You’re the Man by Marvin Gaye

Putting this “new” album by Marvin Gaye (whose own father shot and killed him back in 1984) is a bit of a cheat. You’re the Man, originally recorded as the follow-up to Gaye’s first platinum-selling album What’s Going On, was never released in 1972, due to a dispute between Gaye and Mowtown Records’ founder and then-president Berry Gordy (who felt that What’s Going On was already a tinge too politically-minded and this follow-up, You’re the Man, most decidedly so, despite the undeniable success of the former album.) You’re the Man, if released when originally planned back in 1972, would have been Gaye’s twelfth full-length record. Releasing now, 35 years posthumously, it becomes his 18th and final LP.

In addition to being a clear R&B staple of its time, the album is a fantastic piece of politically commentary. Point your finger anywhere in the lyrics and you’ll see lines like “I believe America’s at stake,” “Politics and hypocrites are turning us all into lunatics,” and “Don’t you understand/There’s misery in the land.” There’s even a line that reads “demagogues and admitted minority haters should never be president,” intended as a dig at Nixon but so easily fits our current tyrant in charge.

Even if you’re not into lyrics, putting this album on will immediately get you moving in your chair. This is Gaye at his peak, between one fantastic album (What’s Going On) and another (Let’s Get it On). I waffled on putting it so low in the Top 31, honestly. I have a feeling I’ll regret placing it so low when reflecting back in years to come.

With the politics in our country at a fever pitch, this album couldn’t arrive at a better time. Yes, the music is wonderful, but pay attention to what Gaye is telling us from the grave. The words may be rooted in the civil rights issues of the 70s, but you shouldn’t be at all surprised that you can easily connect them to today’s climate.

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28. Big Wows by Stealing Sheep
29. 1000 gecs by 100 gecs
30. In the Morse Code of Brake Lights by The New Pornographers
31. Radiant Dawn by Operators

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