Now which Marvin Gaye did you prefer? Pre or Post-70's?

[BabyLuv64]

Inspired by the Stevie Wonder [[http://soulfuldetroit.com/showthread.php?5867-which-stevie-do-you-prefer-pre-71-or-from-72-to-date) thread.

Source reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Gaye_discography

[bradsupremes]

Pre-1971 for me. I don't care too much for his material after the What's Going On album when he began to layer his own vocals. It just doesn't do anything for me.

[mowest]

Totally agree with bradsupremes. Pre-1971 has more variety and interest.

[scanspeak]

I think I prefer the post 1971 Marvin.

"I want you" [[1976) is my all-time favourite Marvin Gaye song. I LOVE it's sensual layering and harmonies.
Also "Lets get it On" is a gem.

[randy_russi]

Pre-71 for me too! I loved the Smokey productions and also stuff like Pretty Little Baby, Pride & Joy, etc.

[RossHolloway]

I would have to say his pre 71 material as well. It's not that his post 71 material is inferior or anything, its just that its so heavy. And now knowing all that was going on in his life with the death of Tammi and his other inner demons, its just overwhelming. I know his life pre 71 was far from perfect, but it seem like with the death of Tammi, everything just began to slide down hill for the next 13 years... I kinda feel the same way about David Ruffin post-Temptations, his song "My Whole World Ended the Moment You Left Me" just guts me whenever I hear it. It's like the joy in their music went missing for them both.

[soulster]

I'd say I like anything up to 1979. Once he left Motown, he was over in my mind.

[Glenpwood]

Pre 1971 What's Going On for me.... the seventies and eighties stuff is artistically stunning at moments but Grapevine and the Terrell duets alone make me favor the sixties.....

[Ngroove]

Pre-1971. He was the prince of Motown, as well as ladies man!

My favorite Marvin Gaye years, I would say, 1966 to 1969. One More Heartache, Take This Heart of Mine, Little Darling [[I Need You), You, Chained, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, along with Kim Weston’s It Takes Two, It's Got To Be A Miracle [[This Thing Called Love), I Want You Round', and Tammi’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, If This World Were Mine, Your Precious Love, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, You’re All I Need To Get By, and Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy To Come By.

OK, 1964's Baby, Don't You Do It and How Sweet It Is [[To Be Loved By You) just as fun numbers, Mary Wells' Once Upon A Time Just as enchanting.

1971-post; all I truly enjoy is Come Get To This, You Sure Love To Ball, I Want You, and After The Dance.

[marv2]

Pre-1971. He was the prince of Motown, as well as ladies man!

My favorite Marvin Gaye years, I would say, 1966 to 1969. One More Heartache, Take This Heart of Mine, Little Darling [[I Need You), You, Chained, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, along with Kim Weston’s It Takes Two, It's Got To Be A Miracle [[This Thing Called Love), I Want You Round', and Tammi’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, If This World Were Mine, Your Precious Love, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, You’re All I Need To Get By, and Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy To Come By.

OK, 1964's Baby, Don't You Do It and How Sweet It Is [[To Be Loved By You) just as fun numbers, Mary Wells' Once Upon A Time Just as enchanting.

1971-post; all I truly enjoy is Come Get To This, You Sure Love To Ball, I Want You, and After The Dance.

We had a whole thread discussing that period aka "The Middle Period". I'll bump it up.......,.

[Motown4Ever518]

I consider myself a creative person, with an appreciation for art, but to my surprise as with Steveland Morris, I prefer the earlier Marvin Gaye, the "Middle period" if you will.

[candykamaine]

All Marvin Gaye, He's sensational to me from beginning of his singing career to the end. I love his post 70s material because he has his control of his material. And his pre 70s material. Because unlike some people, I don't limit my music too a special year. :) Good music does'nt stop at some magical year to me.

[robb_k]

4845
Pre 1971. If "What's Going On?" o\is Post 1971, it may be the only song of his from that period that I've heard. I stopped listening to the radio in 1966, and stopped buying records in 1971 [[other than a handful in 1972).

[BayouMotownMan]

I love most everything Marvin did up until 1977. With the exception of the song Sexual Healing, everything else sounded foreign and/or unfinished. That last Motown lp was really garbage to me.

[copley]

Marvin '64 - '71 for me. I do like a few later tracks but of course the Motown sound was gone by then.

[soulster]

4845
Pre 1971. If "What's Going On?" o\is Post 1971, it may be the only song of his from that period that I've heard. I stopped listening to the radio in 1966, and stopped buying records in 1971 [[other than a handful in 1972).

Why did you stop listening to radio in 1966, and stop buying records in 1971? Just curious.

[candykamaine]

Why did you stop listening to radio in 1966, and stop buying records in 1971? Just curious.

if i can recall correctly he posted that that music was going in a direction that he did'nt like, if i can recall correctly.

[Boogiedown]

Prefer everything after and including I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE , [[except the grating duets) , peaking with GOT TO GIVE IT UP

[soulster]

if i can recall correctly he posted that that music was going in a direction that he did'nt like, if i can recall correctly.

See, I don't understand that logic because music he likes was made after that time too. Maybe he didn't like everything, but some of what he likes was there.

[tamla617]

babylove64
good one!
i prefer post 71,BUT "in the groove/heard it through the grapevine" lp is the one lp that can compete with post 71 except for the greatest "whats going on"!IMO

[splanky]

I liked mostly all of Marvin's work, pre and post 71. I didn't care much for Got To Give It Up, still don't, but I loved The What's Goin On, Let's Get It On and I Want you albums, vocal layering and all. I loved to hear Marvin play blues and
jazz piano so you know I loved the Trouble Man album too especially the track Cleo's Apartment. Marvin had so much talent.
@robb, I know you explained a few years ago why you stopped listening to radio and buying records when you did but
for the newer members of the forum, can you do that again?...

[robb_k]

if i can recall correctly he posted that that music was going in a direction that he did'nt like, if i can recall correctly.
4850
Your recollection is quite correct. I stopped listening to the radio because I had to suffer through listening to a lot of songs I didn't like, to finally hear one I liked. The kind of music I liked was based much on melody. When Funk came in, most of the songs had qualities I didn't like. Furthermore, I didn't like the sound of moog synthesizers and the new instrumentation.

I liked a lot of Motown's product from 1967-71, and I still liked most of the Jazz instrumentals , and a fair amount of Chicago Soul and some Philly-International product, but little else that was played much. I heard them at the record stores, and still bought a lot of records from 1967-1969. I bought a few in 1970-71, but only a handful in 1972[[mostly Spinners on Atlantic and Drifters on Bell, plus a couple other "old-sounding songs"), and only one in 1974 [["I'm Doin' Fine Now") and one in 1976 [["Right Back Where We Started From").

[nomis]

the double cd set of "I want You" is one of my favourite albums..i love the extended jam of "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and "Soon Ill Be Loving You" is my all time fav Marvin track..and "Whats Goin On" album is killer....

[midnightman]

Nah nah I ain't choosing... uh uh... forget that! lol

[ivyfield]

Oh Man... You can't - you just can't. Marvin was 2 different people in two decades - just like Stevie - growth. Play 'Chained' then play 'After The Dance' there's really no comparison - both are excellent!
4882

[midnightman]

^ This! Marvin's evolution was one of the greatest in music. Even better than Stevie's IMO.

[juicefree20]

Man, this is definitely a difficult choice.

Part of me leans toward the 60's & all of those great childhood memories of those days, not to mention that Marvin was a bad boy. If I include his duets, then I'd go with the 60's. But if we're talking his solo work, then I have to go with the 70's when Marvin began to express HIMSELF as a writer/singer/producer.

What I'm about to say here will likely fly in the face of what most experts have said, but with the exception of the big three, "What's Goin' On", "Mercy Mercy Me", "Inner City Blues" [[& to a lesser degree "God Is Love" which to me sounds like nothing more than an extention of "Mercy Mercy Me''), the LP as a whole has ALWAYS felt like a rush job to me & aside from the theme, I don't believe that it holds up a a whole entity.

Let's see...there's the "Troubleman" LP, which was definitely a different groove than we'd grown accustomed to & "Let's Get It On"...come on! "Distant Lover", "Come Get To This" & the title track. Ok...due to the circumstances I have to give him a pass on the "Diana/Marvin" Lp & the "Marvin Gaye Live" Lp gave us a great live version of "Distant Lover" & "Jan". "I Want You" gave us what I believe to his most underrated ballad ever, the gorgeous "Come Live With Me, Angel" & the rest of the LP is damn good.

As for "Live In London", it spawned one of his biggest hits "Got To Give It Up'', a song which even now in New York, is STILL being used for various line dances, etc.

Even when Marvin TRIED to make a bad LP, the much lambasted "Here My Dear", Marvin gave us some glorious moments such as "Here My Dear"/"I Met A Little Girl", "Sparrow", "Funky Space Reincarnation", "Falling In Love Again" & "Everybody Needs Love", amongst others.

If we're talking about the sheer weight of his hits, then I'd have to go with the 60s. But since I'm also considering things such as his growth, his personal vision, his mastering of techniques such as double-tracking, having a "call & response" with himself & giving us a no-holds barred peek into his soul, I'm going to pick the 70s by the slightest of noses, no pun intended.

We saw Marvin evolve through many phases & in every case, it was believable. The 70's gave us Marvin the ecologist [[What's Goin' On) & Marvin the cool jazz hipster [[Troubleman). From there, he evolved into Marvin the loveman [[Let's Get It On), then Marvin the mo' loveman [[I Want You). Then we got Marvin the Disco man [[Got To Give It Up) & in one of the most brutally personal LPs I've ever heard, we got Marvin, the man who was now not in love & very, very pissed-off about it [[Here My Dear).

It just seems as though the 1970s Marvin tended to reveal more of himself than most artists did & didn't much care about perception. It's as though he was opening a door that most wouldn't dare to open, then greeted us with a drink as he did so.

In a music world that was so filled with cliches & contrived lyrics that lied, Marvin came with what was real as he saw it.

And made some damn timeless music in the process.

[tamla617]

juice
when here my dear came out it didnt get a decent critique from any of the usually pro marvin reviewers.yet,i thought it was one of his best[[behind WGO and in the groove)because its a story, i always listen in order of tracks, not randomly.

i've never heard anybody say that about whats going on btw.i'm not saying you're wrong,because thats your view.
and thinking about it,it could well have been rushed,baring in mind the developement of WGO and berry's/motown's lack of interest with the project.

[Ngroove]

Even when Marvin TRIED to make a bad LP, the much lambasted "Here My Dear", Marvin gave us some glorious moments such as "Here My Dear"/"I Met A Little Girl", "Sparrow", "Funky Space Reincarnation", "Falling In Love Again" & "Everybody Needs Love", amongst others.

Bad LP!? I would assume, in such a predicamental corner, of struggling to legally pay off his bitter ex-lady, based off from sneaking and sleeping around on another, the guy's had enough problems on his plate as is.

[juicefree20]

Tamla

I remember that well & I recall that the majority of the critics absolutely slammed "Here My Dear" as being "angry", "self-indulgent" & those were the more charitable reviews. Then again, I still have a review that one reviewer did on Stevie's "Songs In The Key Of Life", which he called "meandering", "too long", amongst other misguided assessments, which is why I place little stock in the opinions of most professional reviewers.

I thought that "Here My Dear" was one of the most honest LPs ever recorded. This is not to say necessarily that every claim that he made on that LP is the absolute truth. I simply mean that most artists would never have layed out their personal relationship on vinyl for all of their fans to hear.

I thought that it was a brilliant LP then & after the passing of nearly 34 years, I still feel the same way. I believe that what hurts the overall assessment of this LP is simply that Marvin didn't give them what they wanted to hear which was either something happy & peppy, music to make love to or another LP addressing the ills of the world.

I believe that it was a little too raw for most to accept & most of the reviews that I'd read seem to indicate that that colors their opinion of the LP.

[juicefree20]

Ngroove,

Indeed, bad in the sense that the court order decreed that the earnings from this LP would go to his wife. Marvin had to know that this LP wasn't going to be well-received, nor overly promoted. He also knew that Motown couldn't totally ignore this LP because to do so would negatively affect the money that his ex would receive.

To promote the LP vigorously, was to participate in the wholesale slamming of the sister of the owner of Motown in order to increase her payments. To ignore it was to diminish her returns. Either way, Marvin knew this & he didn't care. I don't believe that Marvin believed that it would be promoted on a par with his previous releases & since that was the payment due, I doubt that he wanted it to be a huge seller. So he kinda got the best of three worlds in that unfortunate situation. The payments weren't likely to be huge [[check), he was able to say whatever he wanted to say about her on that record [[check) & worst of all, she was the sister of his boss whom was in the unenviable position of having to release it on the biggest Black record label in the world.

So when I say "bad", I mean it purely from that perspective & not the quality of the music.

Kinda like Phil Spector sticking it to Lester Sill with "The Screw" or The Rolling Stones sticking it to Decca with "Schoolboy Blues", both of which thanks to CD re-issues, were released years after their actual recordings. And as with Marvin, were the final shot in the dissolution of a relationship & designed to minimize any huge profits for their former partners.

[nomis]

you gotta take your hat off to Gordy..he got a cool million bucks for cancelling Gayes contract from CBS and allowing to sign with them...

[supremester]

I can't chose early/later Marvin - I loved it all until mid 70's. Vocally, I prefer as an album, Diana & Marvin as his best overall vocal effort. Tammi said several times that Marvin was lazy with her, he certainly was trying to prove something with Diana, and delivered amazing vocals on a myriad of styles. I totally dig Grapevine, How sweet It Is, Sexual healing, That's The Way Love Is, Chained, The Kim/Tammi duets and especially, Let's Get It On, but, nothing tops his work on The Things I Will Not Miss, Love Twins, Just say, Just Say, Pledging My Love, My Mistake, Alone, etc. I don't at all believe Motown wasn't totally behind Here, My Dear. Some people seem to think that Motown liked to take it's petty personal issues out on record releases. It was a business. They had sales people, promotion men, distributors, radio programmers and spinners and their own personnel to consider - and ALL of them expected and depended on hits and fast moving product to live. They had a reputation to uphold - they didn't want to be perceived as "slipping." This LP came at a time when Motown was between hits: The Supremes, Tempts, Jackson, Gladys, Miracles, David, Eddie, Smokey were all either toast, gone or just not selling. Diana had an iffy year and really only Stevie and The Comodores had great years.




Indeed, bad in the sense that the court order decreed that the earnings from this LP would go to his wife. Marvin had to know that this LP wasn't going to be well-received, nor overly promoted. He also knew that Motown couldn't totally ignore this LP because to do so would negatively affect the money that his ex would receive.

To promote the LP vigorously, was to participate in the wholesale slamming of the sister of the owner of Motown in order to increase her payments. To ignore it was to diminish her returns. Either way, Marvin knew this & he didn't care. I don't believe that Marvin believed that it would be promoted on a par with his previous releases & since that was the payment due, I doubt that he wanted it to be a huge seller. So he kinda got the best of three worlds in that unfortunate situation. The payments weren't likely to be huge [[check), he was able to say whatever he wanted to say about her on that record [[check) & worst of all, she was the sister of his boss whom was in the unenviable position of having to release it on the biggest Black record label in the world.

So when I say "bad", I mean it purely from that perspective & not the quality of the music.

Kinda like Phil Spector sticking it to Lester Sill with "The Screw" or The Rolling Stones sticking it to Decca with "Schoolboy Blues", both of which thanks to CD re-issues, were released years after their actual recordings. And as with Marvin, were the final shot in the dissolution of a relationship & designed to minimize any huge profits for their former partners.[/QUOTE]

[tamla617]

and then there was here my dear pt2 the lp "in our lifetime"what did you think of that?

[144man]

60s if I want to play singles; 70s if I want to play whole albums.

[Kamasu_Jr]

I love most everything Marvin did up until 1977. With the exception of the song Sexual Healing, everything else sounded foreign and/or unfinished. That last Motown lp was really garbage to me.


Like most, I'm partial to pre-1971 Marvin Gaye. I'm talking about great songs like Ain't that Peculiar, One More Heartach, One of These Days, So Lon and Baby I'm Glad Things Worked Out So Well. Marvin had such a soulful voice and is my favorite male soul singer, next to Sam Cooke.
I do like a lot of the work he did after WGO, but songs like Got To Give It Up and Sexual Healing are over-exposed.

[jobeterob]

Early up until I Want You...............which pretty much covers it all I guess!

[Ngroove]

Early up until I Want You...............which pretty much covers it all I guess!

Well, there's "Got To Give It Up", with that falsetto-like voice so drastically different, if I didn't read or hear it was a Marvin Gaye song, I probably would not recognize it as so.

[SupremeBoy]

I love Marvin Gaye. PERIOD.