Here, My Dear

Marvin Gaye was going through a personal crisis in the summer of 1976. In November 1975, Gaye's estranged first wife, Anna Gordy Gaye, sued Gaye for divorce, claiming irreconcilable differences, and sought child support for their adopted son, Marvin Gaye III. Gaye later argued his spending habits were causing him to fall behind on payments. In September 1976, a warrant was issued for Gaye's arrest after he failed to pay alimony; this made him feel vulnerable during the recording sessions, causing the singer to hide from the public for several days.

Several weeks later, Gaye accepted an offer to do a tour of Europe. Between October and December 1976, Gaye performed in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Germany. Following his return, he recorded "Got to Give It Up" and released it on his album, Live at the London Palladium. The song became an international hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

After months of delays, in March 1977, the singer's attorney, Curtis Shaw, wanted to end divorce proceedings and convinced Gaye to give up half of the percentage of album royalties he would earn from his next Motown album to Anna. The Gayes' divorce was finalized in June.

When Gaye was set to start production on the record, he said he figured he would just do a "quickie record - nothing heavy, nothing even good", stating, "Why should I break my neck when Anna was going to wind up with the money anyway?" But as Gaye lived with the notion of doing an album for his soon-to-be ex-wife, the more it fascinated him, stating he felt he "owed the public my best effort."[4] Gaye stated he did the record "out of deep passion", noting he "sang and sang until I drained myself of everything I'd lived through."[4]

Shortly after the deal was made, Gaye entered his recording studio on March 24, 1977, to record the album with only engineer Art Stewart by his side. Gaye, who usually did not write his lyrics, composed on the spot, mumbling over prerecorded tracks or to his own accompaniment.[4] The mumblings were "embryonic melodies", which eventually evolved into lyrics after three or four takes.[4] Gaye ended up playing all the keyboard parts of the album, saying later, "I didn't plan it that way. It just turned out to be a hands-on project."[4]

According to PopMatters journalist Mike Joseph, Here, My Dear's music was "largely midtempo funk, with elements of traditional soul, gospel, and doo-wop mixed together with a slight hint of disco".[5] The title track opens the album, and in the album's liner notes David Ritz describes Gaye's tone in the song as "self-serving, self-justifying [and] self-pitying". "I Met a Little Girl" includes doo-wop drenched harmonies with its lyrics and music producing a "thick mixture" of sincerity and sarcasm. Considered the central melodic motif of the album, "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You" abandoned traditional song structure with a discursive mode, without a chorus, with its lyrics expressing "different feelings - tenderness, fear, anger, regret".[4] Described as "straight ahead and beguiling" compared to all the other songs on the album, "Anger" is considered as "part sermon and part self-retribution", describing his movement from catharsis to escape.

"Is That Enough?" was recorded shortly after Gaye returned from a day in divorce court, humming the song's melody and some lyrics. Much like some other songs, it's told in a storyteller's point of view.[4] "Everybody Needs Love" is described as an "attempt to empathy". "Time to Get It Together" includes a confessional that was influenced by Stevie Wonder's song, "As".[4] "Anna's Song" is described as "the very heart" of the album. "A Funky Space Reincarnation" alluded to Star Wars as well as the music of George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic.[4] "You Can Leave, But It's Going to Cost You" is produced under an assertive tone describing an argument between Marvin and his wife over his girlfriend, Janis. The final track, "Falling in Love Again", is dedicated to Janis, in which Gaye concluded on a "regenerative note".[4]

An Allmusic reviewer later wrote of the music:

...the sound of divorce on record—exposed in all of its tender-nerve glory for the world to consume... Gaye viciously cuts with every lyric deeper into an explanation of why the relationship died the way it did... Musically the album retains the high standards Gaye set in the early '70s, but you can hear the agonizing strain of recent events in his voice, to the point where even several vocal overdubs can't save his delivery.[2]

— Allmusic

The front cover featured a painting of Gaye dressed in a toga in a neo-Roman setting, created by artist Michael Bryan, who stated Gaye described how he wanted to be depicted on the cover.[4] The back cover features a temple with the word "matrimony" collapsing around a mock-Rodin sculpture of a romantic couple.[4] The fold-out illustration inside the original double album shows a man's hand reaching across to the hand of a woman's, about to give her a record. The hands are extended on a Monopoly board—with the legend JUDGMENT written on it. On the man's side are tape recorders and a grand piano; on the woman's are a house, car and ring.[4] The scales of justice sit above the game while, from arched windows, curious observers watch. David Ritz described the juxtaposition of images reflected Gaye's turbulent state of mind at the time.[4] Design and Art Direction by John Kosh and illustration by Mike Bryan.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Chicago Tribune	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Mojo	[10]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[11]
PopMatters	9/10[5]
Q	[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]
Uncut	[10]
The Village Voice	B+[13]

When Here, My Dear was released in the end of 1978, it was panned by consumers and critics alike, who called the album "bizarre" and "un-commercial". The album's lack of success angered Gaye to the point that he refused to promote it any further. Motown stopped promoting Here, My Dear in early 1979, by which point Gaye had gone into self-imposed exile. Around the same time, Gaye's relationship with his second wife, Janis, had also fallen apart and the couple separated sometime in 1979. Upon hearing the album, a visibly upset Anna Gordy considered suing Gaye for invasion of privacy but, according to People magazine, later reconsidered that decision. The album peaked at number four R&B and number 26 pop, becoming Gaye's lowest-charting studio album of the 1970s. Initial response to the album was mixed, as most critics described it as weird. However, Gaye's lyrical honesty over the laid back disco grooves of Here, My Dear was praised by many. Robert Christgau, of The Village Voice, wrote of the album:

...this is a fascinating, playable album. Its confessional ranges from naked poetry ("Somebody tell me please/Why do I have to pay attorney fees?" is a modernist trope that ranks with any of Elvis Costello's) to rank jive, because Gaye's self-involvement is so open and unmediated, guileless even at its most insincere, it retains unusual documentary charm. And within the sweet, quiet, seductive sound. Gaye is at such pains to realize, his rhythmic undulations and whisper-to-a-scream timbral shifts can engross the mind, the body, and above all the ear. Definitely a weird one.[14]

— Robert Christgau

All songs written by Marvin Gaye, except where noted.

Side one

1. "Here, My Dear"  – 2:48
2. "I Met a Little Girl"  – 4:58
3. "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You"  – 6:11
4. "Anger" (Delta Ashby, Gaye, Ed Townsend) – 3:58

Side two

5. "Is That Enough"  – 7:42
6. "Everybody Needs Love" (Ed Townsend, Gaye) – 5:41
7. "Time to Get It Together"  – 3:51

Side three

8. "Sparrow" (Ed Townsend, Gaye) – 6:06
9. "Anna's Song"  – 5:49
10. "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You" (Instrumental)  – 5:59

Side four

11. "A Funky Space Reincarnation"  – 8:12
12. "You Can Leave, But It's Going to Cost You"  – 5:27
13. "Falling in Love Again"  – 4:36
14. "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You (Reprise)"  – 0:40

"Special thanks to all the musicians who are too numerous to mention but who are all superstars!"

• Face Value, Phil Collins's debut solo album with many songs dealing with the breakup of his first marriage
• Life Is Good, Nas album reflecting his recent divorce from Kelis

• Here, My Dear album liner notes by David Ritz & Harry Weinger. UMG Recordings, Inc. 2008.

• Anger via YouTube