Marvin Gaye

As a comeback album, Marvin Gaye's Midnight Love is remarkably arrogant: it simply picks
up from 1973's Let's Get It On as if only ten minutes, and not a confusing ten years, had
elapsed since Gaye hit his commercial peak. But make no mistake: this record, which has
become the biggest crossover hit of the singer's career, is a comeback for Gaye, whose
last couple of albums, despite their funkster defenders, committed the unpardo... More >

Gaye's always had more feel for sexual healing than for wholly-holy or inner city blues, and this album's concentration on the carnal is one reason it's his best ever: after a week of grumping about his coke-snorting super freaks, dick-brained Bob Marley tribute, and jive ooh-la-la, I realized I was in bed with the man anyway and decided to lie back enjoy it. His wet croon makes up for the lost grit of Let's Get It On, and never before has the rhythm master layered the tracks with such deftness and power. King Sunny Adé, meet Dr. Feelgood. (Grade: A-)