Here, My Dear

Hørte dette for første gang for noen måneder siden. Satt ikke igjen med så mange inntrykk etter det.

Hører det igjen nå, og jeg klarer ikke helt å se hvorfor akkurat dette er med i 1001. Det betyr ikke at det er dårlig, selv de svakere albumene i Gaye-katalogen er bedre enn veldig mye annet. Det er kult å høre på, og jeg kan godt høre det igjen, det bare står seg ikke like godt som de mer kjente platene hans, som jo er virkelige mesterverk og i aller høyeste grad fortjener å toppe lister. Men alt i alt fornøyelig å høre på

goodness me, marvin.

This was pretty great, although, predictably, I feel it would be improved by being a tad shorter. I liked A Funky Space Reincarnation.

My first real listen of late era MG. It wasn't bad, but nothing like What's going on. Probably won't return to this one. 2.5/5

Damn I love '70s soul, and Marvin is basically royalty when we talk about that. Wasn't familiar with this one before this listen. There's an undeniable jazz influence on here, compared to earlier material, but feels like a pretty natural evolution. Marvin's signature vocals are ever-present, but almost feel more subdued than usual, which allows the music equal footing rather than overshadowing it.

why is this album so long. no... sorry that was boring

Haaa GAYYEEE

I mean, Marvin’s voice is smooth and sexy as always, but this is one long, drawn out, low-energy album. It’s pretty painful to sit and really focus on it for the entire album. Definitely background music, for while you’re (getting) busy.

I really like Marvin. The way he sings about everyday stuff in a soulful way. It is really funny when he whines about child support in the middle of a song.

I… feel weird giving this a number. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good 5, but there’s something awkward about rating a man’s ability to air out his grievances.

It’s especially awkward because this is my first full Marvin Gaye album – obviously, I know some of the bigger hits, but for my first one, getting a long open letter recapping a failed, chaotic, vindictive, messy & dysfunctional marriage ending in a nasty divorce period is certainly a first impression. I almost feel like I’ve been trauma dumped on, & that’s a lot to take in; I’m just not sure I really want to take it in.

With that said, the blend of the raw, honest lyricism & the excellent production here go hand in hand – I truly have no complaints about the musical content itself. Marvin Gaye’s voice glides like silk on a lot of these tracks, & when he means a line, there’s just a hint of extra vitriol, or grief, or whatever emotion each track calls for that makes the delivery feel all the more emphatic. Instrumentally, this thing is funky as hell – lots of great synth work & syncopation that feels heavily influenced by George Clinton & Stevie Wonder. Even with a lot of these tracks going a bit long, there’s something intoxicatingly captivating about the delivery, & it never really feels annoying to listen to. Really, my only knock on the album experience is the entire instrumental reprise of “When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You” taking up 6 minutes of runtime – that was unnecessary.

Is it a boring album? It depends – I think if you fully ignore the lyricism here, then a lot of these tracks do end up following a similar archetype & structure that could easily feel like a 74 minute drag “woe is me” album. If you dive into the lyricism, then there’s some really biting lines in here that enhance each track in a very compelling way. To my brain, I see this album as if this is a live look at Marvin Gaye’s psyche over the course of this big divorce trial, hopping in & out of live testimony, sad reminiscing, some daydreaming to ignore some pain, & ultimately, the resolution that there is the ability to love, even after all he’s gone through.

Outside of the lyricism, I entered a zen state for a lot of this, so I can’t speak to the extent of musical repetition on the album (save for “Time to Get It Together” being extra with it), but my ears caught it a handful of times. I still managed to ignore a lot of it, just because I found this to be such an interesting album. It’s a great listen, however awkward & messy it feels to listen to it, but much like a guilty pleasure movie, there’s something satisfying about it that’s hard to quantify. It’s why I feel weird giving this a number, because I’d love to just sort of admire it as the open & honest art piece it is. Since I have to give it a number though, it’s a 5, and a highly recommended one.

So smooth and so melodic. I wish there weren't so much run time dedicated to lamenting an acrimonious divorce, and there aren't as many stand out all time gems as his other albums, but a great listen over all

This album is too sexy for Wednesday at 8am. 4*

After hearing What's Going On, I figured other Marvin Gaye albums were on the list. What I was not expecting to get today was his divorce album.

Here, My Dear was recorded to pay off his ex-wife Anna Gordy Gaye during their divorce proceedings. Because this predicament occupied his mind heavily during the sessions, Marvin ultimately decided to write the songs in a perverse dedication to her, airing out a lot of the dirty laundry between them. From the short chronology of their time together on "I Met a Little Girl" to the protective anger over their adoptive son Marvin Gaye III on the title track, to the million dollar divorce settlement on "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You", to the admittance of paying his ex-wife's lawyer fees at the end of "Is That Enough", to the bitter reflection on the lavish lifestyle he provided her on "Anna's Song", Marvin goes all out with the details. In between are moments where he also reflects on himself at this point, including the complexity of volatile emotions running through him on "Anger", his cocaine and sex addiction on "Time to Get It Together", and his desire to be free evoking the image of the sparrow flying and singing its song.

This album can be difficult to listen to, dependent on how privy one is to the information regarding Marvin and Anna's split, especially where we understandably could not get Anna's side from this record. At least from what Marvin provided, it's apparent he bled his heart out onto the paper to get this out. The fact that Here, My Dear still sounds amazing in its blend of soul and funk is a testament to Marvin as a song composer and producer, creating the kind of sonic jams to wallow in on the dancefloor. The tenor saxophone solo on the "instrumental" version of "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You", the p-funk space fantasy of "A Funky Space Reincarnation" with the shuffling percussion, other groovy tracks such as "Anger" and "Falling in Love Again" all showcase how the personnel involved in the backbone of this record did a phenomenal job with what they were given while providing some variance in the styles.

If this album is too much for you, I get it. Divorces are usually not easy to process, certainly not if one airs out all the details on an album. But Marvin went and made lemonade out of the lemons he was given in his dissolved marriage from Anna, and that's got to be a testament to his tenacity and creative passion.

Nice chill album but no stand out songs for me.

When Gaye sings 'Cry cry cry, do you cry about me / Do you every think about the kind of love we had?,' it's so devastatingly beautiful that alone it makes this album an invaluable listen. But it's the raw one-sidedness, the self-serving but somehow generous storytelling, the free-associative honesty and concreteness, having to do not only with flowers, bluebirds, and sparrows but attorneys, child support, and millions of moola, boasting lyrics like 'This is a joke / I need a smoke,' that take this record to a unique place aesthetically. It rambles, but the music doesn't ever tire, and tho you may not be left a fan of Marvin Gaye the person, so deeply rooted is his egoism at times, your appreciation for the singer/writer can only grow. And you gotta relish: 'Let's touch each other / let's feel each other's ass.'

Marvin has a very distinctive sound. While I enjoy that sound for a song or three, it is a lot for an hour plus.

It's so boring I cannot be bothered. I am also very far removed from the headspace in which this kind of music could be appropriate. The US election results have shown that this ridiculous country has decided to show the rest of the world its entire ass and re-elect a racist clown that has promised fascism.

But, honestly, when a country that was founded on genocide and built on the backs of slaves shows that a leopard doesn't change its spots, is anyone *really* that surprised? So we'll get what we deserve when the Christian Taliban and Supreme Court drag this country back to the stone ages. As a black man, that terrifies me, but the straight white people in this country couldn't give a flying fuck about anyone but themselves.

Always remember: There is no hate like Christian love.

I like this even better than What’s Going On?

Marvin Gaye is possibly an outstanding soul musician. I don't get on with his music, although I basically like soul. As with another of his albums from this project, I tried to make friends with this album. And again, it got on my nerves relatively quickly. Apparently I don't like Gaye's voice and the way he sings. That's problematic for a vocal-based album. The sound itself is cool.
After writing the above I just kept the album playing and - hey - I liked it. It won't be part of my daily feed, but it was quite nice overall.
4/5

I really wanted to like this album more, as When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You is perhaps one of the best R&B/Soul songs to grace music, but the rest of the album really opens my eyes to how uncomfortable this whole situation makes me feel. At best it's an odd peak into dirty laundry that shouldn't be aired out like this, but there are many times on this album where Marvin Gaye feels ultimately bitter and hateful, despite how much he swears he isn't. I know nothing of their relationship, but it is difficult to cheer for Gaye when listening in, and while the raw aspects are relatively inspiring, it just feels off here, and I couldn't shake that feeling for the nearly eighty minutes I was stuck listening in. Gaye's voice is magnificent, and often times the production is stellar, too, but nearly every track drags, and you can tell how much filler is here to really pad things out. Perhaps some re-listens would do my mind good, it took a few listens of When Did You Stop Loving Me for it to click, but after sitting through this thing I really don't want to go through this again. I suppose I can respect an album this brutally honest, especially for 1978, but I'll be honoring it from afar.

What a whiney dude. The talent is clearly there, but it's just so fucking boring. I don't care about your lawyer bills, or what a judge said. How did you ever get married in the first place if you're this bitchy about everything?
Other artists have used divorces and break ups for interesting albums or tracks, but this is an hour and thirteen wasted.