Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: You're All I Need - 1968

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Just how good a duet is Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing? One of Motown's best, surely? Marvin and Tammi just do it. No further comment needed. Perfection. Those drums, that bass, those strings, then those voices....

Now, let's get ourselves sanctified with a true classic in You're All I Need To Get By. That's all I need to say, really. I could shut up here and that would be fine. See other reviews as well as this one as regards how well these two sang together. It's a thing of beauty. I love the way the strings just subtly fade in to the song, shimmering side-by-side with one of those gorgeous deep, melodic basslines. Then the two voices arrive and we are taken to Motown ballad Heaven. When Tammi sings "just to do what's good for you and inspire you a little higher" my soul soars with her. God bless her. The climactic bit where the drums get more frantic and the voices trade off against each other is magnificent, it almost sounds as if it is a one-off ad lib performance. Who knows, it may have been done in one take. Somehow I'd like to think so. 

The sweet-voiced pair declare their love for each other most soulfully and convincingly on Keep On Lovin' Me Honey. Sadly, two days after recording it, Tammi collapsed with the illness that would claim her life.

Baby Doncha Worry has a lead-off bassline and vocal melody that is straight out of Ben E. King's Stand By Me. As soon as I heard it, at the point that Tammi sings "when the dawn comes over the mountain and the valley is filled with dew" I said "Stand By Me". I'm sure most people would do the same. It matches the "when the night" vocal intro. Anyway, the song is a goodie, with some fine brass breaks and a most soulful vibe. Tammi released it as a solo single in 1966. The duet is better, however.

Similarly appealing to the big hits on this album is You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin'. Drop those 'g's now! Give in, You Just Can't Win is very typical of the upbeat, orchestrated Motown soul of the period. You will know it when you hear it. There is a Northern Soul feel about it too. When Love Comes Knocking At My Heart has a piano intro just like on Marv Johnson's I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose. The bass on this is groovily funky, as indeed is the track. 

Come On And See Me was initially done by Tammi solo and then later done here Marvin. Tammi tells us that she has some "joy love for some boy love". It probably works better with Marvin added, however, as anything the pair of the touched was gold dust, in my book. The eventual duet appeared on their 1968 album You're All I Need. It is another Motown "also-ran" of a song that still oozes sheer quality. They could all do this stuff with their eyes shut, couldn't they? 

I Can't Help But Love You is classic uptempo duet fare, with the pair directly addressing each other by name at the beginning and on occasions throughout the song. You actually believe them when they declare their love. It as a musical love as opposed to a physical one, though. Shame - I think they would have had great sex! I'll Never Stop Loving You Baby has another of those slightly funky, brassy feels to it. 

That's How It Is (Since You've Been Gone) would, possibly, have been a hit on the Northern Soul dance floors, but I am not sure that it was. It has more confident vocal performances from the two. This run of songs were particularly gritty and soulful. 

The closer, Memory Chest is a bit retro in its sound and orchestration. 

Overall, though, the soul on show is pretty solidly 1968. Very impressive it is too. Nobody paid much attention to the pair's albums. They should have done. There's no filler on here. It's a good listen. 

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