Thursday, September 4, 2014
Songs of the Day
Got the first three songs up for review: "Here, My Dear," "I Met a Little Girl," "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You," and "Anger."
Damn, Marvin comes out of the gate with the shade on the first and title track "Here, My Dear." He gives a nice little monologue, "even though I might not be happy, this is what you want, so I've conceded." Shade is nothing new, my friends, and Marvin threw it. The groove has a sweet feel to it, which is a nice juxtaposition against the words. Although, I can't really get down with the synth strings, but this is 1978, and the synth was so new - I'll give you a pass, Marvin. This track definitely sets the tone for the rest of the record, which is what you want from an opener. I like that it immediately goes into "I Met a Little Girl," which has a similar, but slower feel to it as the opener. This is a nice little love song, obviously the beginning of their relationship (oh the happier times), and Marvin is singing it oh so sweetly. If only these damn string synths weren't all up in the mix - they're slightly distracting, and for me take a little bit away, but that's just the 21st century girl in me. I love the story factor to this, which is something that is certainly lacking in today's songs (unless said story is about going to the club and getting wasted). Solid slow jam, with very sweet "hallelujia"s at the end. While I'm all about a good slow jam, I'm happy that it picked up a little bit with "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You." The groove's got a little samba feel to it that I'm down with, but again with these damn synth strings - I'm just gonna pretend they're not there, because it looks like they're staying. "You say you loved me with all of your heart, but if you really loved me with all of your heart, you'd never take a million dollars to part" - daaamn, Marvin, not even trying to be subtle! He's seriously throwing the shade on this one, and you can hear the anger in his voice. It honestly sounds like he wrote a letter to his wife, and then just put a melody to it. That's one thing I've always loved about Marvin - you could always hear his emotions clearly, he always sang directly from his heart. The groove is decent, but the lyrics (aka shade) are the clear winner on this number. And for the final song of the day, we have "Anger." I must say, the growling in the beginning is a little funny, but it gets the point across. This is my favorite groove of the day - it's got a nice bit of funk, a nice lil spice of latin - I'm into it. I like that, unlike the previous tune, this is more of an apology, which in this case is aimed towards his anger. "Anger will destroy your soul," ain't that the damn truth! He's got some nice modulations, reminding me of a little bit of some Stevie flair. Nothing crazy to it, but it's an overall good track. Dig.
Damn, Marvin comes out of the gate with the shade on the first and title track "Here, My Dear." He gives a nice little monologue, "even though I might not be happy, this is what you want, so I've conceded." Shade is nothing new, my friends, and Marvin threw it. The groove has a sweet feel to it, which is a nice juxtaposition against the words. Although, I can't really get down with the synth strings, but this is 1978, and the synth was so new - I'll give you a pass, Marvin. This track definitely sets the tone for the rest of the record, which is what you want from an opener. I like that it immediately goes into "I Met a Little Girl," which has a similar, but slower feel to it as the opener. This is a nice little love song, obviously the beginning of their relationship (oh the happier times), and Marvin is singing it oh so sweetly. If only these damn string synths weren't all up in the mix - they're slightly distracting, and for me take a little bit away, but that's just the 21st century girl in me. I love the story factor to this, which is something that is certainly lacking in today's songs (unless said story is about going to the club and getting wasted). Solid slow jam, with very sweet "hallelujia"s at the end. While I'm all about a good slow jam, I'm happy that it picked up a little bit with "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You." The groove's got a little samba feel to it that I'm down with, but again with these damn synth strings - I'm just gonna pretend they're not there, because it looks like they're staying. "You say you loved me with all of your heart, but if you really loved me with all of your heart, you'd never take a million dollars to part" - daaamn, Marvin, not even trying to be subtle! He's seriously throwing the shade on this one, and you can hear the anger in his voice. It honestly sounds like he wrote a letter to his wife, and then just put a melody to it. That's one thing I've always loved about Marvin - you could always hear his emotions clearly, he always sang directly from his heart. The groove is decent, but the lyrics (aka shade) are the clear winner on this number. And for the final song of the day, we have "Anger." I must say, the growling in the beginning is a little funny, but it gets the point across. This is my favorite groove of the day - it's got a nice bit of funk, a nice lil spice of latin - I'm into it. I like that, unlike the previous tune, this is more of an apology, which in this case is aimed towards his anger. "Anger will destroy your soul," ain't that the damn truth! He's got some nice modulations, reminding me of a little bit of some Stevie flair. Nothing crazy to it, but it's an overall good track. Dig.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Album Factoids
Here, My Dear
Released: Dec 15, 1978
Genre: R&B/Soul
Label: Tamla
Producer: Marvin Gaye
Released: Dec 15, 1978
Genre: R&B/Soul
Label: Tamla
Producer: Marvin Gaye
Week 95: Marvin Gaye
And after quite a hectic summer, I have returned to finish what I started. I've decided to go with Marvin Gaye's "Here, My Dear," because I've actually never listened to this record fully. Got the recommendation from a good friend of mine, Louis Cato (incredible drummer/multi-instrumentalist that everyone should check out), and since my last few reviews have all been newer albums, I figured it was time to take it back a couple decades. This record was made by Marvin as payment for his ex-wife during their divorce, hence the title (oooo, scandalous). Marvin is still one of the greatest vocalists of all time, and with all these bullshit singers running shit at the moment, I think he deserves a good listen.
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