250. Marvin Gaye: “Hello There Angel”
Delicate and charming, whilst at the same time being sappy and unspectacular; it does at least sound like Marvin Gaye, the Marvin Gaye we know and love, and that’s worth something. (5)
Delicate and charming, whilst at the same time being sappy and unspectacular; it does at least sound like Marvin Gaye, the Marvin Gaye we know and love, and that’s worth something. (5)
It’s good, but it’s a case of a few great bits balancing out a few awful bits, rather than the whole thing being the enjoyably lightweight romp it apparently thinks it is. (5)
Considerably less traumatising than the horrific A-side Mr Sandman, this is probably the most commercial thing Marvin Gaye had yet recorded. (5)
While Marvin doesn’t sound quite as bored as he did on the A-side, he’s still only giving this about fifty per cent, tops. The song really calls for a forceful, full-on delivery to mask its pilfering and lack of lyrical content, but he sounds most un-Gayelike: flat, perfunctory, almost limp; going through the motions. (4)
It’s actually a strong song which might have made a respectable showing as a single, rather than being tucked away on the flip side of a flop as turned out to be the case. (7)