Vulnerable

As with Live at the Copa, which was shelved for nearly four decades, this album of standards, originally recorded in 1979 but unreleased until 1997, makes for an interesting what-could-have-been. In the mid-1960s, Gaye aspired to branch out from the polished Motown sound. But his desire to sing jazz and pop standards clashed with label boss Berry Gordy’s vision for Gaye’s career, and his ambitions would lie dormant for over a decade. In the late 1970s, however, as Gaye coped with the rise of disco and his own evolving ambitions, he returned to the material that had once entranced him. Working with producer and arranger Bobby Scott, Gaye recorded renditions of classics like “The Shadow of Your Smile” and “I Won’t Cry Anymore.” His takes are smooth and refined, and Scott’s arrangements return Gaye to his mid-1960s ambitions to follow in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra or Sammy Davis, Jr. In the interim, however, Gaye pioneered a different kind of superstardom. Crashing from that self-made perch, there’s a profound weariness to his versions of “Why Did I Choose You?” and “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So,” as though the songs were his alone. Frustrated by the underwhelming sales of… read more »