In celebration of Roberta Flack‘s 84th birthday, her hitherto unreleased cover of Marvin Gaye’s iconic ‘What’s Going On’ has been unearthed from the vault. Announcing the release on her Facebook page, Flack (or her team) did not explain the context behind the recording.

Flack chooses not to borrow from Gaye’s melodious and richly layered arrangement (admired for its use of vocal overdubs). Flack’s take is percussive and sharp – with bongo drums and electric guitar setting the pulse, over which she delivers a largely amelodic vocal performance. It strikes more as a spoken-word set to music – though Gaye’s incisive lyrics about police brutality and social injustice are no less penetrating.