Marvin Gaye was the master. If you can't admit that, I'm gonna need to direct you to the detention room. His soulful crooning, magical pants- removing grooves and even his original 1960s Motown R&B; hits were brimming over with pure emotion, a trait you just don't hear that often in music anymore. What you probably didn't know about Gaye, though, was that he was a legendary entertainer.

I picked up Live at the London Palladium on vinyl two years ago, after receiving a very lusted after turntable for Christmas. The crackles and pops of the aged two record set were a minor distraction, but managed to add charm and authenticity to Gaye's shimmering vocals and stellar live band.

Certainly, the original versions of these songs are the way to go for anyone looking for a good introduction to Gaye's catalog, but folks that've already experienced the ineffible pleasures of Let's Get It On, Trouble Man and What's Going On are sure to be floored by these tremendous renditions of some of his best works.

This 1977 performance is strong from start to finish. The swanky "Intro Theme" is highly reminiscent of early '70s- era Kool and the Gang. And near the end of the track's two- and- a- half minutes, the whitest British man ever to walk to planet announces, "It's showtime, ladies and gentlemen!" Gaye immediately launches into the laidback "All the Way 'Round." But the record really starts to pick up five tracks in with an incredibly smooth seven- minute- long offering of Gaye's anxious, sex- charged classic, "Let's Get It On."

Perhaps the most enjoyable tracks arrive with Gaye's several expertly- arranged medleys, which can span as many as 10 different hits. And of the three medleys offered up on Live at the London Palladium, the best is easily the combination of songs from What's Going On. After that unstoppable nine- and- a- half minutes of hot, waxy soul, even the most homophobic beer- swillin' deer hunter would melt into Gaye's arms and give up that sexual healing.

Live at the London Palladium closes with an 11+ minute version of one of the most underrated party tracks of Gaye's career, "Got to Give It Up." You might recognize the funk from its scene in "Boogie Nights," or-- if you're really old-- the brief stint its edited version enjoyed on soul stations in '77. Whatever the case, this reissue is as clean and crisp as the mint vinyl would have sounded without losing any of the heavy low-end that makes this shit so suitable for Saturday nite cruisin'. Damn, that boy's good!

-Ryan Schreiber