Gold

Product Description:

Personnel: Marvin Gaye (vocals); Kim Weston, Tammi Terrell (vocals).

Liner Note Author: David Ritz.

Recording information: 1962 - 1983.

Motown's ANTHOLOGY: THE BEST OF MARVIN GAYE is probably the finest overview of Gaye's tenure at the label. Unfortunately, the collection is available only on import. Also, it has one glaring omission, Gaye's 1983 single "Sexual Healing" (from MIDNIGHT LOVE, not recorded for Motown). Columbia's GOLD, a superb two-disc collection of Gaye's brightest moments, does include "Sexual Healing," as well as the lion's share of the hits that appear on ANTHOLOGY.

The fantastic batch of Gaye's early-'60s pop-soul singles, including "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and his duets with Tammi Terrell ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), is alone worth the price of the set. Transitional singles like "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" hint at the groove-oriented approach Gaye would perfect in the '70s with his socio-political masterpiece WHAT'S GOING ON, and his paean to desire LET'S GET IT ON. Smooth funk workouts like "Trouble Man" and "Got to Give It Up" flesh out disc 2. Though Motown's collection still wins out on wealth of material (it has 47 tracks to GOLD's 34), GOLD is still a top-notch sampler, covering all aspects of the soul icon's dynamic career.