Search - Marvin Gaye :: Soulful Sounds of Marvin Gaye

Another unnecessary rehashing of Marvin's Columbia years

Johnny Boy | Hockessin, DE | 08/12/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'll make this review quick.



From 1982 to 1984, Marvin Gaye recorded for Columbia. He had a bitter divorce with Motown in 1981, after they finished recordings without his consent and released them as an album. Gaye signed a three-album deal with Columbia Records that year, moved to Europe to try to recover from his massive drug addiction, and in the process, recorded one of his best albums, 'Midnight Love,' released in 1982. That contained the hit single 'Sexual Healing' as well as other minor hits like 'Third World Girl' and 'Joy.'



Gaye was shot and killed by his father in April 1984; Columbia and Motown teamed up to release two albums full of unreleased material: 'Dream of a Lifetime' (featuring Marvin's final recordings and several outtakes from his 1970s Motown years); and 'Romantically Yours' (a ballads album containing various ballads he worked on from 1965-1979). Both, in my opinion (and despite what the critics say) were strong compilations full of archival material (I don't even classify them as studio albums, because in reality, they aren't).



'The Soulful Sounds of Marvin Gaye' is yet another rehashing of 10 songs from his three Columbia releases. Sure, every song here is great. But the fact is, this has been done before. 'Playlist: The Very Best of Marvin Gaye' is a far better option if you are seeking a Marvin Gaye Columbia years compilation, considering it contains almost everything here as well as some rarities and hard-to-find tracks. Seek out that one instead.



Or, if you are prepared to, cough up some money and buy the three Columbia albums. All three are very good, and though 'Midnight Love' and 'Romantically Yours' are available here on Amazon incredibly cheap, 'Dream of a Lifetime' is starting to become somewhat of a rarity. I ***STRONGLY*** recommend taking this route.



I don't recommend this disc. It's yet another collection recycling Marvin songs that either you already have or you can easily get elsewhere. Unless you are on a extremely tight budget or you are an easily pleased Marvin fan, stay far, FAR away from this.



NOT RECOMMENDED."