Gaye's biographer called him a "Divided Soul." Addled by drugs and family dysfunction and unable to fully resolve the conflict between erotic and spiritual yearnings, Gaye was the suave classy performer onstage who succumbed to demons when out of the footlights.

His early 80's swansong "Midnight Love" joins the political "What's Going On?" and the sexual "Let's Get It On" as his trio of finest albums. "Midnight Lady" opens the album with a rollicking tribute to nightclub hedonism with its images of lines of coke on the men's room marble. "Sexual Healing" finds Marvin celebrating sex unabashedly, but there's a plea in his voice too--like he's begging his stern Pentecostal God to accept this point of view. Clever lyrics. A voice of grit and sweetness.

The good songs just keep coming. "'Til Tomorrow" is a throwback to '73 and the "Let's Get It On" album with its piercing well-developed falsetto and erotic longing. "Turn the Music On," Rastafarian and witty, imagines lovemaking through an entire double record set. "Rocking after Midnight" starts as a jangle-funk dance piece but slips into vocal caresses which almost sound like testifying or speaking in tongues! Underrated in its depth and beauty.

This eight song effort, despite some tinny early 80s production, would--on the strength of its songwriting, musicianship, and vocal performance--become the template for the perfect male R & B album over the next 20 years. See KEITH SWEAT, JONNY GILL, JEFFREY OSBOURNE, etc.

The musical equivalent of novelist James Baldwin, Gaye shared the writer's threatening father, religious immersion, and sexual voracity; this combination yielded for them both a rich body of artistic work, tortured and triumphant.

The late Marvin Gaye remains one of the most definitive male voices in Soul music. He truly was an utter genius and had such a creative and artistic flair. He remains one of the key influences with todays new generation of wannabe Soul/R&B singers.

In October 1982, Marvin released his first (and his last) studio album for CBS Records, after fleeing from Motown Records in a bid, much like Diana Ross' exact reasons for escaping Motown, for wanting to exert total control over his career, an exercise he was most certainly capable of. The album would be the classic, Midnight Love, which though offered no social commentary or made any sort of profound political statement like much of his previous efforts had, it still stands as a compelling, solid production and a last triumph for the unbeatable legend of soul.

Marvin wrote all 8 songs on the album and also is credited as playing the rolling drum beats, synthesisers and bongos that can eratically be heard throughout each recording. Other highly acclaimed muscians included on the project were Gordon Banks on Guirtars, James Gadson on Drums and Bobby Stern on those neat Harmonica and saxophone interludes. Together they create what amounts too, a pure masterpiece!

The title track, Midnight Love opens the project. Containing multi-layered and complex musical arrangements, the synthesises effect are worked miraculously into a a startling combination of early 80's disco/pop/r&b. The track is a jamming affair with some shrewd vocal trade-offs where Marvin adds his own backing vocals. A nice beginning to the album.

Sexual Healing is perharps one of Marvin Gayes signature tunes. Its a song everyone knows all the words too and has remained refreshingly timeless. The cool, breezy musical arrangements are given startling ignition by Marvins surprisingly sensual, vibrant vocal delivery that blends fantastically well into the state-of-the-art soul production. Sexual Healing became one of his last hits before his untimely and tragic death.

Continuing in vastly the same mood is the sexually charged, Rockin' After Midnight which opens up with a slow, sultry beat that hastily leads into a striking late night, grooving and lush R&B number that is broken up by a glorious saxophone interlude which indeed proves to be a phenomenal instrument on each of these recordings, capturing the intended move perfectly.

Til' Tomorrow, begins with a sluggish drum beat and steers into a tidal wave of musical arrangements, which are enhanced further by Marvins smooth, erotic sounding vocal delivery. He changes his pitch remarkably well through various parts of the track which merley displayed his wide range of impressive and impeccable vocal abilities.

More laid back and sultry was Turn On Some Music where Marvin puts in an exuberant, crystal-clear vocal performance that gels neatly into the overly, well-crafted production. Marvin is in full romantic mood here and his delivery is touchingly genuine and sincere which always was the genius of Marvin Gaye with his straight-from-the-heart approach to his music which is probably why his work remains timeless.

The infectious, Third World Girl opens with bizarre, echoey vocal noises and leads to a flood of musical arrangements that cunningly encapsulates an exotic, Jamaican vibe. Marvins voice is once again enhanced by the customary synthsised effect.

Joy, is something of a mid-tempo masterpiece on the album. Bobby Stern works hard away on that effective tenor sax solo whilst Marvins delivery is truly exhilirating, mastered to utter perfection and merley adds to the over-all, dazzling effect.

Finally the album slowly grinds to a halt with My Love Is Waiting, where on the opening bars of the track, he pays credit to all the producers and muscians involved on the job as well as delivering a short religious ode. This then drives into this infectious offering which is incidentally much of a soundalike to Sexual Healing. Still Marvins passionate and full-throated performance is as refreshing as ever, riding neatly along the divine and sweeping musical arrangements.

Midnight Love (1982) is thriving with Marvin Gayes fire and spirit. His contribution to music was phenomenal and will never be forgotten! Finally after all these years after his death, much of his work is now seeking much wider acknowledgment and recognition. Marvin Gaye remains an unparalled artist.

Ian Phillips

Marvin became our voice, our collective conscience, our speaker for the excitement and pain of relationships. Because despite our failure to find the right woman, despite the hurt of not being the perfect man for the woman of our dreams and despite the anguish of losing out to another suitor, Marvin kept us all grounded in the reality of life and the struggle to try again. That, for me, was the basis of Marvin's appeal on a global level. People couldn't put their finger on it back then (drugs had clouded most peoples' mentalities and they couldn't think straight enough to figure it out). In my old age, I know what Marvin was trying to say. And he was quite eloquent at it.

This CD/album epitomizes the Marvin Gaye experience with women. He could satisfy them sexually, but he could also connect on a spiritual level; he could also relate on an intellectual level. Marvin got over because he knew the heart of a Woman was not to compete with her. Once you compete, you lose automatically. Women don't play those games. So Marvin gave what he had -- himself, totally and honestly, in all his songs . . . especially on this CD. It turned out to be his last, but it was also the one where you can just sit back, put it on and leave it for the rest of the night.

On a very selfish note, I have to highlight my favorite song on the CD. I don't know who the sax player is on "Til Tomorrow", but from a strictly aesthetic perspective, it is perfectly framed for this song. There are no ill-advised notes, there is no lapse in the structure, there are no flaws in the runs and riffs. It is clinically perfect, and in deference to players who specialize in running scales, this song really shows them how you have to blend the formal training with the street knowledge to produce the solo of your dreams. This guy, whoever he is, takes care of business. It is absolutely one of the best sax solos I have ever heard -- on a par with Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum or Najee. I get a chill every time I hear it. It literally sets off the vocal inflections and the poignant lyrics as sung by a very sincere Marvin Gaye to his lady to just stay. What Woman could resist?? Marvin made the men jealous of his power over them. You KNOW the Woman stayed!!! She would have stayed without the sax part!!!!!!!

You can't go wrong with most of Marvin's collection of songs. But this one, you have to get and you have to listen to (NOT JUST PUT ON, BUT LISTEN) to really get the most out of. Pure genius. I can't say enough about it. 20 years after the fact, I still miss his surreal presence. There's no telling what he'd be doing if he were still here. And 20 years after the fact, this CD is still a classic.

Marvin's first album for Columbia, and the last completed studio album before his death, is yet another solid release - even if it is a little more derivative than his earlier recordings. Still smarting from the lackluster chart-performances of his last two Motown albums (including 1978's otherwise brilliant HERE, MY DEAR), Marvin later admitted that he was really aiming for commercial success above all else with this album. To his credit, he succeeded - MIDNIGHT LOVE became Marvin's first Top Ten, million-seller since 1977's LIVE AT LONDON'S PALLADIUM, and the terrific single "Sexual Healing" (with it's unusual percussion and unbeatable hook) became an outright smash (#3 Pop, #1 R&B). While MIDNIGHT LOVE is the first album of Marvin's to really sound dated since the sixties (ah, those post-disco, pre-funk arrangements!), but it's still a lot of fun.

In some ways, it's almost like hearing Marvin perform other artists' songbooks. Basically, "Midnight Lady" is his Rick James tune, "Third World Girl" is his stab at a Bob Marley number, while "Rockin' After Midnight" and "Turn On Some Music" both sound very much like vintage Earth, Wind, & Fire. But what's really incredible is how Marvin is totally convincing in each of these settings. In addition to the previously-mentioned classic "Sexual Healing," MIDNIGHT LOVE also contains two of his most painfully beautiful ballads, "Til Tomorrow" (#31 R&B) and "My Love Is Waiting," as well as the fun disco-ditty "Joy" (#78 R&B). Even though Midnight Love may not reach the classic status of WHAT'S GOING ON or HERE, MY DEAR, it's still an excellent release, and probably a notch more enjoyable than his last Motown release (IN OUR LIFETIME) on a track-by-track basis.

How Marvin managed to come up with this killer album is really beyond me. Marv was at all time low by 1982, out in Belgium trying to escape the drugs, alcohol and hard living that haunted his life in the states. His last album had been the sorely underrated & critically torn up `Here, My Dear' (1978), and although he had escaped Motown, they still had thrown together an unfinished project called `In Our Lifetime' and released it against his wishes.

Despite the pits of depression that Marvin must have been lost in, somehow he was still able to come up with a collection of songs full of the kind of life, fun and wit that were the trademark of his style. `Sexual Healing' is eternal, and the song that resurrected Marv in the game, what more can you say? `Midnight Lady' is an upbeat dance floor number that's some 20 years before its time, as is the murderous cut `Turn On Some Music'. `Third World Girl' is a lively jam about his Jamaican Lady, and `Rockin' After Midnight' and `Til Tomorrow' take you into the late hours. So a lot of strong material, but my personal pic has to be the closing `My Love Is Waiting', what a sweet, beautiful groove to go out on. Plus, the remastering is great and adds much extra bump & depth to the sound, although tagging on the 'Rockin After Midnight' instrumental seems pretty pointless.

Overall this album being released in the 80s is a world away from his 60s and 70s style, but its just another great re-invention. Unfortunately for Marvin releasing this album meant having to promote it. This meant having to return to the US where all his demons were waiting for him, and he would soon be in his grave. A sad end for a tortured genius, Marvin is the all time legend of black music. He had that charisma & feeling that nobody else could ever take, there will never be another Marvin Gaye. R.I.P.