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chatb's review
5.0
Excellent read. Full of musical history spanning 20+ years woven with the story of GAye's life. Tragically brilliant, he reminds me of fictional character Holden Caufield. Gaye's spiritual awareness and connection with God is beautiful. His mental health issues are heart breaking as you winess the star fall from grace. I adore Gaye even more. Understanding his story and pain, well written by David Ritz.
chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
3.0
A peopled and personal biography of striving and struggle, with few straight solutions.
angelikareadsavariciously's review
3.0
3.5. If I were familiar with more than just his hits, I probably would've enjoyed it more, BUT I never knew he was so deeply disturbed.
trelebook's review
2.0
I was really looking forward to reading this biography. I wish the writer had focussed more on Marvin and less on so many unimportant details. I felt the book was twice as long as it needed to be and often times it was difficult to get through. I will admit part of my disappointment was understanding that a musician that I looked up to for so long had so many flaws which at times made him difficult to respect.
brennenpeterson's review
3.0
Marvin Gaye really did have a beautiful, singular voice. But he was very fucked up from his upbringing. His overbearing misogyny sucks out any sympathy I had for him.
adamgolden's review
4.0
(4/5★)
Marvin Gaye is easily one of my favorite musical artists of all time. From the early days in his career creating soulful Doo-wop music to his later days with sensual R&B and Funk, Marvin seemed to effortlessly be making hit after hit, while reinventing himself with every major release. While reading this book has honestly made me a bit less of a fan of Marvin "as a person", it contains some interesting insight into his often troubled/depressing life and egotistical nature. Marvin, just like everybody else, had his share of flaws, but those flaws helped him create music that was honest and genuine, regardless of the subject matter. If there was one musical artist that I could bring back from the dead, to see thrive in the current era, it'd undoubtedly be Gaye.
Marvin Gaye is easily one of my favorite musical artists of all time. From the early days in his career creating soulful Doo-wop music to his later days with sensual R&B and Funk, Marvin seemed to effortlessly be making hit after hit, while reinventing himself with every major release. While reading this book has honestly made me a bit less of a fan of Marvin "as a person", it contains some interesting insight into his often troubled/depressing life and egotistical nature. Marvin, just like everybody else, had his share of flaws, but those flaws helped him create music that was honest and genuine, regardless of the subject matter. If there was one musical artist that I could bring back from the dead, to see thrive in the current era, it'd undoubtedly be Gaye.
hellokeila's review
3.0
I liked this book. As my first biography of Marvin Gaye, it seemed to be a comprehensive view of his life and struggles. As for the author, I'm not a big fan. His detailed accounts of the people, places, and circumstances that spanned the decades of Gaye's career were appreciated, but I could have done without the flowery language used in between those stories to portray him as a tragic hero. I was distracted enough to skip over paragraphs at a time, and I'm a little hesitant to try another of Mr. Ritz' books. I guess I would recommend it in spite of that. Consider this a 3.5 star review.