Day 13: Marvin Gaye, The World is Rated X | 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶

With many 70s songs by Marvin Gaye to choose from on Day 13 of the 30-Day Song Challenge, we opt for “The World is Rated X – Alternate Mix.” 

Embracing the trendiness of social media, The Musical Hype unleashes its own, month-long version of the 30-Day Song Challenge.

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Day 13 Prompt: A song you like from the 70s

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The late, great Marvin Gaye previously appeared on my ‘X-Rated’ playlist – say it ain’t so Marvin! Well, it’s not so… really.  The only reasons why “The World is Rated X” appeared on 11 Songs That are X-Rated, to Some Extent is because of (1) its song title and the fact that (2) it’s a damn good song.

Honestly, “Let’s Get it On” or “Sexual Healing” are much more risqué than “The World is Rated X” could ever hope to be.  “The World is Rated X” fits the criteria for Day 13: A song you like from the 70s.

“The World is Rated X” keeps Marvin Gaye’s ‘lost’ album, You’re the Man, going strong early on. A superb, socially charged standout, the production is masterful, led by the agile, robust bass lines, and the lush, dramatic strings. Gaye is locked-in, showing incredibly authenticity as he laments the corrupt state of the world.  Particularly at the end, he’s totally disturbed and totally riled up:

“Where’s the love? Where’s the peace?
Where’s the joy? Where’s the hope for us all?
God is watching, He knows where you’re at
Yes, he’s watching the situation, that’s a fact.”

Sure, “The World is Rated X” has appeared as a bonus track on various Marvin Gaye reissues, as well as You’re the Man, but is 70s through and though.

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Marvin Gaye • You’re the Man • Motown • 2019

Day 13: Marvin Gaye, “The World is Rated X” (30-Day Song Challenge) [Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, Motown, The Musical Hype, Pixabay]

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