Marvin Gaye - The Very Best Of Marvin Gaye - 2CD (2001)

Few figures in American music in the 20th century can compare to
Marvin Gaye. As a singer, he was without peer, possessing a silky
voice that could sound either angelic or seductive or, on his
biggest hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", positively haunted.
As a songwriter, he was equally skilled at writing with an eye for
the charts and mining the depths of his heart, a combination that
created many of the enduring classics of his era.

"Hitch Hike", "Dancing In The Street", "Pride And Joy", "What's
Going On", "Let's Get It On", "Got To Give It Up", and "Sexual
Healing". That list also shows how the entire history of postwar R&B
can be seen through the career of Marvin Gaye. He harnessed gospel
and cabaret to create the exuberant uptown sound of Motown in the
early 60's, but he changed with his turbulent times, pushing pop-R&B
into the realms of soul by the end of the decade.

As the 1970s dawned, Gaye grappled with social protest on "What's
Going On", the 1971 album that found the singer/songwriter charting
his own idiosyncratic course. From that point, Gaye delved into
funk, blaxploitation, and disco, eventually settling into the smooth
environs of quiet storm. Throughout this period, Gaye battled
personal demons, often creating powerful art through his struggles,
but they caught up with him tragically in 1984, when he was murdered
by his father.

Gaye's legacy resonated over the decades - he was a touchstone for
soul and pop music that was either sensual or political - but his
early death leaves hanging the question of what he could've achieved
if he were alive. During his two decades as a recording artist, he
already accomplished more than most artists do in a lifetime.