Universal Music 20th Century Masters (series)

The Best of Marvin Gaye

Product Description:

Producers include: Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stephenson, Smokey Robinson, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier.

Recorded between 1962 & 1968.

Includes liner notes by Leonard Pitts Jr.

That well traveled line between the sacred and the profane has seldom been crossed as memorably as on Marvin Gaye's monumental "Can I Get a Witness." Gaye, the quintessential soul singer, invokes the power of classic gospel call-and-response, but he wants to testify about troubles with his woman, not about his faith in the Lord. The pumping Motor City R&B arrangement behind him helps make the point all the more visceral. This thumbnail sketch of Gaye's early career, with such key items as "Ain't That Peculiar," "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," and "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" shows that his facility with the ways of classic pop fully matched his soulful singing and heartfelt R&B songwriting.