Good fun.

These import two-fers' are terrific. They feature terrific sound quality and great packaging. The albums included are:



THAT STUBBORN KINDA FELLOW (1963) ***1/2 (3.5 out of 5) Marvin's first real release (not counting the supper club flop THE SOULFUL MOODS OF MARVIN GAYE) is possibly the grittiest and most soulful album that Motown ever released in the sixties. This lends the disc a little more cohesiveness than the majority of the label's releases during the decade. The three singles are classics and include the seminal hits "Stubborn Kinda Fellow" (#46 Pop, #8 R&B), "Hitch Hike" (#30 Pop, #12 R&B), and "Pride And Joy" (#10 Pop, #2 R&B). As for the album tracks, Marvin's rendition of "A Soldier's Plea" is almost unbearably moving and "Taking My Time" is a hidden gem. Like most Motown records of the era, THAT STUBBORN KINDA FELLOW is expertly crafted and extremely pleasurable, even if it's not always memorable.



HOW SWEET IT IS TO BE LOVED BY YOU (1965) *** (3 out of 5) This popular release is little more spotty and generic than THAT STUBBORN KINDA FELLOW, however HOW SWEET IT IS contains enough quality material to be a good listen. The title song hit #6 on the Pop chart (his best selling single at that date) and is one of the most infectious singles to ever hit the airwaves. The disc's other hits are the driving "You're A Wonderful One" (#15 Pop), the soothing "Try It Baby" (#15 Pop), and the rocking "Baby Don't You Do It" (#27 Pop), all of which are great releases. The superb "No Good Without You" makes excellent use of it's killer refrain, and Marvin's vocals on "Now That You've Won Me" and "Forever" are particularly lovely. The rest of the record's material is typical Motown filler: nothing special, but perfectly listenable.

together a Good Album

these Albums Combined make a Good Album but as two albums seperate I'd say slightly better than Average."Wherever I Lay My Hat,Stubbonr Kind of Fellow,Hitch Hike,How Sweet it is to be Loved by you,etc.. brings this Set up.He hadn't quite found His Voice fully here but He could make a Song His Own already&you are Hearing a Artist just getting Warmed up onto a Legendary Career.