P.S. Also, listen to "A Funky Space Reincarnation" for here Marvin is wishing that maybe another place or time, maybe things would be better. How heavy is that?! FIVE STARS!!!


Marvin Gaye's Breakup Album   October 5, 2005
B. Bowman (Jersey, United States)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

If you own a copy of "Let's Get It On" for when the relationship is going smooth, this is the album to get for when things fall apart. I've had this CD for ten years and it only gets better with time. Marvin Gaye captures all the emotions of a breakup and sings with so much emotion about his broken marriage that you can feel it yourself. He expresses the love he still has for his ex-wife, the anger about the court proceedings and attorney fees, and even takes a jab at her in the opening song for using their son to keep him in line. I think the vocal arrangements and harmonies on this album are incredible, and you get some insight into how Marvin worked in the studio from the liner notes, which also detail how the album came about. The liner notes also state how the album bombed when it came out due to the disco boom that was occurring at the time of it's release. This album definitely falls under the category of overlooked gem. If you are a Marvin Gaye fan or just had a relationship hit the skids, buy this disc.


A musical alimony!   September 29, 2005
Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

`Here my dear' was Marvin Gaye's contractual double album (single CD) to his ex wife (and sister to label boss) Anna Gordy. On a judge's order, Marvin was to hand over his $305,000 advance plus the first $295,000 of earnings from his next album to her.

A disappointed Marvin wanted to make a quickie record, one he wouldn't have to break his neck recording. This should have resulted in a sub par recording. However, he found himself giving more and more of himself as the recording progressed.

What we got instead is similar musically to `What's going on' and `Let's get it on' (a bit); layered vocals, wah wah guitars, rich percussion, lots of sax and spoken lyrics. A generally uncommercial jazzy sound with some funk sprinkled in the mix, and verbose songs sprawling past 70 minutes, some melancholic sounding, but some bouncy, sunny songs too.

And deeply personal lyrics chronicling the breakdown of his relationship with Anna: anger, struggle, the end of love, attorney fees, right back to falling in love again. Even the artwork reflects this; the board game showing a male hand giving a female hand a record on the inner sleeve photo, and the scales of justice.

Largely overlooked by the public (much to Marvin's delight), it made #26 pop, #4 soul in the US. I have to confess, I listened to this album for the first time ever this week.

Opening track `Here my dear' is a mostly spoken do wop sounding song, with layered vocals, and Marvin singing in a lower register for the most part. Cutting lyrics like `This is what you want/so I've conceded/I hope it makes you happy/there's a lot of truth in it baby'.

`I met a little girl' has Marvin singing in falsetto to both Anna and his new woman to a do wop sounding back drop.

`When did you stop loving me, when did I stop loving you' has a very vulnerable sounding Marvin in a choir boy falsetto set to soothing backing vocals, darting horns, and delicate percussion. `If I love again, I'm going to try a new way' he sings. Outstanding!

`Anger' is a funky retro sounding ditty with rolling percussion and lyrics about both parties saying things they wish they hadn't said in anger. Similar musically is `Funky space reincarnation' (#23 on the black singles chart) with rolling guitars.

`Is that enough' has Marvin painfully questioning why he has to pay attorney fees, to a sax drenched, percussion rich mid-tempo beauty. One of my favourites.

Other standouts are the delicate `Everybody needs love' (about how everybody and everything needs love, including Marvin himself; reminds me a bit of `Let's get it on'), the awesome `Time to get it together' (featuring great harmonizing, bubbling bass, congas and fantastic guitar - another favourite), the stunning jazzy ballad `Sparrow' (with simply astounding vocal layering and great sax), `Anna's song' (I love the way he hit and held a high note while singing `Ann-aaaa..'), and `You can leave, but it's going to cost you'.

`Falling in love again' is a song about falling in love again after telling love to leave him alone. A sunny, bouncy jazzy ballad with a passionate vocal delivery, great keyboards and backing vocals. A beautiful end to the tale.

Yes, I know everyone else has said this, but I must say this is a masterpiece, up there with `What's going on'. A glimpse into the tortured, but beautiful soul of Gaye. A hidden gem I would urge everyone to unearth.



Soothing for the bewildered & broken-hearted   June 8, 2006
Agile Viking (Kingdom of Norway, Europe)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I came across this excellent gem last summer, during the final court proceedings etc. of the ugly break-up of a relationship. My ex kept suing and suing relentlessly, until she had exhausted all possibilities. She had been the greatest love of my life and... Well, don't wanna bore you with all the details.

During my trials & tribulations (literally), I was on an emotional rollercoaster of anger, self-doubt, the pangs of disprized love and what not, and absolutely nothing seemed to help. I was devastated and exhausted.

I picked up Gaye's masterpiece by coincidence, as I had seen it featured in the presentation of the all time top 100 hundred rock and pop albums, by one of the UK's largest music magazines. (Possibly Q or Mojo).

I was immediately attracted to it upon happening incidentally upon it in the shelfs of a music store, and started listening.

For all of last summer, I never *stopped* listening to it. I took it with me everywhere. Whenever pains and self-doubts and remnants of profound loving emotions for my ex came along, I put in my discman and was immediately balanced and brought into a pleasing, if somewhat bittersweet, equilibrium.

As noted by some, track no. 11, the 8 m and 12 sec puffed-up sci-fi opus of "A Funky Space Reincarnation" doesn't really belong on this album, and upsets the flow of it. But in the age of CD-players, Ipods etc., one can easily skip it, and I frequently did.

I agree completely that this is one of the top 100 albums of all time, and must definitely be one of the top 10 soul albums of the world history, at any rate.

I recommend it as the perfect antidote to an ugly and/or painful relationship break-up - as have many other reviewers on this product page - and especially in those cases involving court trials and/or lawyers.

This record will save you innumerable hours of pain and anguish, and possibly even drug store tabs.

I do not know how it will come across to someone who as of yet have been spared of harrowing relationship break-ups, and speculate that it might not resonnate fully to such fortunate, youthful people. Hopeless romantics should stay clear of it, and leave it to be cherished by those of us whose doctors would have easily prescribed it had they known it's healing capacities.

For the baggage-laden adults who have been in places where Gaye painfully wails and laments from in this everlasting, allways fresh and soulsoothing opus, I truly recommend this painstaking effort by the late soul-crooner, as his most elaborate, resonnating and to-the-core delivery effort, and as part of an anti-blues ("blue funk") regimen along with DVD's such as Atom Egoyans "Exotica", and the idiosyncratic Jim Carrey-effort of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

Feel better!