What a creative hot streak Marvin Gaye was on in the 1970s: classic albums What’s Going On, Trouble Man, Let’s Get It On and I Want You; two great live albums; and, when he seemed to be losing commercial steam, up popped “Got To Give It Up,” a no. 1 smash.

Often missing from that list is the record that came towards the end of the decade: Here, My Dear, released in December 1978, a wrenching yet beautifully rendered chronicle of the end of his first marriage. With mixed reviews and no hit singles, the album was not a big seller.

Yet in the decades since Here, My Dear has become recognized as a masterpiece of romantic anguish. It’s also one of Marvin’s most influential recordings. Hear it in today’s young soul singers and in hip-hop's confessional raps. Listen to the many producers who obsess over every note. See it on the Rolling Stone and Mojo lists of Top Albums of All Time.

To honor this great work on the eve of its 30^th anniversary, Hip-OSelect.com announces a 2-CD expanded edition of the album. Included in Here, My Dear: Expanded Edition is a newly remastered version of the original album, plus, on the second disc—cleverly titled Hear, My Dear—all of the LP’s tracks newly mixed in old-school style (no overdubs) by select artists and producers. Marvin fans from Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse, Nas), to Prince Paul (De La Soul), from Easy Mo Bee (Tupac, Alicia Keys) to Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson & James Posyer (The Roots, Jill Scott) dug deep into the tracks, delivering previously unreleased alternate versions that are new visions of the songs. (See track list.)

Hear demo vocals and alternate instrumentation. Spoken word passages left off the LP. Longer mixes with sick breaks from the original multi-track master tapes.

That’s not all, as a bonus track rounds out each disc: “Ain’t It Funny (How Things Turn Around),” a posthumously released track now in undubbed form for the first time, a mix produced by P-Funk’s Bootsy Collins; and the rare, original 12-inch instrumental version of “A Funky Space Reincarnation.”

This extraordinary collection is housed in a deluxe digi-pak that features a reproduction of the original album cover art, scans of master tape boxes and memorabilia from around the world. Further complementing the set is a richly textured 28-page booklet, packed with full lyrics, an essay by Gaye biographer David Ritz, and two sidebar essays detailing the creation of the controversial cover art and the making of this edition. In true Hip-oSelect.com style, also included are comprehensive recording and musician annotations for the first time.

 

HIP-O SAYS… THERE’S MORE, MY DEAR: Cover illustrator Michael Bryan had previously done album covers for Rod Stewart, John Lennon and Bootsy. He left the music business shortly after Marvin’s LP was released. But you can see his work on movie posters from Robo Cop and Rush Hour 3, not to mention those cool images for Halo 3.