Name: Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album
Brand: Motown
SKU: 866680
Price: 26.56 USD
Availability: InStock

Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album

Rating

Album: Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Precious Love - Erykah Badu/D'Angelo
2)	Distant Lover - Brian McKnight
3)	You Sure Love to Ball - Will Downing
4)	Mercy Mercy Me - Jon B.
5)	What's Going On - Profyle
6)	Got to Give It Up - Zhan?
7)	I Want You - Montell Jordan
8)	Let's Get It On - Gerald Levert
9)	Sexual Healing - El DeBarge
10)	Soon I'll Be Loving You Again - Joe
11)	Til' Tomorrow - Chico DeBarge
12)	Just to Keep You Satisfied - Kenny Lattimore
13)	If This World Were Mine - Grenique/Tony Rich

Album: Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Precious Love - Erykah Badu/D'Angelo
2)	Distant Lover - Brian McKnight
3)	You Sure Love to Ball - Will Downing
4)	Mercy Mercy Me - Jon B.
5)	What's Going On - Profyle
6)	Got to Give It Up - Zhan?
7)	I Want You - Montell Jordan
8)	Let's Get It On - Gerald Levert
9)	Sexual Healing - El DeBarge
10)	Soon I'll Be Loving You Again - Joe
11)	Til' Tomorrow - Chico DeBarge
12)	Just to Keep You Satisfied - Kenny Lattimore
13)	If This World Were Mine - Grenique/Tony Rich

Performer Notes

MARVIN IS 60: A TRIBUTE ALBUM commemorates what would have been Marvin Gaye's 60th birthday with various artists performing Marvin Gaye songs. MARVIN IS 60 is also available in a 2-disc limited edition which includes a disc of various artists and a disc of Marvin Gaye performing all of the songs in this compilation.
Includes liner notes by David Ritz.
MARVIN IS 60: A TRIBUTE ALBUM is a limited edition 2 disc set commemorating what would have been Marvin Gaye's 60th birthday. DISC 1 contains various artists performing Marvin Gaye songs while DISC 2 contains the original versions by Marvin Gaye.
Includes liner notes by David Ritz.
Like most tribute albums, Marvin Is 60: A Tribute Album serves as a reminder of the greatness of the featured artist, not because the music is so strong, but because nothing on the record is as good as the original. That's not to say that Marvin Is 60 is a bad album -- given the caliber of Gaye's songs, it would be hard to make a bad album with them -- but it's a pointless one. Motown assembled a strong roster of contemporary urban soul artists (many of which, it has to be said, are signed to Motown) and had them cover familiar Gaye songs, mostly from the '70s and early '80s. In other words, it's Marvin the Loverman, even on selections from What's Goin' On? That interpretation isn't surprising, since Gaye laid the groundwork for contemporary urban soul with his '70s music, but it makes the album sound a little monotonous. The real problem with Marvin Is 60, however, is the fact that almost nobody takes chances or attempts to make the songs their own. Only the Grenique and Tony Rich duet on "If This World Were Mine" offers a significant rearrangement and modernization and, not coincidentally, it's the most captivating song on the record. The rest of the album is always listenable and always predictable -- even the promising Erykah Badu and D'Angelo duet on "Your Precious Love." It's as if all of the artists are trying so hard to be respectful, they can't help but deliver a facsimile of his performance. Since most of the featured artists are fine performers, it's a pleasant listen, but it never delivers any revelations about the songs, Gaye or the performers. Which means that it's hard not to finish Marvin Is 60 and wonder why it was even made. [Marvin Is 60 was also released as a limited-edition CD, containing a bonus disc featuring the original versions of all 13 songs on the tribute album. The disc just confirms that nobody does Marvin like Marvin.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Professional Reviews

Q (9/99, p.121) - 3 stars (out of 5) - "...It's possibly superior to the original."