Search - Marvin Gaye :: Here My Dear

Soothing for the bewildered & broken-hearted

Agile Viking | Kingdom of Norway, Europe | 06/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

Dark Classic

Lucas W. Reynolds | VA USA | 12/30/2005

(5 out of 5 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.

"