Here, My Dear
| Marvin Gaye
Here, My Dear
Here, My Dear is the fifteenth studio album by music artist Marvin Gaye, released December 15, 1978, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place between 1977 and 1978 at Gaye's personal studios, Marvin Gaye Studios in Los Angeles, California. -wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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OO Cities
a captivating journey just the same, and there’s certainly no other album quite like it
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Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews
whatever the contradictions between Gaye's lyrics and reality, he's speaking more from the heart than ever here
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Robert Christgau
And within the sweet, quiet, seductive, and slightly boring mood Gaye is at such pains to realize, his rhythmic undulations and whisper-to-a-scream timbral shifts can engross the mind, the body, and above all the ear.
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Pitchfork
2017 - My Dear is a groove album. Voices, instruments, and hooks don’t jump out as much as they lay in the cut waiting to be discovered. Though it can sound redundant at first, its unvaried instrumentation and tempo strengthen the thematic bonds within.
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Pop Matters
2008 - Gaye put his frustrations and anger into one of the most painfully intimate song cycles in musical history and then released it to the public, creating a time-delayed classic.
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AV Music
2007 - Here, My Dear is really about Gaye's self-pity, and the struggle to fight off personal demons through (often lush) music makes the album a tough yet fascinating listen
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Rolling Stone
a brooding double album that catalogued every ugly emotion Gaye experienced during the end of his decade-long marriage
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All Music
Stripped to its bare essence, Here, My Dear is no less than brilliantly unsettling and a perfect cauterization to a decade filled with personal turmoil.
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The Guardian
2008 - Though not always the most comfortable listening, the soul in symphonies of anguish like When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You is palpable and weirdly purifying.
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NY Times
1979 - “Here, My Dear” is a unified piece of work, a concept album, and it succeeds on several levels.
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The Telegraph
2017 - Although initially intending a vitriolic collection, the singer eventually wrote a series of set of clear-sighted, lushly soulful biographical songs about his marriage.
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Chocolate City Review
2014 - Yet, the album despite the moment is still about love, the thing Marvin Gaye seemed to express better than most on wax. It is bittersweet soul but honest nonetheless.
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Phonica Records
As one of Gaye's pivotal records, it belongs in any soul collection. As the ultimate divorce record, it is a part of music history.
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Rand Being
2002 - a probing work that charts the emotional history of a failed relationship, from infatuation (“I Met a Little Girl”) to bitterness and pain (“Anger”). What makes the album so affecting is how his loose, stream-of-consciousness lyrics capture the mixture of hurt, ambivalence, nostalgia and confusion that marks the end of a love affair.
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People
1979 - Here, My Dear is a gift worth the wait.
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Reel and Rock
a highly personal and idiosyncratic exploration of his failed marriage—some of the lyrics could have been lifted from the pages of a court deposition
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Define a Revolution
1978 - stands out as Marvin Gaye's greatest album
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Cherry Stereo
2018 - Great, but how’s the music? Fantastic, as always. The album’s consistent medium tempo comfortably embraces everything from oldies/doo-wop to epic soul ballad to bubbling R&B dance groove, all heavily overdubbed in an orgy of studio production.
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Dixie
2012 - There’s no pretty language; no pretty bow on top. And that’s why I think it succeeds.
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Independent
2008 - 'Here, My Dear' remains the most bitter break-up record of all time
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Vibe
2014 - Here, My Dear has since taken on mythical standing amongst musicologists, critics, artists and longtime fans of Marvin Gaye
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Culture Hash
2017 - It’s a fascinating album that is essential listening for any soul fan.
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