Marvin Gaye - Dream Of A Lifetime (1985)

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Marvin Gaye - Dream Of A Lifetime (1985)

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"Dream of a Lifetime" was the first posthumously released album by the American recording artist Marvin Gaye. It included the top five R&B single, "Sanctified Lady". In 1982, Marvin Gaye signed a three-album deal with Columbia Records after final negotiations to leave Motown Records were completed. During the recording of his Midnight Love album, Gaye and his frequent collaborator Gordon Banks worked on a series of recordings, several of which made it to Midnight Love; recording continued into 1983 after Gaye returned to Los Angeles even while Gaye was promoting his album. Following the end of Gaye's final grueling U.S. tour, Gaye remained secluded in the home he shared with his parents at the West Adams district of Los Angeles. Prior to his death, Gaye had planned to work on a duet with Barry White, but White said on the day they were to record in the studio, Gaye was shot and killed by his father. With two albums left from his Columbia contract, Columbia and Gaye's former label, Motown, began to work together to complete the singer's original contract to alleviate any debts left over by the singer after his death. "Dream of a Lifetime" found modest success after its release in May 1985. The leading single, "Sanctified Lady", reached #2 on the Hot R&B Singles chart, while "It's Madness" peaked at #55 on that chart. The album itself peaked at #8 on the R&B chart and #41 on the Billboard 200.

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Marvin Gaye - Dream Of A Lifetime (1985)

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Dream of a Lifetime is Columbia's first plunge into the barrel of unreleased Marvin Gaye material. Although inconsistent, it is not without merit. Two of the songs come from the last recording session before Gaye's death; a third was recorded in the late Seventies; the five others, made earlier in the singer's career and "entrusted to his mother for safekeeping," are musically superior. The three later songs are primarily notable for their sexually explicit lyrics. A warning on the jacket states that the record contains lyrical content that may be considered offensive by some listeners. Beyond that, the songs offer little of interest. "Sanctified Lady" is a slack reworking of Midnight Love's synthesized grooves; "Savage in the Sack" and "Masochistic Beauty" are novelty songs, the former a melodically undeveloped love boast, the latter a tale of sadistic triumph with lines as bad as "I love your booty/And it's my duty/To spank your booty." A few of the older songs are pleasant surprises. The splendid harmonies of "Ain't It Funny (How Things Turn Around)" feature a multitracked Gaye and a funky bass line punctuated by jazzy saxophone. Though dated by sentimental Hollywood string arrangements, the reflective title cut and "It's Madness" – which finds Gaye pleading with his lover to return – remind us of just how tender the singer could be. Dream of a Lifetime also includes "Life's Opera," an autobiographical minisuite that modulates from a secular celebration of getting down to a gospel-tinged affirmation of faith and concludes with the Lord's Prayer. Were it not for the most recent songs, this collection could stand alongside Gaye's finer works as part of the lasting legacy of a brilliant artist.

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Marvin Gaye - Dream Of A Lifetime (1985)

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Marvin Gaye - Dream Of A Lifetime (1985)

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