...I can only comment on the artist and the song selection. For those two aspects of this compilation, I give 5 stars without hesitation. This guy was really unbelievable. Every song is an instant winner, which is pretty incredible when there are fully 34 songs. Marvin Gaye is almost good enough to make me renounce rock and roll; he certainly played a big part in showing me that there is more out there than just rock and roll. I don't know, if you feel the need to burn your CDs, then go for another compilation--although there really aren't any others as comprehensive as this one. But please, however you decide to do it, GET SOMETHING BY MARVIN GAYE. You don't know music until you do.

From first glance, when you look at something like a cover of a greatest hits album like this, you think 'wow, nice rare photo' and then you put the album in and the same stuff you had in the other greatest-hits album of the same artist is reduced to rubbish.

Not the case with Marvin Gaye. Re-released after UTV ran out of copies of "The Very Best of Marvin Gaye" (which probably had a better booklet than the one in "Gold" but hey), "Gold: Marvin Gaye" integrates Marvin's early 1960s beginnings when he was mixing rock, blues and gospel (or soul music) in songs like "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "Hitch Hike" and "Pride & Joy", his mid-1960s soul discovery in songs like "How Sweet It Is", "I'll Be Doggone" and "Ain't That Peculiar", his late-1960s duos with Tammi Terrell (with the Kim Weston duet added in good measures), his late-1960s coming out party as a gritty soul belter in songs like "You", "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby", "That's the Way Love Is" and his 1968 masterpiece, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" together with the 1970's gems that we all know and love like "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me", "Inner City Blues", "Trouble Man", "Let's Get It On", "Come Get to This", the live version of "Distant Lover" (shown in its full six and some twenty minutes), "I Want You", and the entire 11-minute "Got to Give It Up" and his early-1980s funk/soul synthesis/gem "Sexual Healing". All in all presenting 20 years of one amazing man's work with these rare gems:

*An unreleased version of his rendition of the old gospel standard, "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" (1968)
*Rare socially conscious gems like "You're the Man" and "Where Are We Going" (both in 1972)
*The obscure 1979 single "Ego Tripping Out"
*The also very obscure single, "Anger" from his 1978 album, "Here, My Dear"
*And finally 1981's "Praise"

If you want to complain about the negativities of how the CD was produced and shipped, go ahead, the music is all I need and as long as I discover rare Marvin gems between the classics. It's all good because I have the best of both worlds: a 2-tape anthology set that has more unreleased and rare gems (including a rare unreleased version of "Ego Tripping Out" with Marvin going "only one way!"), another hits album that includes a rare '72 doo-wop gem and this album and a rare album full of other rare gems in Marvin's tank.

I'm set with Marvin for life.

P.S., "Where Are We Going" is the cut! Go get it for the song and the entire 11-minute "Got to Give It Up" alone! It's worth it, trust me.

Exactly why Motown chose to repackage this collection is unclear, but the original now appears to be out of print. If you didn't buy the earlier compilation, you can buy it in this re-packaged form. Obviously, if you bought the original, you don't need this.

This comprehensive collection contains all Marvin's important American hits as well as highlighting other aspects of his music, including his political songs of the seventies. His British hits were sometimes different from his American hits. Three UK top ten hits are missing, though as this is an American compilation, there is no reason why they should have been included. Abraham Martin and John was an American hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - perhaps it was felt that Marvin's version was better for the UK market. You are everything, a duet with Diana Ross, made the UK top five. Onion song, a duet credited as being with Tammi Terrell but recorded with a stand-in, made the UK top ten.

The classic American hits (not all of which charted in Britain) are all here including Can I get a witness, How sweet it is, I'll be doggone, Ain't that peculiar, I heard it through the grapevine, Too busy thinking about my baby, That's the way love is. What's going on, Mercy mercy me, Trouble man, Let's get it on and Got to give it up. Some of his duets are here, too, including Ain't no mountain high enough, Your precious love, If I could build my whole world around you, Ain't nothing like the real thing, You're all I need to get by (all with Tammi Terrell) and It takes two (with Kim Weston).

Marvin always considered himself a balladeer like Frank Sinatra or Nat King Cole rather than a typical R+B singer, but his early attempts to establish himself in this role were not a success. Eventually, he did gain acceptance as a balladeer after proving that he could do the R+B material - compare his definitive version of I heard it through the grapevine with the Gladys Knight version, released a year earlier. Marvin actually recorded the song before Gladys but Berry Gordy initially rejected his version. It shows what perseverance can do.

Marvin once again had Berry Gordy worried when he completed his anti-Vietnam album, What's going on. Motown had always been primarily a singles label so this album was completely alien to the marketing department, although it appears that many people at Motown loved it. Once again, Marvin was right. The album was a huge success and three of its tracks are here - they are the first three on CD 2.

This double-CD is a nice introduction to the music of Marvin Gaye, one of the finest soul singers of the twentieth century.

I have the recent Marvin Gaye Deluxe remasters of What's Going On; Let's Get It On and I Want You.
I don't have anything earlier though and Disc 1 of this set is perfect for me and I like having Disc 2 anyway.
Disc 1 has all the early hits before Marvin took total charge of his career and recordings. All the early hits are here and nicely mastered.

I Have many of the "GOLD" sets and I appreciate them. Yes, sometimes they are a repackage of an existing sets (see Yes: Gold) but other sets are pretty unique and very necessary.

If you need a good Marvin Gaye Compilation this is where to start.

I hope somebody from Motown is reading this...because you people SUCK! First off, i realize that most of the people passing for musicians & that stuff that's passing for music is all you've got on the new side, but why rehash this over & over & over? And what's worse, this is the same thing that was released in 2001 as "the very best of..." What the crap are you people trying to pull?