Marvin Gaye's Open Book

You're really throwing down the reissue gauntlet with a term like Super Deluxe. It helps to build on a foundation of one of the most universally acclaimed albums of all time, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. The super is already there, you just have to dress it up nicely. For the landmark record's 40th anniversary, it's available as a double gatefold twelve-inch jacket containing two CDs and an LP. The extra material consists of largely wonderful instrumentals culled from previously unreleased sessions recorded during 1971. These airy yet gritty sketches pointed the way to Gaye's next project, the film score Trouble Man (1972). Also included are alternate takes and the original, rejected "Detroit mix" to What's Going On, which reveal new depth to these classic recordings. With a booklet packed with behind the scenes photography, essays and notes, the Super Deluxe edition lives up to its title with all the necessary trimmings.