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.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Final Grade: A
I love this album, start to finish. It's sweet, short, and simple - such an easy listen. Robin Hannibal did a wonderful job of orchestrating the whole things, and Milosh's vocals are so hypnotizing. I was skeptical when hearing he was a man that sounded like Sade, but it works in the best way possible. I've already hit up multiple people asking if they've heard of these guys, and I will continue to spread the love. This record will definitely be on rotation for some time to come!
Songs of the Day
Finishing off the last 5 tracks of the record this morning: "3 Days," "One of Those Summer Days," "Major Minor Love," "Hunger," and "Woman."
Man, what a lovely little harp intro "3 Days" has! How could you not enjoy something so pretty. I'm glad that the groove picks up after that, because it's for sure not the direction you would expect. The opening line "oh I'm famished, so I eat your minerals" sticks with me every time I hear it, I just love the wording of that. As does the hook "we've got 3 days to feel each other, we've got 3 days to sing this song" - it's damn catchy. The groove continues with the sweetness of the previous ones with the addition of the strings, and I'm all about it. Another good one for Rhye.
Bringing it way down with "One of Those Summer Days." I could go back to sleep right now, it's so damn relaxing. I love that it's just Milosh and guitar in the beginning, and then the soft horns coming in rounding out the whole sound. Again, Robin did a great job composing this piece, the layers are really entrancing. This song could have been boring, but the well composed groove accompanied by Milosh's hypnotizing vocals keeps you locked in. The swell to the end it really nice as well (thanks strings). Me gusta.
"Major Minor Love" is one of my favorites on the album, for sure. The song starts with a nice little vocal intro (which comes back around at the end). What is it about this soft spoken (or singing, rather) man that is so hypnotizing? This track is another that has great layering going on from start to finish. Starts with just vocals and bass, and then come the drums and strings, so on and so forth. I love how gentle the whole thing is, you kind of just want to sway. And I love the concept of "some major minor love." The small, slight electronic break towards the end is a perfect little break. Harmonies at the end are so sweet. Love it.
The pace steps back up on "Hunger," which is a smart after 2 rather slow tunes. Gets you groovin again, and I'm all about that. It's got just the right about of electronic elements in it to stand out, which I dig, while still keeping the elements that have made this album so great. Love that there's a trombone solo in the middle! It's short, but still, I dig it. I'm grooving in bed, I love it.
And so we have reached the final, and title track of the album with "Woman." It's just key bass, synth, and Milosh singing "woman" drawn out in various melodies, to then be layed by himself, strings, and final horns. I love that "woman" is the only lyric in this song, it's all it needs. It builds, and then it's done. Short and sweet, and a pretty way to end the album.
Man, what a lovely little harp intro "3 Days" has! How could you not enjoy something so pretty. I'm glad that the groove picks up after that, because it's for sure not the direction you would expect. The opening line "oh I'm famished, so I eat your minerals" sticks with me every time I hear it, I just love the wording of that. As does the hook "we've got 3 days to feel each other, we've got 3 days to sing this song" - it's damn catchy. The groove continues with the sweetness of the previous ones with the addition of the strings, and I'm all about it. Another good one for Rhye.
Bringing it way down with "One of Those Summer Days." I could go back to sleep right now, it's so damn relaxing. I love that it's just Milosh and guitar in the beginning, and then the soft horns coming in rounding out the whole sound. Again, Robin did a great job composing this piece, the layers are really entrancing. This song could have been boring, but the well composed groove accompanied by Milosh's hypnotizing vocals keeps you locked in. The swell to the end it really nice as well (thanks strings). Me gusta.
"Major Minor Love" is one of my favorites on the album, for sure. The song starts with a nice little vocal intro (which comes back around at the end). What is it about this soft spoken (or singing, rather) man that is so hypnotizing? This track is another that has great layering going on from start to finish. Starts with just vocals and bass, and then come the drums and strings, so on and so forth. I love how gentle the whole thing is, you kind of just want to sway. And I love the concept of "some major minor love." The small, slight electronic break towards the end is a perfect little break. Harmonies at the end are so sweet. Love it.
The pace steps back up on "Hunger," which is a smart after 2 rather slow tunes. Gets you groovin again, and I'm all about that. It's got just the right about of electronic elements in it to stand out, which I dig, while still keeping the elements that have made this album so great. Love that there's a trombone solo in the middle! It's short, but still, I dig it. I'm grooving in bed, I love it.
And so we have reached the final, and title track of the album with "Woman." It's just key bass, synth, and Milosh singing "woman" drawn out in various melodies, to then be layed by himself, strings, and final horns. I love that "woman" is the only lyric in this song, it's all it needs. It builds, and then it's done. Short and sweet, and a pretty way to end the album.
Monday, April 14, 2014
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