Following the success of What's Going On, Marvin Gaye had not only won creative control, but a renewed $1 million contract with Motown 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 both the film's score while entirely producing the film's soundtrack, which was recorded at Motown Studios 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, bringing his falsetto vocals with his tenor on top of the falsetto. The single version, which was also featured on the soundtrack, would feature a single lead vocal take. The other three versions were put onthe album as instrumentals with Gaye providing synthesizer keyboards while saxophone solos 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".
Critical reception
Bolstered by the hit success of the title track, which returned Gaye to a blues format reaching #4 on the Soul Chart and #7 on the Pop Charts, respectively, the album followed in December where it reached the top 20 of the Billboard 200, peaking at #12. On Cashbox and Record World Magazines Charts the album even reached the Top 5, respectively, hitting almost as high as its monumental predecessor What‘s Going On, eighteen months earlier. It would become Gaye's only soundtrack and film score. Critics gave the album favorable reviews while sometimes comparing Gaye's soundtrack efforts to that of Hayes' and Mayfield's. Following this, other R&B musicians would produce soundtracks of their own, including James Brown, Barry White and fellow Motown acts, Willie Hutch and Edwin Starr. The album was referenced positively in the 2014 film , with Falcon saying to Captain America : "everything you missed jammed into one album." There is also a clip of the titular track playing on an iPhone in one hospital scene.
Track listing
All songs written by Marvin Gaye.
Original LP
Side One
"Main Theme from Trouble Man " – 2:30
"'T' Plays It Cool" – 4:27
"Poor Abbey Walsh" – 4:13
"The Break In " – 1:57
"Cleo's Apartment" – 2:10
"Trouble Man" – 3:49
"Theme from Trouble Man" – 2:01
Side Two
"'T' Stands for Trouble" – 4:48
"Main Theme from Trouble Man " – 3:52
"Life Is a Gamble" – 2:32
"Deep-in-It" – 1:25
"Don't Mess with Mister 'T'" – 3:04
"There Goes Mister 'T'" – 1:37
2012 Reissue
Disc one
Main Theme From Trouble Man
"T" Plays It Cool
Poor Abbey Walsh, Part 2
Poor Abbey Walsh, Part 2
Trouble Man
Theme From Trouble Man
"T" Stands For Trouble
"T" Stands For Trouble
Main Theme From Trouble Man
Disc two
Trouble Man
Poor Hall
"T" Plays It Cool
Cadillac Interlude / Cleo's Apartment
Man Tied Up / Jimmy's West / Conversation With Cleo
Crap Game / Getting Rid Of Body / Talking To Angel
