Here, My Dear
Marvin Gaye
1978
Album Summary
Here, My Dear is the fifteenth studio album by music artist Marvin Gaye, released as a double album on December 15, 1978, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place between 1977 and 1978 at Gaye's personal studios, Marvin Gaye Studios, in Los Angeles, California. The album was notable for its subject matter focusing largely on Gaye's acrimonious divorce from his first wife, Anna Gordy Gaye. A commercial and critical failure upon its release, it was later hailed by music critics, in the years following Gaye's death, as one of Gaye's best albums. "It's taken me a while," Anna admitted in later years, "but I've come to appreciate every form of Marvin's music."
WikipediaThis album is fucking boring. I don't care what it's about. He can whine about his divorce all he wants, it's not a good album. Pretty telling that no one cared about it until he died. More proof that posthumous acclaim is pretty much always unwarranted. And it goes FOREVER, fucking hell. 2/5.
So... I've never been into the smooth smooth stylin's of Mr. Gaye. But this album is really interesting. It's got the smooth sound you'd expect but, if you take a moment to listen to the lyrics, they're REALLY raw. Apparently, half of the earnings of this album were forfeited to his ex-wife even before he wrote it... so he wrote it about her. And damn. He put it all out there. Lyrics like, "You don't have the right to use the son of mine/To keep me in line/One thing I can't do without/Is the boy whom God gave to both of us" are balanced in the same song with "May love ever protect you/May peace come into your life." It's a really fascinating record, honestly. Not something I foresee myself listening to again but an album that I ended up enjoying while I listened to it.
This is my first time listening to this album.The late 70's is such an interesting time for music. The big legacy acts were putting out their most unusual and experimental albums. Either due to their ability to flex creativity control, their bordom with their old style or in this case, Marvin needed to finalize his divorce and he was gonna make just the album he felt like. Fuck you bitch is a simple concept but effective at bringing something out of Marvin. Marvin's funk is a light funk and I dig it. It feels slow and gentile comparied to the heavy funk or Parliament or James Brown. Like every good concept album, this album is meant to be enjoyed as a whole. It would be perfect to own on vinyl and enjoy on a lazy afternoon. The first two tracks start things off slowly. Lacking much of a hook or a resolution to the melody, its sounds like they are asking you to chill. But from there it builds, getting funking and faster but still remaining gentile with Marvin's sweet voice leading the way. I'd let Marvin slow funk me again anytime. Especially if its leads to "Time to get together" and "A Funky Space Reincarnation".
For an album to be created for the purpose it was to be as good as this one, is amazing.
Nice vibes, rlly chill. Not my style, but I could vibe to this anyday for sure.
If you are a millennial like me, you either 1.) know that Marvin Gaye's music is synonymous with sexy times, or 2.) know someone who was conceived to said music. This album, 'Here, My Dear', does little to break the stereotype. From start to finish, the album features gentle soul/funk to make love to. Not fuck. Not chains-and-whips and edible undies type sex. No. We're talking sweet, sweet slow missionary style boom chikka wow wows. The instrumentations, from the gentle snare-and-high-hat drums to the gentle percussive guitars, lays the groundwork for Mr Gaye's reproduction-encouraging vocal stylings. Punctuated by the occasional sax lines, the music tends to be a bit one-note (says the guy who would listen to a Ramones album end to end). Overall, this album was not one I enjoyed. Not to say that it is bad. Maybe one day, I will meet a nice lady at my retirement home on Mars, and we will make out to the timeless sexy sounds of Marvin Gaye. But for now, I will just leave the record here, my dear.
"Let's turn the saxophone up to 10 and put an echo effect on all the vocals!" I know Marvin Gaye is a legend but this was not a good album.
Je ne comprends pas. Il faut entendre cet album parce qu'il s'agit de la plus mauvaise décision de faire un album double sur son divorce et ça en fait ainsi le plus grand échec commercial? Ça a été une écoute très difficile et pénible. En terme de face d'album, le 2e disque et plus particulièrement la face B est la meilleure. J'aime bien ce que Marvin Gaye fait, mais cet album n'était pas nécessaire.
I admit I went into this album with a bad attitude. There are so many great artists and albums not represented on this list of 1001 albums, why waste a slot on this, which was created out to essentially spite his ex-wife? And after the first two songs I was still pretty bitter about it. And don't get me wrong, I love Marvin Gaye. He might be my favorite singer. But I was not feeling it on those first two songs. Even his singing felt off. But I don't know, by the time the third song came on, the music got interesting and I opened my mind up. Some of these tracks are just plain weird and maybe even bad. But some of them are actually kind of cool. And the musicianship is excellent throughout, as you'd expect from Motown. I don't know how quickly I'll be putting this back on, but it was better than I initially gave it credit for. And maybe if I listen to it more I'll give it a better ranking, but this morning I'm feeling a 2
Hey Marvin! Marvin! Why don't you just leave me alone? I'm just trying to make my life better by earning an honest day's wage, but here you are again, trying to talk me in to doing drugs and partake in sordid sex rituals. Just let me be. I hope you die, you creep. Leave my sister alone too. She's already had 4 abortions this year, she doesn't need another.
I'm a huge fan of minding your own business. So I don't really meddle in my neighbors' personal lives, nor do I take interest in celebrities' shenanigans, nor take pleasure in afternoon TV shows involving real life love affairs or late night TV shows involving fictional love affairs. So, the vouyeristic nature of Gaye's "Here My Dear" didn't hit me. In other words, I don't care about his divorce. I guess I appreciate the fragility and the sincerity of it. But that doesn't mean that I enjoyed thus one hour messy soul jams. There's a reason why it was panned when it's released, and it's simply because it sucks.
Pretty underwhelming and not some of his best work. I'll stick with the classic albums and songs of his.
A guy complaining about his divorce over boring funk beats. Should be called “I got a divorce (sax outro)” Seriously you just got a divorce bro. She doesn’t need a song named after her. Maybe focus on paying that alimony broke boy
I have no objection to personal songs or emotional connections, but this is self-indulgent, overblown and interminable. ‘When did I stop loving you?’ Round about song three. Two many low points, and not much to praise except the Motown production. And Marvin Gaye does have a good voice. Really not one of his best.
Absolutely wonderful. Jazzy, melodic, soulful. Funny enough I heard a song that sounded like a Justin Timberlake song in there so it must have been influential. I’m giving it a 5/5 because it was so pleasant to listen to and I had barely any anxiety listening to it.
Very long and a tough listen because of its subject matter, but I love the sound and the emotion. 9
Wow, this was raw. Powerful stuff. Best track: A Funky Space Reincarnation
Classic Marvin Gaye album - it is the Marvin Gaye album I probably listen to the most - it is perfect - not much more to say.
Another incredible album by Marvin Gaye. This album takes us through his divorce and the wide ranging emotions that come with that. He oscillates from expressing anger, reconciliation, sadness, defensiveness and finally acceptance. His vocals are tortured and magnificent. I loved the use of thematic grounding around the phrase ‘When did you stop loving me, when did I stop loving you.’ It’s gives the album a sense of unity to persist through the roller coaster of sheer emotion
Wonderful flow to this album going through the elation of a new relationship, falling in love and heartbreak. Then getting back on the horse. Great stuff.
MARVIN GAYE. One of the best to ever do it and my personal favorite artist of all time. This album, just like all his other work, is amazing. 5/5 there’s not a Marvin Gaye album that’s not a 5 star.
Je comprend que l'album n'est pas été un succès instantanné mais une revelation après plusieurs années. Ce n'est pas classique de Marvin Gaye comme je le connais, mais certaine de ces chansons sont empreint d'une grande emotivité et la production est A1. Marvin Gaye est un artiste que j'aime beaucoup et je crois que cet album est un must a écouté pour bien connaitre l'artiste. 5
Wonderful. Can't remember any of the songs/tunes, but it's just a beautiful noise, from start to finish. In that respect he's a bit like Van Morrison - it doesn't matter what he plays/sings, it's all just great.
What a voice and what a set of songs. The ultimate quiet storm for a divorce record. Brutal and beautiful in equal measure. One's fully down with belated reckoning of this one as MG's masterpiece.
Crazy... I had just put this album on the turntable earlier this evening! Marvin's working through some real shit here and I respect him for being so candid. Yes, this is a sprawling mess of an album, but in the best and weirdest way. Something like "A Funky Space Reincarnation" doesn't even seem to fit the concept of the album, but it's so batshit bonkers that I'm tickled he sandwiched it in there. Just shows you how off the rails he must have been at that point in his life. I think recording in your own studio tends to lend itself to this type of wild self indulgence. I'm glad Marvin had the opportunity to make such an artful and thorough public catharsis.
Rating: 9/10 Best songs: I met a little girl, When did you stop loving me, Anger, Is that enough, Everybody needs love, Sparrow, Anna’s song, Falling in love again
Masterpiece. I'm only halfway through right now, and picking a favorite track is going to be extremely difficult. Favorite tracks: When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You; Is That Enough
I have always heard the name but didn't think I had ever heard him, but I definitely have. Such an amazing voice.
4/16 Smooth as can be. Standout Tracks: When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You, Is That Enough, Sparrow, Anna's Song, A Funky Space Reincarnation
'Everybody Needs Love' is incredible. Great album overall, would listen again
Très bon album du son classique de Marvin Gaye, glisse très bien d'un bout à l'autre, mais un tantinet monotone.
Dayum this was so good! I absolutely loved how long and repetitive some of these songs were. Had a few problems with some of his whining about women, and that's kind of all he's got. Some were more positive.. but overall. Enjoyed - put me in such a good mood
I've been patiently waiting for some Marvin Gaye, particularly What's Going On. I actually just heard about this album a couple days ago, but hadn't heard it. It's really, really great. Marvin has such a soulful voice, there's a lot of life and pain in there, but it's still groovy. Interesting that he gave up promoting this album after it was deemed "too commercial." So many tracks on here that I loved immediately. Ironically, though, the one song I've heard before ("When Did You Stop Loving Me") I don't like. That song is featured on the "blonded" radio station in GTA and it's one of the few that I will tune away from. It just doesn't do anything for me, and yet I had to hear it three different ways on one album. Despite that, I loved this. I recognize the classic status. Favorite tracks: I Met a Little Girl (amazing track), Everybody Needs Love, Anger, Here My Dear. Album art: Never even seen this before, but I really dig it. Marvin immortalizing himself as a statue looks pretty funny, but it's a very cool art style. 4.5/5
Pure pleasure to my ears. A while back I had listened to "What's Going On" since it topped Rolling Stones chart and I really enjoyed it but never dove into his other albums. This one was awesome. I'll be exploring this one again to find some favorites but When Did you Stop Loving Me is an early stand out, as is a lot of the album. Very glad this came on a Friday especially with the week we've had with bad albums. Incredible album cover too. Is Rome/Greece burning down because of his love? Who knows but I'm here for it.
Long in a positive and negative way, Gaye is always listenable and compelling but this doesn’t have the ease that I relate with him
i liked the sound of this a lot and the lyrics were rough but also really raw and emotional. this is another tusk situation where if they had pared it down to a really good single album, i might give it a 10, but as it is there are a lot of tracks that felt like filler. 8
Smooth Marv, Smooth. Love those bass lines. Album was unndecessarily long though, could have done with an edit ** A funky space incarnation **
I think this is objectively excellent but not to my tastes so it's gotta be a four star rating for me. It's soothing, and it's like Marvin is making love to my ears, but I think what I prefer is music that is more energetic or bouncy. Marvin's voice is great and relaxing, but it feels more like it's background music, and he's a fly-on-the-wall singing over it. Although it has loads of complexity to it (and the bass lines are bouncy to be fair) it still manages to feel a little samey to me across the album so not sure I can listen to it properly a second time without losing interest. Shout out to "A Funky Space Reincarnation", real cool.
Everything I wanted from a Marvin Gaye album. It was like listening to silk.
Very smooth and light. A lot of "Romance/Flirt" vibes going on, but mainly it has a quite nice groove of a "low pace" funk that you can relax to. The voice blends well with the band style with some extra "talking lyrics" every now and again, which adds to the vibe. Clearly worth 5 stars but not something I really listen too much, hence 4 stars for me.
I’ve never heard this album or any of its songs before today. Being a Marvin Gaye album, and one that I knew was well regarded, I had high expectations. It met them. I can tell that this is an album I will need to hear at least a few times to fully appreciate it, but it’s very good. Alternates between more classic RnB and disco/funk w/ ease. I like this. So this is getting 4 stars, but it’s really 4.5, maybe even upwards of 4.8. It only gets 4 stars in relation to the other Marvin Gaye albums that I know are going to be on this list
I rather enjoyed this album, but it's definitely for boning down. I lit some candles to set the mood.
It’s no what’s goin on but Marvin gayes harmonious singing and the funky jazz instrumentals make this a good listen. A more love/divorce centered album. 7.7/10
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this album Marvin Gaye is sooo freaking talented. He could sing the phone book make it compelling. More Marvin please. 4 🌟