Marvin Gaye News

Marvin Gaye's maligned 1978 album "Here, My Dear," which chronicled his divorce from Anna Gordy, will be reissued on January 15 with a bonus disc of reworked material.

Disc one of the Motown project includes a remastered version of the original double album and a new mix of the "Dream of a Lifetime" track "Ain't It Funny (How Things Turn Around)" by bass player Bootsy Collins. The second disc offers a resequencing of "Here, My Dear" comprised of Gaye's demo vocals and unused instrumental tracks from the period.

The artists and producers who crafted the disc 2 material were asked to not use overdubs and only work with the original multi-track tapes. The Roots' ?uestlove tackled "Sparrow," while Prince Paul was behind the boards for a new "Everybody Needs Love." Other contributors include Mocean Worker, Easy Mo Bee, Leon Ware and Salaam Remi.

Upon its release during the disco era, "Here, My Dear" was criticized for its uncommercial sound and intensely personal lyrics. Its lone hit was "A Funky Space Reincarnation," which reached No. 23 on Billboard's Black Singles tally. It was recently used in a Dior perfume TV commercial with actress Charlize Theron.

The album was first issued on CD in April 1994, with liner notes from his biographer David Ritz. It entered Billboard's R&B Catalog albums chart at No. 1. Ritz wrote that Gaye was convinced that Motown would never push an album critical of the sister of company founder Berry Gordy, Jr., and did all he could to alienate the label, never giving it a chance to promote the album properly. It soon went out of print.

Reuters/Billboard