Live at the London Palladium

Infobox Album | Name = Live at the London Palladium
Type = Live
Longtype =
Artist = Marvin Gaye


Released = March 15, 1977
Recorded = October 3, 1976
London Palladium
(London, England)
January 31, 1977
Marvin's Room
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre = Soul, funk, disco
Length = 71:36
Label = Tamla
T7-352R2
Producer = Marvin Gaye
Art Stewart
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5mf2zfjhehak link]
*Robert Christgau (B-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist2.php?id=894 link]
*Pitchfork Media (8.3/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/18048-live-at-the-london-palladium link]
*"Rolling Stone" (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/marvingaye/albums/album/171819/review/19516224/live_at_the_london_palladium link]
Last album = "I Want You
(1976)
This album = "Live at the London Palladium"
(1977)
Next album = "Here, My Dear"
(1978) |

"Live at the London Palladium" is a live double album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released March 15, 1977 on Tamla Records. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5mf2zfjhehak allmusic - Live at the London Palladium overview] ] Recording sessions took place live at several concerts at the London Palladium in London, England in October of 1976, with the exception of the hit single "Got to Give It Up", which was recorded at Gaye's Los Angeles studio Marvin's Room on January 31, 1977. [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/1246341 Discogs.com - Live at the London Palladium (73 IT LP)] ] "Live at the London Palladium" features intimate performances by Gaye of many of his career highlights, including early hits for Motown and recent material from his previous three studio albums. As with his previous live album, "Marvin Gaye Live!", production of the record was handled entirely by Gaye, except for the studio portion, "Got to Give It Up", which was managed by Art Stewart. [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/665304 Discogs.com - Marvin Gaye - Live At The London Palladium (73 GM LP)] ]

"Live at the London Palladium" received a surprising and significant amount of critical recognition for a live album following its initial release. Critical reviews of the album were positive compared to the mild receptiveness Gaye's previous studio album "I Want You" received. As Gaye's most successful live release, the album also became one of his most commercially successful albums during his tenure at Motown's Tamla label, as well as a Billboard chart hit. Following digital remastering, "Live at the London Palladium" was reissued on August 24, 1999 by Motown on compact disc. [http://www.tower.com/live-london-palladium-marvin-gaye-cd/wapi/105805009 Tower.com - Live at the London Palladium (CD)] ]

Conception

In October of 1976, during a very dizzying, topsy-turvy and bizarre period in his life, Marvin Gaye had begun re-cooperating from personal issues.Weinger (1999), pp. 2-5.] He had recently gone through a divorce with his first wife, and sister of Motown-CEO Berry Gordy, Anna Gordy, and married his second wife, Janis Hunter. Hunter had previously inspired many of Gaye's romantic-themed albums including 1973's "Let's Get It On" and his previous album, the erotic "I Want You". Gaye was also going through drug addiction to help cope with stage fright. By 1976, Gaye, while still a popular artist in America - his "I Want You" single hit the American top twenty - he was slowly starting a steep climb down as disco began to dominate popular music, but while American fans were moving on to other sounds, the British audience was still very appreciative of Gaye's fame and music, as Gaye would take advantage of this and perform a series of shows in Britain.

"Live at the London Palladium" was recorded during several live shows performed by Gaye in England's capital city, London. The performances were on rave reviews by the British press in London, the first of which took place on October 3, 1976, and continued throughout the rest of that month.

Music

Though he wasn't over his stage fright and often mumbled inconstiences onstage, when singing, the 37-year-old Gaye still could dazzle an audience with his charm, wit and show-stopping talent as was heard on the album.

Featuring a variety of songs from newer material encompassing from Gaye's 1976 album, "I Want You", to older songs (featured in three segues of medleys) from his early-to-mid 1960s heyday to his famed "What's Going On" period in 1970-1971, his legendary duets and a trio of songs from his "Let's Get It On" album, Gaye performed for the British audience. Highlights include the performances of "Come Get to This", "Let's Get It On" (on which Gaye moaned during a break of the song to the delight of several female fans who were heard squealing, as heard on the album) and "Distant Lover".

"Live at the London Palladium"'s three epic melodies, which all exceeded nine minutes, featured Gaye's intimate interactions with the audience and reflections on his songs. An Allmusic.com reviewer later wrote of Gaye's performace, "you can feel the sultry passion in his voice as his singing drifts close to moaning and his ad libbing approaches tasteful, amorous aural lovemaking", and continued to write in a review of "Live at the London Palladium" that the "between-song moments" when Gaye addressed the audience revealed "just how shaken Gaye is at this troubled point in his career. Listen carefully and you can sense the struggling instability that would erupt cathartically a year later with "Here, My Dear"."

After the concert was over following Gaye saying "Thank you!" over and over almost in sing-song medley as the band opened and closed with the intro to "I Want You", Gaye launches into the studio effort, his one attempt at making a convincing disco record, the funk track, "Got to Give It Up". Recorded at Marvin's Los Angeles studio, Marvin's Room, the singer vocalized a song where the author is longing to get out of his shy cover and get on the dance floor with reckless abandon. The original song runs for nearly twelve minutes, however, a single version of "Got to Give It Up" was released featuring a four-and-a-half minute A-side.

Reception

"Got to Give It Up", which became a #1 hit on the Billboard pop and R&B/Soul singles chart, as well as a #1 hit on the Hot Dance/Disco chart, later influenced songs composed and performed by Michael Jackson.Weinger (1999), pp. 6-9.] The first of which, "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", featuring The Jackson 5, had Michael singing in the same manor, style and voice pitch as Gaye had during the closing chant in "Got to Give It Up": "Let's dance/let's shout/get funky what it's all about!", while his solo #1 hit, "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", was strongly influenced by "Got to Give It Up". Soon after, "Live at the London Palladium" became one of Gaye's best-selling and most commercially successful albums during his late-Motown period, reaching the top of the Soul Albums chart and peaking at #3 on the Pop Albums chart. Critical recognition of the album was also favorable and continued following the album's reissue on compact disc.

In late 1977, "Live at the London Palladioum" remained in the top 10 for thirteen weeks and went on to sell two million copies becoming one of the top ten best-selling albums of that year in America. The album was Gaye's last official live release until a July 1980 show at the Montreux Jazz Festival was released as a CD in 2003 though live bootleg copies of Marvin's 1979 Japan tour and 1983 North American tour have been released in small labels over the years.

Track listing

Original LP

Original 1977 US vinyl LP double album. [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/634048 Discogs.com - Marvin Gaye - Live At The London Palladium (US LP)] ]

ide one

# "Intro Theme" (Ross, Ware) – 2:36
# "All the Way Round" (Ross, Ware) – 3:47
# "Since I Had You" (Gaye, Ware) – 4:47
# "Come Get to This" (Gaye) – 2:34
# "Let's Get It On" (Gaye, Townsend) – 6:43

ide two

# "Trouble Man" (Gaye) – 5:17
# Medley I – 9:40:
#* "Ain't That Peculiar"
#* "You're a Wonderful One"
#* "Stubborn Kind of Fellow"
#* "Pride and Joy"
#* "Little Darling (I Need You)"
#* "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
#* "Hitch Hike"
#* "You"
#* "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby"
#* "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)"
# Medley II – 9:31:
#* "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)"
#* "God Is Love"
#* "What's Going On"
#* "Save the Children"

ide three

# Medley III (Performed by Gaye & Florence Lyles) – 11:41:
#* "You're All I Need to Get By"
#* "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"
#* "Your Precious Love"
#* "It Takes Two"
#* "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
# "Distant Lover" (G. Fuqua, Gaye, Greene) – 6:38
# "Closing Theme / I Want You" (Ross, Ware) – 2:47

ide four

#"Got to Give It Up" (Gaye) – 11:48

CD reissue

1999 compact disc reissue.
#"Intro Theme" – 2:34
#"All the Way Round" – 3:50
#"Since I Had You" – 4:59
#"Come Get to This" – 2:24
#"Let's Get It On" – 6:21
#"Trouble Man" – 5:39
#"Medley I: Ain't That Peculiar/You're a Wonderful One/Stubborn Kind..." – 8:49
#"Medley II: Inner City Blues/God Is Love/What's Going On/Save the Children" – 9:49
#"Medley III: You're All I Need to Get By/Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing..." – 10:27
#"Thanks" – 1:05
#"Distant Lover" – 8:31
#"Closing Theme: I Want You" – 3:47
#"Got to Give It Up" – 11:52

Charts

Album

ingles

Personnel

*Odell Brown - synthesizer
*Elmira Amos - percussion
*Jack Ashford - tambourine
*Frankie Beverly - spoons
*Gerry Brown - drums
*Charles Bynum - guitar
*Walter Cox - vocal
*Terry Evans - guitar
*Bobby Gant - vocals
*Frankie Gaye - background vocals
*Marvin Gaye - vocals, producer (tracks: A1 to C3)
*Fernando Harkness - saxophone
*Jan Hunter - background vocals
*Hiro Ito – photography
*Johnny McGhee - guitar
*Nolan Andrew Smith - trumpet
*Michael Stanton - electric piano
*Art Stewart – producer (tracks: D1)
*Melvin Webb - conga
*Bugsy Wilcox - drums
*Richard D. Young – photography

Notes

References

*cite book| author = Harry Weinger | title = Live at the London Palladium (CD reissue) album liner notes | year = 1999 | publisher = UMG Recordings, Inc.