--=[ Marvin Gaye 2 ]=--

Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear [1978]

Marvin Gaye's plan for this album was to deliberately make the shittiest, worst selling record of his career. What he ended up with was his most honest and emotional release. The story behind Here, My Dear is truly the stuff of legend... beginning when Marvin's wife Anna (sister of Motown boss, Berry Gordy) filed for a divorce. In an unusual arrangement, the royalties for Gaye's next album would go directly to Anna. Marvin's intent, therefore, was to deliver a record that would profit his ex-wife as little as possible. But, as recording began, Gaye's attitude abruptly changed. He instead channeled his conflicting emotions into a double album so deeply tormented that Here, My Dear stands today as Marvin Gaye's last, great artistic statement.

Both incomparably smooth and incontrovertibly twisted, Here, My Dear is Gaye with the mask off: even the multiple vocal overdubs can't hide his pain and his weariness.















Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On [1973]

Marvin Gaye's 1973 album, Let's Get It On, is a marvel of sexual blandishment every bit the artistic equal of, say, John Donne's best seduction poems. The difference, though, is that the poetry here isn't in the verse--which gets a trifle clichéd--but in the supple pulse of the grooves and in the aching need of Gaye's sensual voice. The marvelous title track, a No. 1 hit, riffs on the earlier hook of Gaye's "What's Going On" to reach a more primal climax, and everything else here--a steamy swirl of sax, strings, and backing voices--is sexy, beautiful, and simply sublime.















Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man [1972]

Marvin Gaye's beautiful album is one of the very best soundtracks of the genre. This album gave him the opportunity to explore a jazz feel without losing the soulful funk of his trademark sound. Sparse and almost empty in sound, some truly awesome synth-driven funk instrumentals compliment a great theme and several excellent vocal tracks. Check out "T Stands For Trouble" and "T Plays It Cool".

Tracklistings are in the comments section.