Every Great Motown Hit Of Marvin Gaye
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Album Summary
Released in 1983 on Motown Records, 'Every Great Motown Hit Of Marvin Gaye' is a career-spanning compilation that gathers fifteen of the Prince of Soul's most beloved recordings under one roof. Rather than a studio album with fresh sessions, this was Motown's loving curation of Marvin Gaye's essential catalog — stretching from the sweet early-sixties groove of 'How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)' all the way through the late-seventies dancefloor sermon of 'Got To Give It Up (Part 1)' — assembled and released for the American market at a moment when the world was rediscovering just how deep Marvin's well truly ran.
Reception
- The compilation was embraced as an authoritative single-disc introduction to Marvin Gaye's Motown legacy, drawing both longtime fans and a new generation of listeners who came of age after his classic run.
- Critical response recognized the album as a well-sequenced showcase of one of soul music's most versatile voices, covering his work as a solo artist and his celebrated duet recordings.
- The release arrived at a commercially meaningful moment, as Marvin's concurrent work on 'Midnight Love' had rekindled mainstream interest in his artistry.
Significance
- The album stands as one of the definitive single-disc surveys of Marvin Gaye's Motown years, tracing the arc from romantic soul balladry through socially conscious masterworks like 'What's Going On' and 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler),' demonstrating the full range of his artistic vision in a single listening experience.
- By placing duet recordings — including 'Your Precious Love,' 'If I Could Build My Whole World Around You,' and 'You're All I Need To Get By' — alongside his solo triumphs, the compilation honors the collaborative dimension of Gaye's Motown legacy, particularly his celebrated partnerships with Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston.
- Released on Motown, the label that shaped his entire classic-era output, this collection reinforced Marvin Gaye's central place in the soul and R&B canon at a time when his influence was being felt across multiple generations of artists.
Samples
- "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" — one of the most recognized songs in the Motown catalog, sampled across numerous hip-hop and R&B productions over the decades.
- "What's Going On" — sampled by artists across genres, with its socially conscious framework and lush orchestration making it a touchstone source for hip-hop producers.
- "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" — sampled by Jay-Z on 'Nickels And Dimes' (2013) and by numerous other artists drawn to its slow-burning, politically charged groove.
- "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" — sampled by various producers, most notably interpolated and sampled within R&B and hip-hop contexts celebrating Gaye's environmental consciousness.
- "Got To Give It Up (Part 1)" — heavily sampled in hip-hop and R&B, its loose, celebratory groove proving irresistible to producers across multiple decades.
Tracklist
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A1 How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 112
2:58
-
A2 Your Precious Love 203
3:02
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A3 If I Could Build My Whole World Around You 122
2:18
-
A4 That's The Way Love Is 110
3:36
-
A5 You're All I Need To Get By 97
2:48
-
A6 I Heard It Through The Grapevine 117
3:15
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A7 Too Busy Thinking About My Baby 117
2:57
-
A8 What's Going On 103
3:52
-
B1 Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing 93
2:12
-
B2 Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) 92
3:05
-
B3 Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) 93
3:13
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B4 Trouble Man 107
3:50
-
B5 Let's Get It On 167
4:01
-
B6 Distant Lover 136
4:13
-
B7 Got To Give It Up (Part 1) —
4:11
Artist Details
Marvin Gaye was a singular soul prophet born right out of Washington D.C. who found his groove in Detroit's Motown Records in the early 1960s, weaving together rhythm and blues, soul, and jazz into something so smooth and so deep it could make a grown man weep. He pushed the boundaries of what Motown would allow with landmark albums like What's Going On in 1971 and Let's Get It On in 1973, using his music to speak on Vietnam, poverty, and the raw hunger of human desire when other artists were playing it safe. His velvet voice and fearless artistry made him the undisputed Prince of Soul, and his influence runs so deep through the veins of every R&B and soul artist that came after him that you simply cannot tell the story of American music without his name front and center.
