I had never realized how torn Marvin Gaye’s life was until I saw his biography on American Masters  a couple of weeks ago. The show portrayed Gaye as a man who was always tormented by good and evil influences that continually swirled around him. These influences led him in two directions: one toward God and one toward drugs, mainly cocaine. These criss-crossing paths took him to the pinnacle of musical success but also took a huge dump on his personal life.

The storm raging between his two worlds finally spilled out into the public with his album Here, My Dear in 1978, as explained below.

During the amazing success of I Want You and his stellar Live at the London Palladium album, Marvin Gaye was served with divorce papers from his then-wife Anna Gordy Gaye (sister of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy). One of the conditions of the settlement was that Gordy Gaye would receive an extensive percentage of royalties as well as a portion of the advance for his next album. Initially, Gaye was contemplating giving less than his best effort, as he wouldn’t stand to receive any money, but then reconsidered at the last moment. The result is a two-disc-long confessional on the deterioration of their marriage.  -  allmusic

Many people feel that the turmoil and heartache behind this album helped make it one of the greatest soul albums of all time.

However, I don’t feel that Mr. Marvin was really feeling all that heartbroken.

He’d been openly dating Janis Hunter, his backup singer and soon-to-be wife, for several years prior to his divorce from Anna. So what was the really the driving force behind one of the highest acclaimed soul albums of all time?

Now, I’m sitting here listening to this album and trying to figure out if some mysterious force was hurting Marvin during this whole thing, if he wanted people to just believe he was hurting or if he was really fucked up on cocaine and pumped out a great album.

Musically it’s spot on. If one didn’t know the album’s back story you’d have no problem just zoning out and absorbing the sweet sounds. This is why, many times, I just let the music speak for the artist and don’t delve into their personal life. But PBS brought Marvin’s deep dark secrets and spewed them all over my living room, so now I have to know.

So, I’m pretty sure the simple answer behind this album’s brilliance is cocaine, China White…Baby’s Blossom, Heman’s Dandruff, Tolstoy’s Tears……and lots of it. By 1979 ”Marvin’s world was collapsing — his second marriage fell apart, his drug addiction flared out of control, the IRS seized his property. He moved from Los Angeles to Hawaii to London to Ostend, Belgium,” according to Marvin Gaye Biographer David Ritz.

If you listen to his monologue at the beginning of the title track “Here, My Dear” and compare that voice to any of his monologues from What’s Going On you’ll notice that his lung licorice has a decidedly different tone. It’s not the tone of heartache…no tinge of tear-soaked mourning. It’s the tone of a man who starts his day with California Cornflakes, extra sweet. A man who’s sleeping with Aunt Nora. A man who enjoys a good Sleigh Ride any time of the year.

Yes Here, My Dear is a great listen. But take it as one hell of a cocaine-fueled album about love…not driven by it.

Think I’m wrong? I’d love to hear your take on where the real soul of this album lies.

Click here to download Here, My Dear at 320 kbps

Tracklist