Customer Reviews

Here My Dear

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Marvin Gaye completely lets his guard down and stands naked on HERE, MY DEAR, the record on which he speaks directly from his wounded heart. Much more than just the chronicle of his divorce from Anna Gordy Gaye, the album is also the portrait of a conflicted soul at the height of his torment and a heartbreaking metaphor for the healing power of music.

All of the songs are terrific and they are immaculately woven together. The doo-wop of the title track sits perfectly among the intense "Anger" and the lovely, lifting "Sparrow." The transitional songs "I Met A Girl" and "Everybody Needs Love" are gorgeous and pained, while "A Funky Space Reincarnation" brings in some sly humor at just the right moment.

Though every track is individually terrific (including "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You," the probing centerpiece to the set), the entire album should be thought of and listened to as a collective work. The compositions are loose and extremely complex, which is exactly why it went misunderstood by critics and audiences at the time of it's release. Possibly the most harrowing, emotional, and brutally honest releases to ever come from a mainstream artist.

If you own a copy of "Let's Get It On" for when the relationship is going smooth, this is the album to get for when things fall apart. I've had this CD for ten years and it only gets better with time. Marvin Gaye captures all the emotions of a breakup and sings with so much emotion about his broken marriage that you can feel it yourself. He expresses the love he still has for his ex-wife, the anger about the court proceedings and attorney fees, and even takes a jab at her in the opening song for using their son to keep him in line. I think the vocal arrangements and harmonies on this album are incredible, and you get some insight into how Marvin worked in the studio from the liner notes, which also detail how the album came about. The liner notes also state how the album bombed when it came out due to the disco boom that was occurring at the time of its release. This album definitely falls under the category of overlooked gem. If you are a Marvin Gaye fan or just had a relationship hit the skids, buy this disc.

I came across this excellent gem last summer, during the final court proceedings etc. of the ugly break-up of a relationship. My ex kept suing and suing relentlessly, until she had exhausted all possibilities. She had been the greatest love of my life and... Well, don't wanna bore you with all the details.

During my trials & tribulations (literally), I was on an emotional rollercoaster of anger, self-doubt, the pangs of disprized love and what not, and absolutely nothing seemed to help. I was devastated and exhausted.

I picked up Gaye's masterpiece by coincidence, as I had seen it featured in the presentation of the all time top 100 hundred rock and pop albums, by one of the UK's largest music magazines. (Possibly Q or Mojo).

I was immediately attracted to it upon happening incidentally upon it in the shelfs of a music store, and started listening.

For all of last summer, I never *stopped* listening to it. I took it with me everywhere. Whenever pains and self-doubts and remnants of profound loving emotions for my ex came along, I put in my discman and was immediately balanced and brought into a pleasing, if somewhat bittersweet, equilibrium.

As noted by some, track no. 11, the 8 m and 12 sec puffed-up sci-fi opus of "A Funky Space Reincarnation" doesn't really belong on this album, and upsets the flow of it. But in the age of CD-players, Ipods etc., one can easily skip it, and I frequently did.

I agree completely that this is one of the top 100 albums of all time, and must definitely be one of the top 10 soul albums of the world history, at any rate.

I recommend it as the perfect antidote to an ugly and/or painful relationship break-up - as have many other reviewers on this product page - and especially in those cases involving court trials and/or lawyers.

This record will save you innumerable hours of pain and anguish, and possibly even drug store tabs.

I do not know how it will come across to someone who as of yet have been spared of harrowing relationship break-ups, and speculate that it might not resonnate fully to such fortunate, youthful people. Hopeless romantics should stay clear of it, and leave it to be cherished by those of us whose doctors would have easily prescribed it had they known it's healing capacities.

For the baggage-laden adults who have been in places where Gaye painfully wails and laments from in this everlasting, allways fresh and soulsoothing opus, I truly recommend this painstaking effort by the late soul-crooner, as his most elaborate, resonnating and to-the-core delivery effort, and as part of an anti-blues ("blue funk") regimen along with DVD's such as Atom Egoyans "Exotica", and the idiosyncratic Jim Carrey-effort of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

Feel better!

In 1978, this album didn't go over very big with the critics and fans alike. I can tell you why. Fans were looking for the sensous, soul singing Marvin that would blindly adapt to the disco era of the time. Instead of following the disco(BLAH!) bandwagon, he created a masterpiece that was undeservedly a victim of harsh critisism and virtually ignored. In my opinion, this was truly one of Marvin's finest works. From the emotionally charged "I Met A Little Girl" to the final reprise of "When Did I Stop Loving You, When Did You Stop Loving Me", you can feel the anguish and pain of the real Marvin. A man crushed by two failed marriages, an oppressive cocaine habit, and an overall despair about life in general. It's almost hard to listen to "Here, My Dear" without feeling the deep emotions pouring out in Marvin's voice; not only is this an album about divorce, and failed love, but also a plea for help. An answer to the question, just what went wrong with the marriage and his life in general. Once again, I say this album was wrongly eclipsed by the @!#$!@ disco era. It deserves an enthusiastic five stars.

P.S. Also, listen to "A Funky Space Reincarnation" for here Marvin is wishing that maybe another place or time, maybe things would be better. How heavy is that?! FIVE STARS!!!

I owned "What's Going On" and "Let's Get It On" for a while before delving further into Marvin's catalogue, expecting that I wouldn't find anything to rival those two masterpieces. When I picked this album up a few days ago, I discovered that I couldn't have been more wrong. I can't say that this is his best album, but it certainly forces the question.

Everybody knows the story involving his ex-wife and the court order granting her the proceeds from the album, but it bears repeating just how much nerve it took to title this album "Hear, My Dear" and write the whole thing about their stormy relationship. Throughout the album, Marvin bitingly wonders why he's been forced to part with the fruits of his labor, and there is no denying the frustration that seeps through at every turn - "What could I do? The judge said she got to keep on livin' the way she's accustomed to." Yet, there is no denying the love he once had for Anna, the sense of loss, the anger and self-doubt - pretty much all of the emotions that anyone would go through during a divorce. It's all laid out here, for everyone to hear.

Musically, this is a fantastic album, and Marvin continues to impress me as a composer. The songs are subtly complex, with accents of jazz overtop the mellow yet undeniable funk. His vocals are, as always, bittersweet and smooth as can be. The real reason that "Hear, My Dear" deserves its classic status, though, is because Marvin put together a thematically consistent string of songs that, above all else, are honest. This is one of the most honest albums ever.

The one low point on the album is the somewhat plodding "A Funky Space Reincarnation". Here, Marvin spouts ridiculously goofball sci-fi lyrics that would make George Clinton cringe. All the more jarring is the juxtaposition of the song next to the deeply personal and dark material that surrounds it. One gets the impression that this is what the whole album could have been, and in that regard it does serve to make you even more pleased with what it actually turned out to be.

This one slight misstep aside, "Here, My Dear" represents a great artistic achievement for Marvin Gaye, and for popular music in general. At the same time sad, hopeful, funny and disturbing, it is an essential for any soul or funk fan.

One listen to Here My Dear and you will never view music the same way again. I had heard about this so called dud of a Marvin Gaye album by from reading a magazine article on Marvin's Leagacy. The author of the feature called this a " whinefest put to music" and one of the worse albums Marvin ever recorded. I guess it just goes to show that some people have no idea what true art is. The story behind the album has been well documented, in 1978 Marvin was ordered to give all the proceeds as well as his advance for this album to his first wife Anna Gordy as part of a unique divorce settlement.At first Marvin was going to produce in his terms "a quickie record, nothing that would be any good" but that was soon forgotten about as the tape started rolling. What we see here on this album is a man dangerously close to the edge who is able to somehow to transform all the negative influences and struggles around him into something that is utterly breathtaking! From the first notes of the doo wop influenced Here My Dear you know immediately that this cd is unlike anything you are used to hearing from Mr. Gaye. Throughout the album Marvin touches on every bitter and depressing subject pertaining to the disolvement of his relationship with Anna and you feel every painful, anguished moment. Songs like Time to get it together really let you in on Marvin's tortured mindstate with his admission of drug abuse, hooker obsession and overall decent into decandance. You feel for Marvin as his multi-layered vocals all express hopelessness in in astoundingly beautiful way. By the time you near the end of record Marvin has fallen in love again but his tone is not one of optimisim it's more like here we go again, letting you know his previous wounds have not healed and they probably never will no matter how hard or beautifly he tries to sing them away.When this album was released it was widely trashed after all the world was in the theroes of disco and did not have time for an album as powerful and honest as Here My Dear but the great thing about time is that everything has it's day in the sun and as more Marvin Gaye fans have discovered this is MPG's best collection of music he ever put down.Don't buy this cd expecting smooth love songs and the spirituality of Marvin's most well known works, you'll be disappointed if that's what you're after but if you are looking to experience music with a feeling a real feeling then you must pick this up!

`Here my dear' was Marvin Gaye's contractual double album (single CD) to his ex wife (and sister to label boss) Anna Gordy. On a judge's order, Marvin was to hand over his $305,000 advance plus the first $295,000 of earnings from his next album to her.

A disappointed Marvin wanted to make a quickie record, one he wouldn't have to break his neck recording. This should have resulted in a sub par recording. However, he found himself giving more and more of himself as the recording progressed.

What we got instead is similar musically to `What's going on' and `Let's get it on' (a bit); layered vocals, wah wah guitars, rich percussion, lots of sax and spoken lyrics. A generally uncommercial jazzy sound with some funk sprinkled in the mix, and verbose songs sprawling past 70 minutes, some melancholic sounding, but some bouncy, sunny songs too.

And deeply personal lyrics chronicling the breakdown of his relationship with Anna: anger, struggle, the end of love, attorney fees, right back to falling in love again. Even the artwork reflects this; the board game showing a male hand giving a female hand a record on the inner sleeve photo, and the scales of justice.

Largely overlooked by the public (much to Marvin's delight), it made #26 pop, #4 soul in the US. I have to confess, I listened to this album for the first time ever this week.

Opening track `Here my dear' is a mostly spoken do wop sounding song, with layered vocals, and Marvin singing in a lower register for the most part. Cutting lyrics like `This is what you want/so I've conceded/I hope it makes you happy/there's a lot of truth in it baby'.

`I met a little girl' has Marvin singing in falsetto to both Anna and his new woman to a do wop sounding back drop.

`When did you stop loving me, when did I stop loving you' has a very vulnerable sounding Marvin in a choir boy falsetto set to soothing backing vocals, darting horns, and delicate percussion. `If I love again, I'm going to try a new way' he sings. Outstanding!

`Anger' is a funky retro sounding ditty with rolling percussion and lyrics about both parties saying things they wish they hadn't said in anger. Similar musically is `Funky space reincarnation' (#23 on the black singles chart) with rolling guitars.

`Is that enough' has Marvin painfully questioning why he has to pay attorney fees, to a sax drenched, percussion rich mid-tempo beauty. One of my favourites.

Other standouts are the delicate `Everybody needs love' (about how everybody and everything needs love, including Marvin himself; reminds me a bit of `Let's get it on'), the awesome `Time to get it together' (featuring great harmonizing, bubbling bass, congas and fantastic guitar - another favourite), the stunning jazzy ballad `Sparrow' (with simply astounding vocal layering and great sax), `Anna's song' (I love the way he hit and held a high note while singing `Ann-aaaa..'), and `You can leave, but it's going to cost you'.

`Falling in love again' is a song about falling in love again after telling love to leave him alone. A sunny, bouncy jazzy ballad with a passionate vocal delivery, great keyboards and backing vocals. A beautiful end to the tale.

Yes, I know everyone else has said this, but I must say this is a masterpiece, up there with `What's going on'. A glimpse into the tortured, but beautiful soul of Gaye. A hidden gem I would urge everyone to unearth.

My first memories of this album are of being 5 years old and hearing my mother play Marvin's "Here, My Dear" repeatedly on her big, brown, veneer, floor model stereo that she got from Zayre's (y'all remember Zayre's), the kind that sort of looked like a trunk. She had it on 8-track and I still have it now that she's gone. Although, I could not comprehend the magnitude of this record, I never forgot the music, Marvin's voice, the harmonies (listen to "When Did You Stop Lovin' Me..."). It was out of print for many years (to my disappointment) while I searched for it everywhere. Nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. Everybody considers Marvin's other works (I Want You, Let's Get It On, What's Goin' On) to be his best works. But I think "Here, My Dear" is his most prolific. I can understand why Berry Gordy wanted to keep this one under wraps. Not many people can put their emotions to music like he does on this record. If you're one of those people who can "see" and "feel" music, you'll understand what I'm trying to say. By the time you get to "Anna's Song" you'll be emotionally exhausted. This isn't background music for housecleaning or when company's over. Get a six-pack, better yet, get some "funky stuff" that blows your mind, put this record on, sit back and partake in some much needed introspection. We all need that. Marvin teaches you on this album. Now, I know why this album haunted me into adulthood.

By now, most Marvin Gaye fans know the story about this album. It was made as part of his divorce settlement from his first wife, Anna Ruby Gordy (Berry Gordy's sister), but what a lot of people don't know is that Berry intentionally killed this album. Curtis Shaw, Marvin's attorney at the time, saw this coming and tried to do an unusual move -- request that another record company release the album. Berry Gordy denied the request because he didn't want his sister's business out in the street. Thus the album's fate was sealed.

This album, like Marvin's music in general, was a reflection of what was going on in his life at the time. In happier times, Marvin was singing "Pride and Joy" (the "Baby Boy" mentioned in the song was him). "She Sure Loves to Ball" was about his relationship with Janis Hunter, who became his second wife after his divorce was finalized.

In HERE, MY DEAR, Marvin continues his tradition, in one of the most personal and revealing albums ever made. It is so imitate, that the album is down right spooky. What makes it even more eerie, is that in many ways the album could also be about his relationship with his father.

An excellent example of this is with the song "Anger." The song tells the story of how people become consumed by rage with lyrics like "When anger gets the best of us/we really lose our heads." Given what happened with Marvin and his father, this song acted like a crystal ball into his future.

It probably also reflects the attitudes of many of the musicians who worked on the album. Because of poor session records no session musicians were credited on the album. "Anger" was co-written by Michael Stanton, who came up with the keyboard riff on this and the similar sounding "A Funky Space Reincarnation." Originally not credited on co-writing either track, he eventually got credit on the latter, which became the only single from the album (a moderate R&B hit at the time).

It must have been quite a session. Someone should write a book on it. For now, we've got the album and it tells quite a story on its own. Not just about Marvin's marriage, but his life.

it takes guts&emotions to pour what is happening in your life onto record never mind a parting of spouses.but the genius of marvin gaye does just that and more.rich arrangements&timeless songwriting are all over this masterpiece.he could express himself so many ways.a brillant music mind.