Playlist: The Very Best of Marvin Gaye

It's difficult to call this set "the very best" of Marvin Gaye since it contains none of his classic hits from Motown Records but is cobbled together instead from sides originally included on 1982's Midnight Love and the post-death outtake releases Romantically Yours and Dream of a Lifetime from 1985, plus a pair of live tracks and Gaye's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game. His rendition of "Banner" is stunning, and you do get the 12" version of the brilliant "Sexual Healing," so it's not like there isn't good stuff here, but you don't get "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," for instance, or any of his other great Motown tracks. ~ Steve Leggett