Date: Sept 8, 1973
Weeks: 2
The chorus of this song is classic, to be sure. It gets played in contexts both artistic and commercial, sincere and ironic, basic and bizarre. And it's a strong chorus. But the rest of the song doesn't necessarily hold up.
The song's biggest strength is Gaye's vocals. He's a great singer, and the chorus in particular shows off his skill. He's putting on a performance, and it's great. I want to listen to him sing. I like the way his voice alternates between power and gentleness, it's ideal for the song's lyrical context.
The lyrics, I assume, don't need much explanation. It's an invitation to sex. At first glance, it seems like it's an invitation to sex between partners who are already well in love. But there are occasional lines, such as "C'mon darling, stop beatin' 'round the bush," that feel a little more like pressure. Like he's just saying these things to get sex. Ultimately, I'm going to be charitable and assume he really is in love and just wants to take the relationship to the next level, but when you're writing a song like this, it's kind of important to make the lyrics absolutely immune to misinterpretation.
Musically, the song is pretty boring. Yes, the point is to showcase his voice, but the music doesn't seem to try to do very much except create the most basic backing track. The drums don't change much, the bass line has little variation, and even the lead twangy guitar doesn't do very much beyond the chorus. Then in the middle there's a mismash of saxophones, strings, and randomness. There aren't so much verses as freeform jazz between choruses. And it goes on and on for 5 minutes. It's not bad, to be sure, but it's also a little bit boring after a while.
My verdict: Don't like it. It's not a well-constructed pop song. Though I can see it being appealing in its intended context, if you take my meaning.
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