graydon is a Los Angeles songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards with twelve Grammy nominations, among them the title "Producer of the Year" and "Best Engineered Recording". Jay Graydon has mastered many...

, Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson, Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Parker, Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...
Percussion: Gary Coleman, Jack Arnold
Producer: Leon Ware
Leon Ware
Leon Ware is a soul music singer, songwriter and producer. Best known for crafting the hit album, I Want You, originally recorded for Ware, until friend and Motown icon Marvin Gaye was assigned to the album in 1976...

, Marvin Gaye, Arthur "T-Boy" Ross (co-produced tracks: A1, A3, B1, B2, B4-B6)
Vocals: Marvin Gaye

Album

Title	Information
I Want You	US Pop Albums Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... (1976) #4 US Soul Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... #1

Singles

Title	Information
"I Want You (Vocal) I Want You (Marvin Gaye song) -Background:Madonna recorded a cover version of "I Want You" with British trip-hop group Massive Attack for her ballads compilation album Something to Remember and the Marvin Gaye tribute album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye in 1995... "	Tamla single 54264F, 1976 B-side: "I Want You (Instrumental)" US Pop Singles Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... #15 US Soul Singles Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... #1
"After the Dance After the Dance "After the Dance" is a slow jam recorded by singer Marvin Gaye and released as the second single off Gaye's hit album, I Want You. Though it received modest success, the song served as one of Marvin's best ballads and the song served as part of the template for quiet storm and urban contemporary... "	Tamla single LTD-38, 1976 B-side: "After the Dance (Instrumental)" US Pop Singles #74 US Soul Singles #14 US Hot Dance/Disco #10
"Since I Had You Since I Had You "Since I Had You" is a quiet storm-styled soul song recorded by singer Marvin Gaye for the I Want You album. The song was co-written by Gaye and producer Leon Ware and is a song that like "All the Way Round" talked of a reunion between the singer and a reputed lover, this time at a dance floor and... "	Tamla single LTD-39, 1976 B-side: "Soon I'll Be Loving You Again Soon I'll Be Loving You Again "Soon I'll Be Loving You Again" is an album track issued in 1976 by singer Marvin Gaye on the I Want You album. The song's explicit nature is shown throughout the song as in this song, Marvin talks about the pleasures of performing oral sex for the first time with his woman... " Did not chart

Sample use

The information regarding sampling

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

of songs from I Want You is adapted from TheBreaks.com

"I Want You"
- "I Want You" by Madonna
  Madonna (entertainer)
  Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
  
  from the compilation Something to Remember
  Something to Remember
  Something to Remember is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 7, 1995 by Maverick Records. It came after a controversial period of Madonna in the 1990s and at this time critics had deemed her career over...
- "I Want You" by Diana Ross
  Diana Ross
  Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
  
  from the album I Love You
  I Love You (Diana Ross album)
  I Love You is Diana Ross' latest album, released in the United Kingdom and some parts of Europe on October 2nd 2006. Diana was inspired to release an album of love songs after she had been looking through a family photo album and wanted to base her next project around the greatest factor in her...
- "I Want You" by Robert Palmer from the album Don't Explain
  Don't Explain (album)
  Don't Explain is a 1990 album by Robert Palmer. During the course of its sprawling 18 tracks Palmer displays rock, R&B, jazz and Bahamian influences. Several classic songs are covered, as well...
- "I Want You
  I Want You (Toni Pearen song)
  I Want You is a pop song performed by Australian actress/singer Toni Pearen, released as the second single from her debut album Intimate in 1993...
  
  " by Toni Pearen
  Toni Pearen
  Toni Pearen is an Australian actress, singer, songwriter and TV presenter born in Cronulla, Sydney on 5 June 1972. She initially became recognisable through her role on soap opera E Street from 1989 until 1992. She had a pop music career in the early 1990s which included the release of an album and...
  
  from the album Intimate
- "Can't Stop Us" by Little Brother from the mixtape And Justus For All
- "Aftermath" by Christion
  Christión
  Christión was a male duo featuring brothers Kenni Ski and Allen Anthony, the first R&B act to be signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. They released their single "Full of Smoke" on Roc-A-Fella in 1996, reaching #53 on the Hot 100 and #15 on the R&B charts....
- "Sticky Situation" by Conscious Daughters
- "It's Going Down" by EPMD
  EPMD
  EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...
- "Be Happy" by Mary J. Blige
  Mary J. Blige
  Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
  
  from the album, My Life
  My Life (Mary J. Blige album)
  My Life is the second studio album from American R&B and soul singer Mary J. Blige, Released by Uptown/MCA Records on November 29, 1994. Recording sessions for the album began in fall of 1993 and ended almost one year later. Many of the topics on My Life deal with clinical depression, Blige's...
- "Don't Give Me No Bammer" by RBL Posse
- "Tash Rules" by Tash
- "Long Nite" by Three 6 Mafia
  Three 6 Mafia
  Three 6 Mafia are an Academy Award-winning, American rap group originating from Memphis, Tennessee. Formed in 1991 as Triple 6 Mafia, by DJ Paul, Juicy J, & Lord Infamous, the group at its most featured six members including; Crunchy Black, Gangsta Boo and Koopsta Knicca...

"Come Live with Me Angel"
- "Wanna Get to Know You
  Wanna Get to Know You
  "Wanna Get to Know You" is the title of a song recorded by G-Unit. It was released in January 2004 as the fourth single from their 2003 debut album, Beg For Mercy.-Background:...
  
  " by G-Unit
  G-Unit
  G-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City formed by 50 Cents. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mix tapes...
  
  from the album Beg for Mercy
  Beg for Mercy
  Beg for Mercy is the debut album by hip hop group G-Unit, composed of rappers 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck, with support from Tony Yayo. The album was released in November 2003, 10 months after 50 Cent's debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin....

"After the Dance"
- "After the Dance" by El DeBarge
  El DeBarge
  Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge is an American R&B/pop falsetto singer and was the focal point and lead singer of the family group DeBarge throughout the early to mid-1980s....
  
  from the album In the Storm
  In the Storm
  In The Storm is the third album by El DeBarge released on Warner Bros. Records.-Tracklisting:#"Elmo Funk "#"Fast Lane"#"After The Dance"#"My Heart Belongs To You"#"Cry "#"Love Me Tonight"#"Sincerely Yours "...
- "With Me" by De La Soul
  De La Soul
  De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
  
  from the album Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
  Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
  Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump is De La Soul's fifth full-length studio album, released on August 8, 2000.- Overview :The album was the first in a planned three-disc installment, which was originally intended to be a three-disc album...
- "Play on Playa" by Nas
  Nas
  Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
  
  from the album Hip Hop Is Dead
  Hip Hop Is Dead
  Hip Hop Is Dead is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 15, 2006 on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam...
- "Steady Mobbin'" by Ice Cube
  Ice Cube
  O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
  
  from the album Death Certificate
  Death Certificate (album)
  Death Certificate is the second studio album by American rapper Ice Cube, released October 29, 1991 on Priority Records. Highly anticipated with over one million advanced orders, the album was certified platinum in sales on December 20, 1991...
- "Get Retarded" by Canibus
  Canibus
  Germaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties...
- "Spelunking" by Recloose

"Since I Had You"
- "Otha Fish" (remix) by The Pharcyde
  The Pharcyde
  The Pharcyde are an alternative hip hop group based in South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani , Slimkid3 , Bootie Brown and Fatlip . DJ Mark Luv was the group's first DJ, followed by producer J-Swift and then J Dilla...
  
  from the album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
  Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
  Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde is the debut album of American hip hop group The Pharcyde, released on November 24, 1992 through Delicious Vinyl Records. The album was produced by former group member J-Swift, and features only one guest appearance, provided by little known Los Angeles rapper Bucwheed...

"Soon I'll Be Loving You Again"
- "American Dreamin'" by Jay-Z
  Jay-Z
  Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
  
  from the album American Gangster
  American Gangster (album)
  American Gangster is the tenth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released November 6, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records. It is Jay-Z's last studio release for the Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records label and his first concept album, which was inspired by the film of the same name. The album features...

External links

I Want You at Discogs
Discogs
Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
Album Review at BBC Online
"I Want You" music video at YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

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