Customer Reviews

In Our Lifetime: Expanded Love Man Edition

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This 1981 album has a storied history. At the end of the '70s Gaye conceived his next release to be a party record entitled "Love Man." The single "Ego Tripping Out" failed to connect, and while relocated to Europe (to avoid the IRS) he reconceived the album as something more spiritual. The resulting "In Our Lifetime" was an LP that Gaye believed Motown had compromised with unauthorized edits and remixes, and retitled without the trailing question mark. It spelled the end Gaye's recording association with Motown. He moved on to find further success at Columbia (particularly with "Sexual Healing"), and left his Motown swansong to founder.

Though he'd given up on the idea of a straightforward party record, his songs retained some celebratory style, with lyrics deepened by explorations of faith, sexuality and philosophy. Having gotten his first divorce (from Anna Gordy) out of his system with 1978's "Here, My Dear," and despite financial and drug problems, Gaye still sounded remarkably positive. He pondered his musical history on "Life is for Learning," teed up the subject matter of "Sexual Healing" with "Funk Me," contrasted good and evil with a biblical touch on "Love Me Now or Leave Me Later," and mumbled his way through the unfinished (by Gaye's measure) "Far Cry."

Hip-O's deluxe 2-CD reissue tells much of album's convoluted history. The original single of "Ego Tripping Out" is included, along with the original Motown-directed line-up of "In Our Lifetime" on disc one. Also featured are an unedited version of the album track "Far Cry" and the instrumental of "Ego Tripping Out." Disc two tells the other half of the story. Here is the track order and the mixes that Gaye intended, plus a number of tracks from the aborted "Love Man" sessions. The latter tracks fit surprisingly well with the album material, suggesting that Gaye's vision for "Love Man" wasn't all that different, at least musically, from what he eventually recorded.

The differences between the two versions of the album are both subtle and obvious. Track lengths are different, and the mixes on Gaye's album have a more buoyant vibe. "Love Party" is a good example; the album version is flat, while the original Gaye mix is bright and features a lively doubled vocal. "Funk Me" is also radically changed, with the album mixed smooth and soulful while the Gaye version is funky. Motown's version may be a good album, but you can quickly hear why Gaye felt they hadn't released the album he recorded. Now you can hear both, the album you remember, and the album Gaye intended you to hear. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]

About time! It is here! I have been waiting for a long time (17 years to be exact) to get my hands on this album! I purchased this set and man! This dude had some good tracks that were going to blow out parties. I love the album versions of Ego Trippin Out! (I always had a lot like diamonds and a yacht, check out this here 450SLC baby!)Funk me is different on the love man album. Funk Me, Funk Me, Funk Me is slower and has a different rhythm and beat. But the song is jamming!Funk me, Funk me BABY! I was lead to believe that Funk Me, Funk Me, Funk Me was exactly like the in our lifetime version. (It's not) He says in a verse on Dance N' Be Happy(Cold Blooded lovers, waiting for the night. Exploring my treasures you got me so uptight, your(Janis) the fault that I'm feeling all insane, once we were happy then the devil came ooh baby, ooh baby. First you make believe your mine. Ooh baby, ooh baby then you make me feel like dying. Oooh ooh.
It is cool to hear the alternate versions of the songs from in our lifetime. It allows me to see deeper into his mind at that time. Some of the songs are directed at Janis on this album. He was in pain and he had a hard time letting go. Now these tracks would have made it big in the disco back then. Good music from an untouchable artist! He says in the song A Lover's Plea (if God can forgive me then why can't you? (Janis)). Over all, this is a worth the money set! Beautiful music which has now seen the light of day! Love Man!

This has to be one of my favorite lp's by Marvin and to think it now out in the Love Man Expanded Edition.Disc 2 is the favorite with me because of the different mix of the lp that was done in September of 1980.The released mix was done 2 months later.Heavy Love Affair which is the best song on the lp is a full minute longer and this version is alot looser sounding.The Love Man lp is a joy as most of the songs are reworked in to the song that would later become the In Our Lifetime lp.All n' all this is a must have package for one of the most overlooked lps in Marvins catalog.

not my favorite album by gaye but if you're a serious fan you'll find some serious bangers in heavy love affair, funk me, and in our lifetime the cover grabbed me back in the early 80's daz dillinger copied the artwork on his first album in 98.

Once in a Lifetime is a great album. I would definitely recommend this for any Marvin Gaye afficionado or even if you are looking for some funk/soul. The original versions of the songs (Disc 2) are pretty good, but aren't as bass driven as the first cd, since Frank Blair and Motown Records changed up the album and the latter half of the 2nd cd are songs from lover man so they are the same, but have different titles and the sound quality isn't as good. Anyways an excellent cd by one of the greatest musicians ever.

I discovered this on lp in a used book store in the early 90's. I was blown away, and it became my favorite album by Gaye, perhaps edging out "What's Going On" because it was all new to me, but it's also more personal, soul-baring, and risky, while, unlike "Here, My Dear", more universal, metaphysical subjects are also adressed.
On reading a biography of Gaye, I discovered the story of "Love Man" and became intrigued to hear those tracks that were rejected and transformed into "In Our Lifetime". It wasn't until I saw this Hip-O release that I also realised that "In Our Lifetime?", Gaye's (as opposed to Frank Blair's/Motown's) version of the album was also in existence.
I've never seen an expanded version cd more crucial than this one, and, cruelly, it was released in only 5,000 copies. A huge thank you, nevetheless, to Hip-O for producing it in the first place. I presume they have a good reason for how they roll.
There are some songs from the original lp release that I've never grown tired of in over 15 years of listening. "Life Is For Learning", "Love Party", "Funk Me", "Heavy Love Affair" all continue to fascinate me. Now, I've got these great songs with different lyrics and arrangements. "Life Is Now In Session", "Dance N' Be Happy", "Funk Me, Funk Me, Funk Me", "Life's A Game Of Give And Take" all somewhat or greatly divergent from their subsequent incarnations. Then there's "In Our Lifetime?", Gaye's intended version of what was snatched away from him and released as "In Our Lifetime". The song order is different, the mixes/arrangements are different, and there are interesting interludes/intros among the songs. Motown and Frank Blair deserve credit for releasing a masterpiece, and Frank Blair's bass playing on the album is amazing. It was Marvin Gaye's album, though, even if he was taking forever and a day to finish it. Now, maybe, we have an album closer to what he intended to release.
I searched and searched and found this cd on a Canadian website for about $25. Now that I've listened to it, I would pay more than twice that to replace it. The MP3 version is a great, affordable alternative.
"Dance N' Be Happy"

Marvin Gaye himself often remarked that the process involved in releasing this album irritated him because,to hear him tell it Motown released the album before he completed the final mix and he felt it was too important an album for that. As it stands this was a remix of an album called "Love Man" that he didn't chose to release. This double disc set presents two mixes of the original album as well as the songs as they were originally recorded for the aborted "Love Man" release. As the released album from 1981 stands it's basically What's Going On ten years after the fact. It's a return to the social,worldly concerns of that album only mixed with some romantic lyrics thrown in as well. Some of the most powerful songs on the album are the rubbery,rhythmic funk of "Praise" and the strutting "Heavy Love Affair",as well as the likeminded "Funk Me" and the title track. These songs feature a strong rhythm topped by flourishes of spacy synthesizer and feature Marvin reconcilling both sexual hedonism and his romantic outlook on how we view our world. In the end he seems to come to the conclusion that both are interelated. On the slower jazzier soul of "Life Is For Learning" and "Love Me Now Or Love Me Later" showcase a more reflective Marvin in a more unsure state of mind-his true colors if you know of his life during this time of his all too short life. It's a more vibrant album musically than the often downbeatHere, My Dear and it's kind of a pitty this album has been forgotton so many times even in the CD era. When you get to the sessions for the "Love Man" albums it's pretty easy to understand why Marvin decided to remix the album. Musically all of the basic songs are are the same. The cheif difference are they have different names to varying degrees and the synthesizers are either missing or very low in the mix. Marvin claimed he scrapped the project because "the lyrics were jive". Really they aren't. The trouble is the vocal arrangements. They work completely against the arrangments for the music and somehow they don't sound as if they belong together at all. The single "Ego Tripping Out",presented in both it's album and single version is the most powerful cut of these sessions-showcasing Marvin's hedonism at the time in a very pointed and humerous way. Marvin sure had his own singular wit to be said. Another source of contention is the awkward jazz-funk of "Far Cry",which Marvin scathed over for not being finished when the album was released. Again as that stands it showcases Marvin's scattered moods during this period. It's interesting that Marvin would again break through again a year after the album emmerged with his comeback and sadly final album Midnight Love and the big hit "Sexual Healing". The man who made this album didn't seem close to making a comeback really but it does represent a very uncertain period of his life an career and that Marvin could still spill his soul and funk it up even during one of his most uncertain perosnal periods.

After researching Marvin's discography, I realized I hadn't actually heard anything on IOL. The story of the album's creation was unknown to me at the time, and I was intrigued.

Out of print and high priced, I took the plunge and splurged on a shiny copy of the expanded version. I decided I had to hear the Motown version and Marvin's to make up my mind.

This is Marvin's ultimate duality album. Every song is funky and danceable, yet the lyrics are heavy and introspective, often dealing with good/evil, love/lust, virtue/sin, etc. The tortured balladeer, philosophizing and crooning his way through turmoil.

The main musical voices for the entire outing are Marvin's voice(obviously), and Frank Blair's bass. Harmonized, triple-tracked, left-right-center, mantra after mantra of bassliciousness. This is really a duet album, the other voice just happens to be a bass guitar. Marvin representing the spiritual, and the bass representing the physical, they yin and yang from beginning to end.

To bring the whole duality aspect of IOL to another level, there are two complete versions of the album. In Our Lifetime(disc 1), and In Our Lifetime?(disc 2).

Disc 1 is the version that was sent by Frank Blair to Motown and released in '81. Apparently Marvin neither heard nor approved this version and thus became the crux of his split with Motown.

The mixes sound unfinished, and they even included Far Cry which was only in demo form at the time! Gone are the little touches and interludes which are key to IOL.

Also included on Disc 1 are the tracks that were cut to fit it onto one album( Nuclear Juice-instrumental, Ego Tripping Out-
LP mix, Far Cry-unedited), and the original Ego Tripping Out single.


Finished by Marvin and engineer Nick Patrick, Disc 2 represents the beautiful, polished album that IOL should have been when it was released. Complete with musical and spoken interludes, Disc 2 FEELS like a cohesive piece.

-The mixes are MILES beyond the somewhat disjointed, unfinished-sounding mixes from Disc 1.

-Great soundstaging, and the overall presence of the instruments is fantastic.

-The overall sound quality and warmth of the recording is finally present.

-Backing vox are fully fleshed out and hypnotic.

Also included on Disc 2 are the tapes from the unfinished "Love Man" project which became the impetus for IOL. Hearing Marvin at work is a real treat, and many of the IOL grooves began life here.

The booklet is big(28 pgs.) and the various aspects of IOL are presented in a series of short essays. Essential insights for understanding and appreciating IOL.

The cons:

-It's out of print-cha ching!

-After you listen to Disc 2, IOL on Disc 1 becomes inessential.

-It might take a few listens to adjust to the production sound of the early 80's.

If your a Marvin fan, it is definitely worth it. An exeptional remastering job was achieved, and the overall package is awesome. It's a crime that IOL was not released properly in 81, and it's a crime that this is out of print now.

Also around the same time of IOL, Marvin finished his collection of classic ballads entitled "Vulnerable" which went unreleased until 1997. It too is out of print but going for less than IOL. There is a bittersweet story behind this project as well. I suggest you pick this up too for even more insight and amazing music from a tumultuous period in Marvin's lifetime.

How this Lp was a bust in 1981 is a mystery. Probably poorly promoted as a result of MG's own bad-mouthing of everything Motown,this music easily stands next to What's Going On as one of his masterpieces. Hip-O-Select has done an incredible job by releasing all of the various takes and mixes so you can hear what was intended by MG or make up your own version!!! If you are a MG fan this is a MUST OWN!!!

I'll keep it simple, Marvin Gaye is on of the best artist to have emerged in the modern twentieth century. I am and will always be a fan.