I COME UP HARD BABY,
BUT NOW I'M COOL
I DIDN'T MAKE IT SUGAR,
PLAYIN' BY THE RULES
Trouble Man
is the first
soundtrack album
released by
American
soul singer
on
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
politically charged album
What's Going On.
This was the first album
to be written and
produced solely
by Gaye.
The only other album
recorded under his
full creative control was
In Our Lifetime,
released in 1981.
Recording
Following the success of
What's Going On,
Marvin Gaye
had not only won
creative control,
but a renewed
$1 million contract
with
Motown Records
subsidiary Tamla
had made the
musician the
most profitable
R&B artist
of all time.
Signing the contract
in early 1972,
Gaye sought to
take advantage of
his opportunities.
Bolstered by the successes
of film soundtracks
such as Shaft
and
Superfly,
Motown offered
the musician a chance
to compose his own
film soundtrack
after winning rights
to produce
the crime thriller,
Trouble Man.
Unlike Isaac Hayes
and
Curtis Mayfield,
who mixed
social commentary
with sexual songs
in their
respective soundtracks,
Gaye chose to focus
primarily on the film's
character,
"Mister T",
producing and composing
the film's score
while entirely
producing the
film's soundtrack,
which was recorded at
Motown Studios
(or "Hitsville West")
in Hollywood.
Following the closing of
Detroit's Hitsville
USA studios in 1972,
Motown had primarily moved
its location to
Los Angeles,
where Gaye
also relocated
while he recorded the
Trouble Man album.
Gaye invited
several musicians,
including some from
the Funk Brothers
and musicians from
Hamilton Bohannon's band.
Gaye would compose
five different versions
of the title track,
including an
alternate vocal version,
which was used
primarily for the film's intro.
The alternate version
featured Gaye
double-tracking
two lead vocal parts
into one,
overlaying his
falsetto vocals
with his lower register.
The single version,
which was also featured
on the soundtrack,
would feature a
single lead vocal take.
The other three versions
were put on the album
as instrumentals
with Gaye providing
synthesizer keyboards
while saxophone solos
(and occasionally guitar)
accompany him.
The only other songs
in which Gaye
vocalized harmonies
or performed
lead vocals included
"Poor Abbey Walsh",
"Cleo's Apartment",
"Life is a Gamble",
"Don't Mess with Mister T"
and
"There Goes Mister T".
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