Marvin Gaye - The Real Thing In Performance 1964-1981

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Customer reviews

review by: The Maverick date: 2006-09-25 rating:
Excellent!!
What caught my eye first was the packaging! Pictures of various promotional posters and such line the inner cover and the liner booklet is most informative and extensive! A Forward written by Otis Williams of the Temptations is Otis' fond memories of Marvin. He mentions sitting at the piano with Marvin while Marvin plays with some jazz chords, asking Otis what the root note of each one is. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to catch that memory!

Watching Marvin's performances from the 60s to the early 80s gave me a new light on the hits! Most was lip-synched, but still just to see him on stage is a treat! There is a video of Marvin singing GRAPEVINE, playing piano at one point, and towards the end he was given a false ending, but he WORKED IT! Marvin and Tammi's duet AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH I have never seen in its entirety and just watching that chemistry was awesome!

Now as for the 70s Marvin, two videos were included: WHAT'S GOING ON/WHAT'S HAPPENING BROTHER, which were taken from the SAVE THE CHILDREN movie. You can see Earl Van Dyke, James Jamerson, and Eddie Bongo jammin'! There is also a promotional video from Motown for A FUNKY SPACE REINCARNATION...very space age! Imagine Marvin in a glitter outfit with his band, smoke and female dancers flocking all around him! There is also COME GET TO THIS/LET'S GET IT ON where he does his famous "turn of the lights" monologue. His guitarist was shown and I believe he played on the 1980 LIVE IN MONTREUX DVD as well! Then there's the EGO TRIPPIN' OUT video he did on Dinah Shore's show with yet another female dancer. The single was included on 81's IN OUR LIFETIME LP, but apparently it was being promoted in 1979 for the LOVE MAN album, which never saw the light.

1981's highlight for me was HEAVY LOVE AFFAIR on FOLLLIES, a show out of Belgium where Marvin was living at the time. I had to pull out my LP after listening to it as I had forgotten how funky this song is! HEAVY (once again talks about him and Jan) has always reminded me of Rick James, everything from the music down to the phrasing of the lyrics!

Even added treats: in between songs, Marvin spoke about his life and his music, even at one point describing seeing his daughter Nona being born! There is also an acapella section where you watch the videos while listening only to his vocal track of 7 of his 60s hits!

Still a great DVD to own, although the IMPORT version has the entire Belgium concert (why must we Americans SUFFER!?!?!?!?!?)!

Reelin' and Universal...can't wait for the Temptations DVD! And PLEASE release the Belgium concert for us!!

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review by: date: 2006-07-23 rating:
Unbelieveable
I think that some serious love went into producing this DVD. Marvin was a genius, and the archive material here shows more than a few moments of it. There's a ten minute segment from a 1972 concert that's just astounding.

The diamond in this set though is the acappella vocal tracks from a handfull of his best known songs. If you're a fan of Marvin, they're an amazing thing to hear - it's as though he's singing to you out of the darkness.

Genuinely priceless.

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review by: Peter Ogle date: 2006-04-23 rating:
Motown fans are finally reaching the motherlode!!
They say, "all good things come to those who wait". Well, Motown fans must be amongst the most patient in the world!

Finally, a Marvin Gaye package to satisfy the hardcore fans (and there are millions around the planet), put together with the sort of care and attention that you'd expect from a company who loves the music, just as much as it's customers.

Across a mouth-watering selection of TV appearances, and Motown promo clips, all interspersed with beautifully chosen interview soundbites, this DVD will make any Marvin fan (or for that matter, any MUSIC fan) deliriously happy.

The inclusion of an additional unseen live concert on the DVD, and then an unheard live concert on a separate CD, only goes to add the icing to the cake. However, the extra feature which got my goosebumps going, are several classic Marvin tracks, which are available to be heard either as a-ccapella versions (every breath and nuance laid bare). Then, at the flick of a switch on your remote, you can instantly flip, mid-song, into the complete track (with full instrumentation) - and back again, to your heart's content. Stunning!

This is my "jewel in the crown" in my DVD collection. Until that is, the company responsible, Reelin' In The Years, put out a Temptations, Jackson 5, or Stevie Wonder equivalent!

Don't delay - buy this TODAY!!!

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review by: Shivers date: 2006-04-14 rating:
Bloody brilliant release!
Why aren't more Motown fans raving about this DVD? It's absolutely brilliant from every angle. I'm so thrilled to be able to see this genius perform after all these years. This is a gobsmacking package with loads of great bonus features as well. The studio tracks of Marvin solo'd are mindblowers. Hearing the soul and the passion in that man's voice, without the musical background is a life-changing experience. Let's see more vintage Motown releases like this. PLEASE!!!


review by: date: 2006-04-06 rating:
A must have for Marvin Gaye fans!!!
This is one of the best music DVDs I've ever bought. Gaye's performance of "Grapevine" is worth the price of the DVD alone. The only complaint I have is that the American version doesn't have the 1981 Belgium concert, other than that, a great DVD.

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Similar categories

Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Music . Gospel & Spiritual
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Music . R&B and Soul
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 0
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1980 - 1989
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English

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