Marvin Gaye's 'Let’s Get It On' Gets 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Not only are we celebrating 50 years of hip-hop in 2023, but this year also marks the 50-year anniversary of Marvin Gaye‘s Let’s Get It On album. In honor of the monumental album’s milestone, Motown is releasing a deluxe digital edition of the album complete with 33 bonus tracks – 18 of which are unreleased ones.

The new tracks – demos, re-recordings and instrumentals – are compiled from a slew of different recording sessions, including the 1972 and 1973 sessions and the David Van DePitte Sessions. The final part of the album, entitled Vulnerable, comprises seven acapella tracks. See the full multifaceted tracklist below.

Original Album
1. Let’s Get It On
2. Please Stay (Once You Go Away)
3. If I Should Die Tonight
4. Keep Gettin’ It On
5. Come Get To This
6. Distant Lover
7. You Sure Love To Ball
8. Just To Keep You Satisfied

Single Edits
9. Let’s Get It On (single version)
10. You Sure Love To Ball (single version)
11. If I Should Die Tonight (original LP edit)

Album Bonus Tracks
12. Let’s Get It On – demo
13. Let’s Get It On – Pt. II (a.k.a. Keep Gettin’ It On)
14. I Knew One Day My Day Would Come (instrumental)
15. Interlude #1
16. Please Stay (Once You Go Away) – alternate mix 1
17. Lovely Lady (instrumental)
18. If I Should Die Tonight – demo
19. I Don’t Have To Get High To Do It (instrumental)
20. Come Get To This – alternate mix 1
21. Distant Lover – alternate mix 1
22. You Sure Love To Ball – alternate mix 1 w/alternate vocal
23. Just To Keep You Satisfied – alternate mix w/alternate vocal
24. Interlude #2
25. If I Should Die Tonight – SaLaAM ReMi’s Piano Mix
26. Just To Keep You Satisfied – John Morales’s Stripped Mix

The David Van DePitte Sessions
27. Song #1 (instrumental)
28. Song #2 (instrumental)
29. Song #3 (instrumental)
30. Song #4 (partial vocal)
31. Shake Well (instrumental)
32. Perfection (instrumental)
33. Cakes (instrumental)
34. My Love Is Growing (Super Polished)

Vulnerable: The 1973 vocals
35. She Needs Me
36. Why Did I Choose You
37. Funny, Not Much
38. This Will Make You Laugh
39. The Shadow Of Your Smile
40. I Wish I Didn’t Love You So
41. I Won’t Cry Anymore

The Let’s Get It On anniversary edition is slated for digital release on August 25. Let’s Get It On also saw a 2001 re-release, but the upcoming anniversary re-release will replace 2001’s on streaming services.

Elsewhere in music news, Questlove’s new literary venture Hip Hop Is History will chronicle 50 years of the genre.