The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye

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The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye
Studio album by Marvin Gaye
Released	June 8, 1961
Recorded	1961
Genre	Soul
Length	33:04
Label	Tamla TM-221
Producer	Berry Gordy
Marvin Gaye chronology
The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye (1961) That Stubborn Kinda Fellow (1963)

The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye was Marvin Gaye's 1961 debut album, and the first long-playing album ever released by Motown. At the time, the label and Gaye were trying to hit upon a successful approach: Motown and its president Berry Gordy wanted an R&B appeal, while Gaye wanted to record a jazz album. The label decided to check out the latter and within a few weeks, this album was released.

The jazzy album was a failure, and the next year Gaye decided to conform to R&B, where he would find his calling. Gaye's love for jazz would never go away though, he always longed to be a jazz crooner. He recorded several jazz albums through the 60's, but none were very successful and were overshadowed by his R&B hits. Though this album was, for the most part, a jazz recording, it did include three R&B singles, his first single "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" and his self-penned rock-styled ditties "Never Let You Go" and "You Don't Know What Love Is".

[edit] Track listing

1. "The Masquerade is Over" (Magidson/Wrubel) – 5:08
2. "My Funny Valentine" (Rodgers/Hart) – 3:26
3. "Witchcraft" (Coleman/Leigh) – 2:22
4. "Easy Living" (Rainger/Robin) – 3:05
5. "How Deep is the Ocean?" (Berlin) – 3:08
6. "Love For Sale" (Porter) – 2:54
7. "Always" (Berlin) – 2:58
8. "How High the Moon" (Hamilton/Lewis) – 2:28
9. "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" (Gordy) – 3:01
10. "Never Let You Go" (Fuqua/Gaye) – 2:41
11. "You Don't Know What Love Is" (DePaul/Gaye) – 3:53