The 500 - #456 - Marvin Gaye - Here, my Dear

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan (amended). 

• 1 or 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 456

Album Title: Here, my Dear
Artist: Marvin Gaye
Released: December, 1978
My age at release: 13
How familiar am I with it: I knew one song
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Is that Enough? 
Great Lyric:
"Suddenly it occured to me it did not matter,
Whether I was mad at her
Or she was mad at me."
(You can Leave, but it's Gonna Cost You)

Once again, I have encountered an artist who has multiple titles on Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.  Marvin Gaye's 1973 offering, Let's Get It On, appears at #175 and, at #6 is the iconic What's Going On? from 1976. 

The legendary artist who left us far too soon. He was murdered by his father, in April of 1984. Shortly before his tragic death I discovered Marvin's music. In the early 80s I attended Saunders Secondary School in London, Ontario. School band practices were held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 am. This necessitated a ride on the dreaded "early bus" which traveled from my subdivision in Byron to the school...about 8 km away.

With frequent stops the trip took about 25 minutes and, unlike typical high-school bus excursions, it was an almost entirely silent journey. Teenage sleep patterns have been well documented by physicians and scientists who specialize in adolescent physiology. Teens run on a different bio-clock than adults or children. They experience a melatonin release late in the evening, a wolf-phase which keeps them awake and energized. A subsequent drop in this hormone overnight results in the mumbly, grumpy disposition that parents dread, particularly when they need to rouse the household zombies. Consequently, it is a bit of cruel joke that they are expected to attend school as early as 8:00 in the morning - doubly cruel when they have to catch the earlier bus to band practice. 

Our driver probably loved this low-octane sojourn. He was young, likely mid-20s, and would play the local FM radio station to replace the silent gloom. It was during one of these trips that I first heard Marvin Gaye. I suspect it would be about 1982 when his last record, Midnight Love, was released and the single, Sexual Healing, was a hit on the charts. There was no way a song that provocative was going to escape my hyper-sexed teenage radar. Everything about it caught my attention. The low throb of the bass guitar, the relentless tinny precision of the drum-machine, the whispery voices of the back-up singers and, of course, those suggestive lyrics.

I just spent a relaxing Saturday afternoon listening to Here my Dear as I prepared lessons for the upcoming week of school. This album is incredible. Just the saxophone groove on Is that Enough? was worth my monthly Spotify charge . Give it a listen - it is perfect background music for writing, cooking, entertaining or relaxing.