Smooth Is the Way

Track Listings

1. Really into You

2. September

3. Groove Me

4. Let It Be You

5. Check One, Check Two

6. Way Back When

7. You

8. Smooth Is the Way

9. Truth

10. Give It Up

11. Really into You [Club Mix][*]

12. Really into You [Kendo Macadacious Dub] [*]

13. Really into You [Extended Radio/Club Mix] [*]

14. Really into You [Drumapella][*]

Average customer rating:

MPG is Marvin's best '60's ablum, TTWLI is good too!
Two classic albums from Marvin
2 Great Lost Gems from Motown
Great sound - great packaging

M.P.G./That's the Way Love Is
Marvin Gaye
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Classic R&B | R&B | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

Motown | R&B | Styles | Music

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Quiet Storm | R&B | Styles | Music

R&B | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

That Stubborn Kinda Fellow/How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You
Shotgun/Soul Session
Together/Take Two
United/You're All I Need
On Top/Reach Out

ASIN: B000059RKZ
Release Date: 2001-03-05

Tracks:

Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
This Magic Moment
End of Our Road
Seek and You Shall Find
Memories
Only a Lonely Man Would Know
It's a Bitter Pill to Swallow
More Than a Heart Can Stand
Try Me True Love
I Got to Get to California
It Don't Take Much to Keep Me
Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got
Yesterday
Groovin'
I Wish It Would Rain
That's the Way Love Is
How Can I Forget
Abraham, Martin and John
Gonna Keep on Tryin' Till I Win Your Love
No Time for Tears
Cloud Nine
Don't You Miss Me a Little Bit Baby
So Long

Album Details

2 albums in one package, digitally remastered.

Customer Reviews:

MPG is Marvin's best '60's ablum, TTWLI is good too!.......2004-08-03

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

M.P.G. (1969) **** (4 out of 5) Despite Marvin's long stream of hit singles, this was his first album to actually crack the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart and is his biggest seller of the sixties. M.P.G. reteams Marvin with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine-producer Norman Whitfield, and the two manage to overcome the typical Motown formula and create a surprisingly focused work.

A sense of consistency (which is what's missing from most sixties Motown efforts) is brought to the set by the blisteringly lean arrangements and some of Marvin's most impassioned vocals ever. The big smash hit is "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" (#4 Pop, #1 R&B), which is easily one of his best singles. The song's bouncy timbre made it the perfect (and somewhat surprising) follow up to the bone-chilling smash "I Heard It Through The Grapevine."

Some irresistible light blues is brought to the set with the incredible cuts "Seek And You Shall Find," "More Than A Heart Can Stand," and the hit "End Of The Road" (#40 Pop, #7 R&B). The disc plays out in a surprising satisfying manner, with the clever refrain of "Only A Lonely Man Would Know" laying down nicely beside the funky "It's A Bitter Pill To Swallow." The only tracks that miss the boat is the forgettable cover of "This Magic Moment" (which is also placed too early in the album) and the banal "Memories," which has nothing to distinguish it aside from Marvin's powerful performance. Thankfully these two missteps are listenable and M.P.G. emerges as Marvin's best solo album of the sixties.

THAT'S THE WAY LOVE IS (1970) **** (4 out of 5) Produced by Norman Whitfield again, THAT'S THE WAY LOVE IS continues the excellence of M.P.G. and is possibly the most underrated album from the first decade of Marvin's career. The tense and mournful title track (#7 Pop, #2 R&B) was another hit single, cracking the Top Ten on both charts. The formulaic "How Can I Forget" (#41 Pop, #18 R&B) was almost a hit, but it (along "No More Tears") is actually one of the disc's weakest moments. The sweeping "Gonna Give Her All The Love I Got (which received some airplay as the flip side of the "How Can I Forget" single) is really splendid and should have been a A-side release. Four covers appear on this recording, and they may be the most surprising songs here.

Marvin's renditions of "Yesterday" and "Abraham, Martin, and John" are stunning and absolutely heartbreaking. Shockingly enough, both manage to top the original recordings (by The Beatles and Dion, respectively). The remaining two covers ("Groovin'" and "Cloud Nine") are much less effective, but they're perfectly solid. Throw in the vintage Motown sound of "Gonna Keep Tryin' Till I Win You're Love" and a few other catchy numbers and you have another excellent Gaye-Whitfield release. On this record, there are flashes of the brilliance that would come later in Marvin's career; although it's still pretty unbelievable that the peerless masterpiece WHAT'S GOING ON would be released in little less than a year.

Two classic albums from Marvin.......2003-08-09

The first album featured here, MPG, was released in 1969 and the second, That's the way love is, was released in 1970.

The collection opens with Too busy thinking about my baby, a top five hit for Marvin in Britain and America. The follow-up single, That's the way love is, was atop ten American hit but missed the chart completely in Britain. How can I forget you became a minor American hit, but in Britain it was put on the B-side of Abraham Martin and John (my favorite Marvin Gaye song). The tribute to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy gave Marvin a top ten UK hit, but it was Smokey Robinson and the Miracles who had the American hit with that song. From these two albums, there was one other minor American hit, The end of our road, which was not released as a single in Britain.

The other tracks making up these albums include covers of This magic moment (Drifters), Yesterday (Beatles) and Grooving (Rascals) as well as songs that had been hits for other Motown artists and some interesting but obscure original songs.

If you already have one of Marvin's hits collections and wish to explore further, you will certainly enjoy the two albums presented here.

2 Great Lost Gems from Motown.......2002-09-14

These 2 albums from Marvin Gaye's late 60's output are great! "That's the Way Love Is" & "Too Busy Thinking..." are the 2 major hits and they are both great, revealing 2 different sides of Mr. Gaye. The former is done in an intense, brooding "Grapevine" style, while the latter is a good time uptemo song which sounds like something Sam Cooke might have done. Many people complain that Motown kept re-doing the same songs with its artists. Personally, I like comparing the different versions. His take on "I Wish It Would Rain" doesn't take anything from the Temptations' original, but is still a very good version with a harder edge. Several other songs "Keep on Tryin" & "Give Her All the Love I've Got" have been done before by the Temptations and other artists, but Mr. Gaye's versions are very enjoyable. He also does "End of Our Road" (Originally done by Gladys Knight & Pips)in a similar style to his version of "Grapevine" and it is a great track. Some of the non-Motown covers are quite good, particularly "Groovin" and "Yesterday". Also, his version of "Abraham, Martin & John" is very moving. His version of "This Magic Moment" is nice, too. Some of the other "filler" ("Bitter Pill" "Only A Lonely Man" "Memories, etc) is all quite good. I also have the "In The Groove" (later "I Heard it Through the Grapevine") CD and taken together these 3 CD's are a great listening experience for any Motown/Soul fan.

Great sound - great packaging.......2001-06-05

These are the last two solo CD's Marvin released before truly breaking out on his own ("What's Going On"). While "MPG" has a a number of gems on it, namely "Too Busy Thinking...", "The End of Our Road", and "I Got To Get To California", the overall production is sometimes shady ("Try My True Love") and it makes the album feel more like the single track sessions that they were, instead of a cohesive suite of songs.

By contrast, "That's The Way Love Is" is pure genius. The entire album is produced and nine of the twelve songs are co-written by Norman Whitfield. I have combed this list of twelve tracks trying to single a few out for merit, but there really is no reason to, it's all top notch. By itself, this CD would rate 4.5 to 5 stars.

As an additional note, for the collector's/audiophiles out there, the entire "That's The Way Love Is" album was previously available in a 1994 remastered version titled "The Norman Whitfield Sessions". The sound on this release is considerably clearer, and makes it well worth the purchase.

There's really only one question left to ask...

Tracks:

Really into You
September
Groove Me
Let It Be You
Check One, Check Two
Way Back When
You
Smooth Is the Way
Truth
Give It Up
Really into You [Club Mix][*]
Really into You [Kendo Macadacious Dub][*]
Really into You [Extended Radio/Club Mix][*]
Really into You [Drumapella][*]

Customer Reviews:

Missing remixes.......2007-06-08

Does not include the remixes of "Really Into You", as stated in the track listing. Avoid if you're interested in those remixes.

One hit wonder in Japan.......2006-10-21

This album came out in 1992 or 1993. While most American listners dismissed them, they found huge fan base in Japan, where their single, Really Into You, which samples, Grover Washington Jr's "Just the Two of Us" (for those of you that are too young to know that, Will Smith sampled with the same title in 98) became one of the club classics in Japan.

"Really Into You" is quite catchy (how can it not, when you sample one of the greatest songs), but rest of the songs are less than mediocre.

Average customer rating:

Milky Way Soul

Manufacturer: Jonathan Sigel
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Smooth Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA7PYW
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Average customer rating:

Great lyrics with a good variety of melodies

Brand New Day
Emily Lord
Manufacturer: Jungle Queen Rec.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0009Y2758
Release Date: 2005-07-26

Tracks:

One Day At A Time
Can't Kiss Me Casually
Give A Little Bit
The Way
Meet In The Middle
Hey Joe
Saying Goodbye
Photograph
Paris
This Game
Daydream

Customer Reviews:

Great lyrics with a good variety of melodies.......2005-09-24

I had purchased Emily Lord's first two albums, "Beginnings" and "Rear View Mirror", so I eagerly anticipated her new release. On her new album, Emily demonstrates a more mature sound than ever before and has produced another batch of excellent lyrics.

This album seems more polished that works from her past, possibly because of a bigger band backing her up. Many of these songs will be in your head after just a few listens. If you're looking for fresh talent, a beautiful voice, and thoughtful lyrics, definitely check out Emily Lord's new CD.

Average customer rating:

Smooth Is the Way
Around the Way
Manufacturer: Japanese Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000561IQ
Release Date: 2002-03-19

Tracks:

Really into You
September
Groove Me
Let It Be You
Check One, Check Two
Way Back When
You
Smooth Is the Way
Truth
Give It Up
Really into You [Club Mix][*]
Really into You [Kendo Macadacious Dub][*]
Really into You [Extended Radio/Club Mix][*]
Really into You [Drumapella][*]

Average customer rating:

Wake Up!
David R. Trask
Manufacturer: Search Production Record Co. Ent
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA8N7U
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

Wake Up!
Special Request
My Baby's Eyes
Having Fun
You Make Me Fly
This Funky Feeling
Message of Love
What Is to Be

Average customer rating:

Nothing Is Forever

Manufacturer: Maria De Angelis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Smooth Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAFWB0
Release Date: 2003-12-16

Tracks:

Ask All You Want
Now That You've Gone
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Parfum D'Ete
Time & Space
The Man I Love
Summer's Scent
Nothing Is Forever
Me, Myself And I
Snowy New Year's Eve
All Of You
But Not For Me
Sleepyhead Lullaby

Average customer rating:

Billy

Manufacturer: Dining Room Studios
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA6NXG
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Average customer rating:

It's Our Time, Vol. 1: the Collage
Black & Myld
Manufacturer: Zeus,Zyoos, & Zoos Entertainment
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAJYZU
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Tracks:

Love Hurts
Stay at Home
Sunshine
Where Were You?
What Can I Say to You
Can't Miss
Your Love So....
Make You Mine
Sunshine Remix
It's Over Now
Tonight

Customer Reviews:

WOW.......2006-07-26

All I can say is that these girls are truly blessed. They have so much chemistry on stage and they can truly sing!! I can't wait until a record company signs them because they are awesome.