Marvin Gaye, Here, My Dear

Following Gaye's 1976 divorce, the broke Motown legend was ordered to hand over half the takings of his next album to ex-wife, Anna. Deciding against a wilfully uncommercial racket, he instead poured his emotions into songs agonisingly documenting their relationship's rise and fall. Though not always the most comfortable listening, the soul in symphonies of anguish like When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You is palpable and weirdly purifying. Similar funky licks to those that heralded his Let's Get It On sex opus now accompany lyrics of devastating candour, whether in the form of admissions of failings and drug problems, vicious digs or near-tearful protestations of love and the pain of betrayal. Reissuing this (including Gaye's original home demos) for Valentine's Day is a fiendishly macabre touch that Gaye would undoubtedly approve of. The perfect gift for somebody who used to love you.