Trouble Man (album)
Encyclopedia
Trouble Man is a soundtrack album
by soul
singer Marvin Gaye
, released December 8, 1972 on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records
. As the soundtrack to the 1972 blaxploitation film of the same name, the Trouble Man soundtrack was a more contemporary move for Gaye, following his landmark politically-charged album What's Going On
.
, Gaye was intrigued by Hollywood. Gaye had acted in two films, The Ballad of Andy Crocker and Chrome and Hot Leather. The singer moved to Los Angeles
in 1972 after he accepted the offer to do a soundtrack album.
Like Isaac Hayes
and Curtis Mayfield
, Gaye took to recording a soundtrack for a blaxploitation
film. Trouble Man
, a thriller based in the ghetto, was made solely for the soundtrack Gaye composed and produced himself. Unlike Super Fly and Shaft
, the soundtrack to Trouble Man does not feature love
songs; except for a few vocal jabs by Gaye, it is made up entirely of instrumental pieces.
The title track was released in several different mixes. The song was also Gaye's venture into a more blues
-influenced sound missing from his previous work. According to Gaye, the song was autobiographical to his nature. The vocal version became another big hit for Gaye, reaching #7 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart in 1973. The song was later covered by long-time Gaye admirer and Motown artist, Chico DeBarge
.
Critics deemed Trouble Man on par with Hayes and Mayfield's albums. Gaye was soon followed by other contemporaries including James Brown (Black Caesar), Willie Hutch
(The Mack
; Foxy Brown
) and Barry White
(The Together Brothers).
.
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
by 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...
singer 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 December 8, 1972 on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
. As the soundtrack to the 1972 blaxploitation film of the same name, the Trouble Man soundtrack was a more contemporary move for Gaye, following his landmark politically-charged 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...
.
History
Fresh off the success of his classic 1971 album, What's Going OnWhat'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...
, Gaye was intrigued by Hollywood. Gaye had acted in two films, The Ballad of Andy Crocker and Chrome and Hot Leather. The singer moved to Los Angeles
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...
in 1972 after he accepted the offer to do a soundtrack album.
Like Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
and Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
, Gaye took to recording a soundtrack for a blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film. Trouble Man
Trouble Man
Trouble Man is a 1972 blaxploitation film produced and released by 20th Century Fox. The film stars Robert Hooks as "Mr. T.", a hard-edged private detective who tends to take justice into his own hands...
, a thriller based in the ghetto, was made solely for the soundtrack Gaye composed and produced himself. Unlike Super Fly and Shaft
Shaft (album)
Shaft is a double album by Isaac Hayes, recorded for Stax Records' Enterprise label as the soundtrack LP for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1971 Soul Cinema Classic film Shaft. The album mostly consists of instrumentals composed by Hayes as score for the film. Three vocal selections are included:...
, the soundtrack to Trouble Man does not feature love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
songs; except for a few vocal jabs by Gaye, it is made up entirely of instrumental pieces.
The title track was released in several different mixes. The song was also Gaye's venture into a more blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-influenced sound missing from his previous work. According to Gaye, the song was autobiographical to his nature. The vocal version became another big hit for Gaye, reaching #7 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart in 1973. The song was later covered by long-time Gaye admirer and Motown artist, Chico DeBarge
Chico DeBarge
Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge is an American R&B singer and a younger brother of the members of the Motown family act DeBarge...
.
Critics deemed Trouble Man on par with Hayes and Mayfield's albums. Gaye was soon followed by other contemporaries including James Brown (Black Caesar), Willie Hutch
Willie Hutch
Willie McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s....
(The Mack
The Mack
The Mack is a 1973 blaxploitation film starring Max Julien and Richard Pryor. Although the movie was produced during the era of such blaxploitation movies as Dolemite, its producers do not label it a true blaxploitation picture...
; Foxy Brown
Foxy Brown (1974 film)
Foxy Brown is a 1974 blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. It stars Pam Grier as the title character, described by one character as "a whole lot of woman" who showcases unrelenting black sexiness while battling the villains.- Plot :...
) and Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
(The Together Brothers).
Track listing
All songs written by Marvin GayeMarvin 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....
.
- "Main Theme From Trouble Man (2)" – 2:30
- "'T' Plays It Cool" – 4:27
- "Poor Abbey Walsh" – 4:13
- "The Break In (Police Shoot Big)" – 1:57
- "Cleo's Apartment" – 2:10
- "Trouble ManTrouble Man (Marvin Gaye song)"Trouble Man" is a 1972 hit single for American soul singer Marvin Gaye on the Tamla label.The song was the title track and theme of a Soul Cinema Classic film of the same name. Relating the song to the travails of the movie's leading character, titled "Mister T", and also relating to issues in...
" – 3:49 - "Theme From Trouble Man" – 2:01
- "'T' Stands For Trouble" – 4:48
- "Main Theme From Trouble Man (1)" – 3:52
- "Life is a Gamble" – 2:32
- "Deep in It" – 1:25
- "Don't Mess with Mister 'T'" – 3:04
- "There Goes Mister 'T'" – 1:37
Musicians
- Marvin Gaye: vocals, drums, keyboards, piano
- Trevor Lawrence: alto, tenor and baritone saxophone
- Dale Oehler: horns
- Gene PageGene PageEugene Edgar "Gene" Page, Jr. was an influential conductor, composer, arranger and record producer most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s....
: strings - Bob Ragland: piano, strings
- James Anthony Carmichael: horns
Additional personnel
- Composed, written and produced by Marvin Gaye
- Arranged by Dale Oehler, Marvin Gaye, Gene Page, Jack Hayes, J.J. Johnson, Bob Ragland and Leo Shunker