Summary:

by Abid

“I guess I have to say this album…is dedicated to you…”. And with those words Marvin Gaye begins what is regarded as his most bizarre and strangest record. But while “What’s Going On” may be his most spiritually charged work, and “Let’s Get It On” certainly has the most sensual appeal, “Here, My Dear” is in my opinion the emotional plateau of Gaye’s career.

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“I guess I have to say this album…is dedicated to you…”. And with those words Marvin Gaye begins what is regarded as his most bizarre and strangest record. But while “What’s Going On” may be his most spiritually charged work, and “Let’s Get It On” certainly has the most sensual appeal, “Here, My Dear” is in my opinion the emotional plateau of Gaye’s career.

Conceptually, it is unreasonable to say that these are just a bunch or relationship songs. Avid listeners of Gaye and soul music in general will realize it is much more. He sings of “Anger”, of loss, and of getting it together. And when he sings the horns sound upset, and then the strings may uplift you the next minute. The instrumentation is a wild personification of a man dealing with all these things. And they are still a secondary feature of the main instrument, the voice. Some of the melodies are interpolated into different songs, allowing a theme to resonate throughout the album like a movie score.

Now, do know that this album had other reasons to be made; it was a result of the divorce settlement between Gaye and his first wife Anna Gordy. That explains the sarcastic title. There is a song for “Anna” that only hints at how much of this album was drawn from Gaye’s own personal experiences. He captures his roller coaster love life perfectly, all while still managing to evoke hope at the end of each lyric. And every Marvin falsetto is a climax unlike the one before, and creates more excitement for the next one. Bizarre, they say? Those that do are neither there nor here.

by Abid