Marvin Gaye at the Copa

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All Music Guide - Rob Theakston
Generally regarded as an iconic nightclub in the history of New York City, the Copa represented that and more to Motown owner Berry Gordy. For Gordy, the Copa was one of many benchmarks indicating that his little experiment called Motown was successful, and having his artists there was the ultimate symbol of how far he had come. The Supremes already had their shot at the Copa, and a live album was issued shortly thereafter. Next up was Gordy's rebellious but chart topping prodigy, Marvin Gaye. In many respects this was the ideal performance for Gaye, as many of the singers he grew to idolize shared the stage there at one point or another, with names like Sinatra and Cole....
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Rob Theakston
Generally regarded as an iconic nightclub in the history of New York City, the Copa represented that and more to Motown owner Berry Gordy. For Gordy, the Copa was one of many benchmarks indicating that his little experiment called Motown was successful, and having his artists there was the ultimate symbol of how far he had come. The Supremes already had their shot at the Copa, and a live album was issued shortly thereafter. Next up was Gordy's rebellious but chart topping prodigy, Marvin Gaye. In many respects this was the ideal performance for Gaye, as many of the singers he grew to idolize shared the stage there at one point or another, with names like Sinatra and Cole. This was also Gaye's shot at branching out beyond the starched suit of formulaic but highly successful and groundbreaking songs that Gordy and Motown urged him to sing. In many instances, Gaye felt the material beneath him, and patiently waited for the day when he could croon his way to the top a batch of unreleased recordings in this style would resurface in 1997's excellent Vulnerable compilation. The performances came and went, and everything was in place to release the results. However, this never came to pass according to the outstanding liner notes, it was largely attributed to the tumultuous relationship between Gaye and Gordy; they had an ongoing feud that continued in one variation or another until the end of Gaye's life and the project was ultimately shelved. Fast forward to 2005, and the folks at Motown Select had the good sense to remaster and release these recordings in a limited pressing. Marvin Gaye at the Copa is a survey of Gaye's finest performances during that two-night stint and the results are nothing short of striking. A balance of standards, ballads and Motown favorites in medley form comprise the 17 tracks on the disc, and with every performance Gaye's velvet-smooth delivery is more than evident; it's addicting. His longing to be out from under the contrived entertainment and choreography -- the juggernaut of the Motown formula -- bleeds through on tracks such as "The Shadow of Your Smile," "Strangers in the Night," and "The Song Is You." And if anything, the release of these tracks not only serve as a kind of vindication -- Gaye could not only capably sing in this fashion, he could do it better than Gordy would ever allow him credit for. It's somewhat liberating to have this collection readily available, but also somewhat sad that his career and his dreams never fully came to fruition. Of all Gaye's previously issued live works, this ranks with the best of them. For fans of Gaye's early years, this is musical manna from heaven.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 11/13/2006
  • Label: Hip-O Select
  • UPC: 602498643303
  • Catalog Number: 000362902
  • Sales rank: 20,040

Album Credits

Performance Credits
Marvin Gaye Primary Artist
Maurice King Conductor
Technical Credits
Steve Allen Composer
Hoagy Carmichael Composer
Marvin Gaye Composer
Smokey Robinson Composer
Bert Kaempfert Composer
Harold Rome Composer
Jerome Kern Composer
Leslie Bricusse Composer
Betty Comden Composer
Henry Cosby Composer
Lamont Dozier Composer
Ben Edmonds Liner Notes
Norman Gimbel Composer
Berry Gordy Jr. Composer
George Gordy Composer
Adolph Green Composer
Juan Luis Guerra Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II Composer
Eddie Holland Composer
Brian Holland Composer
Johnny Mandel Composer
Warren "Pete" Moore Composer
Anthony Newley Composer
Cole Porter Composer
William "Mickey" Stevenson Composer
Charles Strouse Composer
Jule Styne Composer
Paul Francis Webster Composer
Harry Weinger Producer
Norman Whitfield Composer
Ellen Fitton Mastering
Stuart Gorrell Composer
Bobby Rogers Composer
Don Ovens Author
Vartan Art Direction
Eddie Snyder Composer
Marvin Tarplin Composer
Pat Lawrence Executive Producer
Ryan Null Photo Coordination
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