Tuesday, June 12, 2012

A Classic Revisited---Marvin Gaye: Here, My Dear

I'm always buying music, but this album has been on constant rotation for the past few years.  I keep finding nuisances that I enjoy, whether it's Marvin's multi-tracked vocals coming from all angles, or the funkiness and airiness instrumentation, everything about this album continues to astound me.  Released in 1978, Here, My Dear is a stone-cold classic.  It's Gaye's ultimate bummer trip, and we are brought along for the ride.  I don't need to go into detail about the album, as I did more so in a previous post, but the album is a definite answer to finalizing a divorce from Anna Gordy.  While I'd probably have to give the edge to What's Going On as my favorite Marvin Gaye album (and probably my favorite album of all-time in any genre), Here, My Dear is definitely my second favorite Marvin Gaye album, and definitely up there in the top 20 of all-time favorite albums.  This is Gaye's most underrated album.  It's perfect in it's imperfections, the windiness of it can be criticized, and the self-absorption (Gaye could be painfully self-centered) lyrically can be over-the-top but it's what makes it the most interesting album he ever recorded.  Here, My Dear is completely Gaye, emotionally exposed for all to see.      
 

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