Romantically Yours

by

Marvin Gaye

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Mistermaxx, how could you overrate an album with three of the most gorgeous outtakes ever? That being "Just Like" and my personal favorite "Walkin' In the Rain'. I had been going through one of the most darkest periods of my Young adulthood life when I had came upon this album with utter curiosity. I brought the album home and at first just like you I was not Impressed with the overall content. Until I listened carefully to

Walkin' In the Rain". I almost died listening to this masterpiece! Never before In the history of music that a artist could be so pure! Listen to Rain Drops In the Song. Simply a work of pure genius! Even Barry White adored this song! Simply

brillant!

The second compilation from Columbia and Motown of previously unreleased material from Marvin, ROMANTICALLY YOURS is, if nothing else, not as crass a release as DREAM OF A LIFETIME. Most people know that Marvin had long dreamed of being a ballad crooner in the Sinatra mode, and that he worked on an album of such material for 12 years before declining to release it. The completed material (which is what Marvin was proud of) was eventually released in 1997 as VULNERABLE.

What's really bizarre is that ROMANTICALLY YOURS (which was released in 1985) contains the ballad recordings that Marvin made in the mid-sixties, and was reportedly unsatisfied with. And when listening to this album, it's easy to see why. Throughout the 12 years that Marvin worked on his ballad album, he grew tremendously as a vocalist and interpreter. Comparing this to VULNERABLE is like night and day. By 1978 (which is when the material on VULNERABLE was completed) Marvin had perfected his style of delivering these standards in a manner that was both new and traditional at the same time. On those recordings, his multi-layered vocals are pure, beautiful, and soulful.

However, on the recordings that are presented on ROMANTICALLY YOURS (most of which were recorded in 1966), Marvin sounds like he doesn't know exactly how should interpret this material. Throughout the entire disc, he sounds detached and mechanical. This is especially noticeable on the three songs that were later repeated on VULNERABLE ("Why Did I Choose You," "The Shadow of Your Smile," "I Won't Cry Anymore"). VULNERABLE contains the renditions of these three songs that Marvin recorded in 1978, while ROMANTICALLY YOURS includes the 1966 versions. When listening to both, it's amazing how much Marvin grew as a vocalist in that twelve year period.

This disc also includes a few show tunes ("Maria," "More"), as well as Marvin's take on a Sinatra classic ("Fly Me To the Moon"), and his performances of these songs are just as stiff as the rest. The last half of the record consists of original songs that are supposed to sound like standards (four of which written by Marvin himself, "Happy Go Lucky" written by none other than Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland), and all five tunes are listenable, but faceless and unmemorable. While this album is easier to listen to than DREAM OF A LIFETIME, it still represents Columbia and Motown trying to make a profit on music that Marvin never wanted released in the first place.