Marvin Gaye: Live in Belgium 1981

Marvin Gaye was an artist—not just another well-groomed product of the Motown assembly line, but someone with a vision, and an original voice, who was, sadly, fatally shot by his own father in 1984. By mid-1981, Gaye was living in Ostende, Belgium, where the bulk of this concert was recorded, having reportedly escaped from a bad marriage and tax problems dogging him back in the U.S. Although "Sexual Healing" was still ahead of him, his groundbreaking work ("Let's Get It On," "What's Going On," "Mercy Mercy Me") hailing from the previous decade had already made him a legend. Unfortunately, Live in Belgium 1981 doesn't quite measure up to expectations, largely due to technical issues: the mix is awful, tending to put the horns, backup singers, and/or congas way up front while leaving the rhythm section and sometimes Gaye himself buried somewhere in the musical background, and the sound overall is tinny and weak. Still, a great artist transcends, and Gaye does, at least on "Let's Get It On," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (the former is downright steamy, with Marvin in his best "turn the lights down, baby" mode as he seduces the entire audience at once, while the latter is re-imagined as a zephyr-light meditation), and a couple of others in this 10-song set, presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo. Two additional songs, both lip-synced, are included from a Belgian TV appearance that same year, as well as a brief interview. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (S. Graham)