Reviews

Here's a DVD that gives the music to you straight, without a fuss, presenting 16 full-length performances by {\soul} great {$Marvin Gaye}, taken from film and television clips spanning 1964 to 1981. Many of the core classics from {$Gaye}'s hit repertoire are represented, including {&"I Heard It Through the Grapevine,"} {&"Ain't That Peculiar,"} {&"Let's Get It On,"} {&"What's Going On,"} {&"You're a Wonderful One,"} {&"Hitch Hike,"} {&"Pride and Joy,"} {&"Can I Get a Witness,"} and (as a duet with {$Tammi Terrell}) {&"Ain't No Mountain High Enough."} Interspersed between some of the songs are interview excerpts from television music and talk shows, and while these aren't so lengthy as to make this a documentary that could tell the story of {$Gaye}'s career on its own, they're entertaining and do shed some light on his music and life. If there's any drawback, it's that many of the clips are lip-synced, including nearly all of the ones from the '60s (which comprise about half of the material on the disc). Still, {$Gaye} always looks and moves fine, and the first six clips (all from the mid-'60s) are enhanced by syncing the images to the original stereo master recordings. There's some unpredictable entertainment to be had on both the mimed and live clips, too, including a filmed-outdoors duet with {$Terrell} in which you can see their breath (presumably to indicate they are on an appropriate peak to sing {&"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"}); {&"I Heard It Through the Grapevine,"} sung to a different track than the studio version, with {$Gaye} on piano; and a fully live 1972 performance of {&"What's Going On,"} from the obscure film {#Save the Children}. And while few {$Gaye} fans would count {&"A Funky Space Reincarnation"} among his greatest songs, its 1979 promo film is certainly amusing for its sheer gaucheness, complete with {$Gaye}'s spangled maroon wardrobe, clouds of dry ice, and writhing barely-clothed women. Adding to this high-quality package is a 24-page booklet with an essay by top {\soul} historian {$Rob Bowman}, and a bonus feature that allows you to hear {$Gaye}'s {\a cappella} vocal tracks for seven hits in isolation, synced to the corresponding film clip to aid watchability. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide