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On Friday night, singer-songwriter Charlie Puth opened his set with his debut single, “Marvin Gaye.” The doo-wop throwback turns Gaye’s name into a clumsy come-on — “Let’s Marvin Gaye and get it on” — and on the anniversary of his death, one couldn’t help but feel that the soul star was rolling over in his grave.
Unlike the controversy that swirled around Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” the most offensive thing about “Marvin Gaye” is how inoffensive it is — a bland rehash of a sound that has been pillaged by blue-eyed soul musicians for decades, with a breakdown that nods to hip-hop. (On the recording, that’s where Meghan Trainor adds a verse; in concert, Puth beat-boxes.) The song resembles the rest of Puth’s music in that it is pleasantly familiar and particularly forgettable.”
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