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When Marvin Gaye released his thirteenth studio album, I Want You, in March 1976, it had been roughly 2-1/2 years since his last solo studio album.  Motown passed the time with various other Gaye releases: the Diana Ross duet set Diana and Marvin, a triple-LP Anthology, and a live album, but Gaye’s latest original work would be hotly anticipated.  The label itself was at a crossroads; Four Tops and Martha Reeves had left the roster and The Jackson 5 were on the cusp of doing so.  The sound of soul music was rapidly changing, and Marvin Gaye was expected to remain at its vanguard.  Though time had passed, I Want You proved that the singer-songwriter hadn’t lost a step.  UMe is celebrating 50 years of the classic album with a pair of new vinyl releases which are shipping now.

The object of Gaye’s affection on I Want You was Janis Hunter.  Seventeen years her senior, he sang “Let’s Get It On” directly to her in the studio in 1973; they would have two children together and, in 1977, marry.  (His divorce from Anna Gordy Gaye, Motown founder Berry Gordy’s sister, wasn’t finalized until that year.)  I Want You was his sensual and erotic tribute to the woman with whom he had fallen in love, and much of it was crafted with Leon Ware.  Leon had been a writer for Motown’s publishing arm, Jobete Music, in the 1960s but had experienced great success more recently as writer of Michael Jackson’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are” with Diana Ross’ younger brother, Arthur “T-Boy” Ross.  Ware and Ross had begun composing and recording songs for a Ross solo project; “I Want You” was the last song they finished.  When Berry Gordy heard it, he sensed a hit – and immediately sent it to Marvin Gaye.  Marvin was as taken with the smoldering ballad as Gordy had been, and offered Ware the opportunity to build an entire album around it for him. (T-Boy’s own recording of “I Want You” would eventually open his 1979 Motown solo album Changes.)

The result was I Want You, featuring a number of Ware/Ross co-writes (including “All the Way Around” and a remake of “I Wanna Be Where You Are”) and songs penned by Ware and Gaye such as “After the Dance” (with T-Boy), “Since I Had You,” and “Feel All My Love Inside.”  The album’s lush, funky, dance-oriented sound was visually evoked on the indelible, now-familiar cover artwork by Ernie Barnes.  I Want You was alternately earthy and ethereal, subtle and explicit, sweet and carnal; though a true collaboration with Leon Ware, it was another soul-piercing work from Marvin Gaye.  It reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the R&B chart, while the title track topped the R&B chart and went to the top 20 of the Hot 100.  (Ware’s own Motown album, Musical Massage, reached stores a few months later.  With its own bedroom-soul sound, it’s a true companion to I Want You.)  Marvin and Janis divorced in 1982.

I Want You returns to vinyl from Motown/UMe as part of the Vinylphile series in an all-analog AAA mastering by Joe Nino-Hernes.  This edition has been pressed at RTI on 180-gram black vinyl and housed in a tip-on jacket with a matte finish.  The LP is stored in a protective poly sleeve, and an insert includes new liner notes by producer-songwriter Salaam Remi.

At the same time, UMe is reaching back to the 2003 Deluxe Edition CD of I Want You for the vinyl premiere of I Want You 2.  This 2-LP set brings together the bonus tracks from that 2003 double-disc release including alternate takes, alternate mixes, and outtakes from the I Want You sessions as well as the single mixes.  One previously unreleased track, a new remix of the title track by ROC, closes out the set.  (I Want You Remixed, a new three-track digital EP, is also streaming now with the song as remixed by TimaLikesMusic, ROC, and John Morales.  A Salaam Remi remix of “Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again” is also streaming.)  Arin Ray writes the liner notes for I Want You 2.

Both the Vinylphile edition of I Want You and the 2-LP I Want You 2 are available now from uDiscoverMusic.  You’ll find the track listing and order links below!

I Want You (Vinylphyle Edition) (originally released as Tamla T6-342S1, 1976 – reissued Tamla/Motown/UMe, 2026)

Side A

1. I Want You (Vocal)
2. Come Live with Me Angel
3. After the Dance (Instrumental)
4. Feel All My Love Inside
5. I Wanna Be Where You Are

Side B

1. I Want You (Intro Jam)
2. All the Way Around
3. Since I Had You
4. Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again
5. I Want You (Jam)
6. After the Dance (Vocal)

I Want You 2 (Tamla/Motown/UMe, 2026)

Side A

1. I Want You (Vocal & Rhythm)
2. Come Live with Me Angel (Alternate Version)
3. After the Dance (Instrumental)
4. Feel All My Love Inside (Alternate Version)

Side B

1. I Wanna Be Where You Are (Alternate Version)
2. I Want You (Guitar Jam)
3. All the Way Around (Alternate Vocal)
4. Since I Had You (Alternate Version)
5. Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again (Alternate Version)

Side C

1. I Want You (Jam – Undubbed)
2. After the Dance (Alternate Vocal)
3. I Wanna Be Where You Are (After the Dance)
4. You Are the Way You Are (Instrumental)

Side D

1. Is Anybody Thinking About Their Living?
2. I Want You (Vocal – Promo Version)
3. I Want You (Instrumental)
4. Strange Love (Feel All My Love Inside) (Instrumental)
5. I Want You (ROCMIX)

Sides A-C and Tracks D1 and D4 released on I Want You (Deluxe Edition) – Motown B0000467-02, 2003
Track D2-D3 released as Tamla single T 54264F, 1976
Track D5 previously unreleased