Dream of a Lifetime

Performer: Marvin Gaye
Artist: Harvey Fuqua; Gordon Banks
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Contains selections Gaye was working on at the time of his death and some earlier unreleased material. Personnel: Marvin Gaye (vocals, synthesizer); Gordon Banks, Harvey Fuqua (synthesizer, bass, percussion, drums, background vocals); William Bryant II (drums); Connie Howard, The Waters (background vocals). Producers: Marvin Gaye, Gordon Banks, Harvey Fuqua. Engineers: John Kovarek, Barney Perkins, Gordon Banks. Recorded at Village Recorders and Devonshire Studios, Los Angeles, California; Yamaha Studios, Glendale, California; C.A.S.H. Studios, Compton, California. Includes liner notes by Larkin Arnold. Digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt (Digital Magnetics). Portions of DREAM are culled from numerous secret recordings Gaye had made over the years. The rest comes from the album he was working on before his death. In this sense, DREAM is Gaye's last record. Fans of his classic '60s albums may take issue with the heavily synthesized feel of the sonic landscape here, Truth be told, Gaye seems more like himself than ever. Unlike fellow smooth-soul legend Al Green, who sacrificed his secular sensuousness for more sacred subjects, Gaye has gone in the opposite direction--so much so that the record carries a lyrical-content warning. Gaye isn't afraid to push boundaries. Witness the master/slave narrative of "Masochistic Beauty." Everything about such tracks as "Savage In The Sack" is nasty, including the grooves. DREAMS isn't just the squeak of bedsprings, however. Gaye is in equally fine form as a sensitive balladeer, investigating the gentler side of love ("Symphony") and his own life ("Life's Opera" and the title track). The last lines of "Dream Of A Lifetime" almost sound like parting words: "I may want to cry with the past/But it's easier to laugh about it/I thank God for my wonderful life." At such moments, DREAM serves as a quiet eulogy, reminding listeners to also be thankful for Gaye's singular, precious talent.

Marvin Gaye began his career in the late 1950s, singing with various R&B vocal groups. Soon he moved on to work as a session drummer and vocalist at Motown. Gaye's own '60s albums are marked by propulsive, high-energy R&B, and duets with Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell. In the '70s, he crafted a unique, highly personal vision of R&B, incorporating socio-political issues, atmospheric arrangements, and unified album themes. His early, violent death robbed the world of a true genius.

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