One of my favourite Marvin Gaye records has always been Ain't That Peculiar released in 1965 and produced & written by Smokey Robinson (and Co). It is a magical piece of Motown with piano, snare drum, bass and handclaps carrying the beat from start to finish with Marvin's vocals never better as he pleads for his girl to stop lying. Smokey's lyrics, as always, are sublime. An irresistable dance track that will sound good forever.

Imagine my dismay when I first heard that someone had taken the vocal track and mashed it up with one of my favourite Soft Jazz numbers "Summer Madness" by Kool & The Gang. NOOOO!!!!!!

But .... I was blown away when I heard it. It is quite magical in its own right and works totally IMHO. I think Marvin would have loved it. It is absolutely haunting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFkRcBvf3M4

Take a listen to the acapella voice track that they used and you can even hear Marvin taking breaths, finger popping and tapping his feet during the original recording. Even more haunting:

I would be interested in others opinions on this.

Edited April 27, 201213 yr by soulmusicforever

Can't make my mind up but I do like the George Tindley version.............................

Love from Brighteyes..................

Looking at the labels it's just struck me what a peculiar word peculiar is

edit: Sorry, meant to say I don't hate it.

Edited April 27, 201213 yr by jumpinjoan

Hi mate

did you know they are currently making a documentary about Marvins time in Belgium using footage taken at the time?

Horrible!

works for me

on the documentary have you got a link ?

was word a few years of two films planned, memory say one was going to be based on his years there

maybe the documentary is related?

Hi mate

did you know they are currently making a documentary about Marvins time in Belgium using footage taken at the time?

When I first came to live here I drove a van at night, passing his local boozer, he'd be there most nights, I never had the nerve to go in and talk to him. I've been back now it's called Marvin's Room. The 1st thing I said when I did go in was "What's going on ?" They do good grub in there too................

Edited April 27, 201213 yr by Chris L

I dont know, to me this is like cutting out the Mona Lisa and sticking it on top of a Raphael. I dont quite get it, tho it sounds ok but how could it not !!!!

I thought I'd hate this.......but I don't.

gary

Hi mate

did you know they are currently making a documentary about Marvins time in Belgium using footage taken at the time?

has that already been done?

One of my favourite Marvin Gaye records has always been Ain't That Peculiar released in 1965 and produced & written by Smokey Robinson (and Co). It is a magical piece of Motown with piano, snare drum, bass and handclaps carrying the beat from start to finish with Marvin's vocals never better as he pleads for his girl to stop lying. Smokey's lyrics, as always, are sublime. An irresistable dance track that will sound good forever.

Imagine my dismay when I first heard that someone had taken the vocal track and mashed it up with one of my favourite Soft Jazz numbers "Summer Madness" by Kool & The Gang. NOOOO!!!!!!

But .... I was blown away when I heard it. It is quite magical in its own right and works totally IMHO. I think Marvin would have loved it. It is absolutely haunting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFkRcBvf3M4

Take a listen to the acapella voice track that they used and you can even hear Marvin taking breaths, finger popping and tapping his feet during the original recording. Even more haunting:

I would be interested in others opinions on this.

im a motown nut love marvin gayes 60s stuff i did not think i would like this but how wrong was i great mix just melts over you marvins voice just blows you away

was it released as a single i need to get this

im a motown nut love marvin gayes 60s stuff i did not think i would like this but how wrong was i great mix just melts over you marvins voice just blows you away

was it released as a single i need to get this

Not released to my knowledge. The guy that did the mix is called Soul Persona and has a blog at:

https://soulpersonamusic.blogspot.com/2012/02/marvin-gaye-aint-that-peculiar.html

has that already been done?

I was thinking the same mate , remember watching a doc about Marvin living in Belgium. I seem to recall feeling really sorry for him just sat in the bars and playing darts! or was I dreaming/Pissed ?

Cheers

Swifty

works for me

on the documentary have you got a link ?

was word a few years of two films planned, memory say one was going to be based on his years there

maybe the documentary is related?

haven't got a link. just saw an article about it in a mag that it is in production.

I was thinking the same mate , remember watching a doc about Marvin living in Belgium. I seem to recall feeling really sorry for him just sat in the bars and playing darts! or was I dreaming/Pissed ?

Cheers

Swifty

No you were not pissed. it was made in 1981 by the BBC. The new film uses some of it but also a lot that was cut out originally. the new film is supposed to be released later this year.

I dont know, to me this is like cutting out the Mona Lisa and sticking it on top of a Raphael. I dont quite get it, tho it sounds ok but how could it not !!!!

exactly my point!

was I dreaming/Pissed ?

i

No you deffo not either it was a documentry about him in Ostend sexual healing era and has some great clips of hiim jamming on piano,

I was probably still pissed though !

Quite like the song though ! different

Swifty

haven't got a link. just saw an article about it in a mag that it is in production.

If it was same article as I saw it was in Mojo mag well over a year ago, and it had an email address for copies but I never got an answer from them ,would be keen to get details if there are more up to date contact details.

Soulpersona's contemporary music is very good also and worth a listen, as long as you are not looking for Northern soundalikes....

I really like it

Thumbs up. Cracking mix which'll no doubt piss off the purists.

No you were not pissed. it was made in 1981 by the BBC. The new film uses some of it but also a lot that was cut out originally. the new film is supposed to be released later this year.

the one i remember was surly later than that, wasnt it shown on beeb 4 and had interveiws with the residents of the seaside town where he stayed, ate muscles and frites, drinking a rocky 8 hopefully, a lucky lucky man indeed imho to be staying in the home of some of the best food and drink in the world

thats awesome , just love it can you buy it

BOB POVEY selected this for a DEEP SOUTH SOUL RADIO SHOW and we played it a couple of months ago, great track.....Loads of people reacted and asked about it, general consensus was people loved it....

really like it

You lot got cloth ears or what ? its shite .

The questin was

Would Marvin Like It?

I say YES.

Marvin knew a thing or two about music he would not like that

Marvins music should have a preservation order "to be untampered with"

Blasphemous!

Where he sings without backing so beautiful is pure unique gold.

You to me are everything.

Hi Dave, I really like this. I have always thought the original a fascinating track, as the tempo of the lyrics are sung at a ballad pace, yet the backing is very uptempo.

In his live performances Marvin would often complete alter a song, so I think the answer to your question is yes!

Back in 1990, Ice T took Curtis Mayfields 'Superfly' and made a really interesting track, which I ended up preferring to the original.

Looking at the labels it's just struck me what a peculiar word peculiar is

edit: Sorry, meant to say I don't hate it.

Always reminds me of that Italian cheese..........Don't hate it either.......cheese or tune ...either... now there's a funny word....... I'll get me coat

It's great. I never really liked the original compared to a lot of other stuff at the time - it was a bit too galloping for me and sounded kinda a little too raucous for my ears. This mix brings out the best in the song and you can hear his vocal's much much better than the original. I think it's a masterpiece of creativity and I'm sure Marvin would've preferred it to his 60's stuff (which is the reason he ended up making "What's Going On" anyway). This is much more in the vibe of his 70's stuff and I just think his vocals sit perfectly on this. This was pretty big on my show about 3 years ago so I'm glad it's still picking up admirers. What's not to like about a Kool & The Gang instrumental with a killer Marvin vocal.......?

Ian D

Love it!

Real soulful and would go well as the soundtrack to laying on a tropical beach with a pina colada and a semi naked woman at you side :-)

You lot got cloth ears or what ? its shite .

Was going to agree. Then changed my mind. It's not shite, it's just deadly dull. Had the life removed from it.

Edited May 1, 201213 yr by Pete S

'Ain't That Peculiar' boasts one of THE classic Motown backing tracks. It's sounded fantastic for nearly 47 years now and it'll still sound fantastic in another 47.

Why anyone would think this mash up is clever is almost as big a mystery to me as to why anyone would think it's anything other than a waste of time and space....

...Marvin Gaye would not have liked it. Of that I am 100% confident.

Why can't people just leave well alone?

Edited May 1, 201213 yr by TONY ROUNCE

Was going to agree. Then changed my mind. It's not shite, it's just deadly dull. Had the life removed from it.

I'm sorry that you feel that way about it.

Marvin's certainly one of my soul hero's and the one thing I loved about him was his innovation.

If I recall correctly he had to twist a few arms at Motown to get "what's going on" out.

While I'm not saying that this piece is in the same class and could do with a little polishing,

it's a nice stab at reinventing a classic.

Listening to that vocal over my favourite Kool &the Gang track, for me its magical!

The original still stands on its own merits.

Bound to be controversial though I suppose.

Nice thread,thanks for sharing.

Mick

'Ain't That Peculiar' boasts one of THE classic Motown backing tracks. It's sounded fantastic for nearly 47 years now and it'll still sound fantastic in another 47.

Why anyone would think this mash up is clever is almost as big a mystery to me as to why anyone would think it's anything other than a waste of time and space....

...Marvin Gaye would not have liked it. Of that I am 100% confident.

Why can't people just leave well alone?

i like it nice

Thanks for posting the accapella version. I feel a thread coming on.....

Edited May 1, 201213 yr by KevH

Why anyone would think this mash up is clever is almost as big a mystery to me as to why anyone would think it's anything other than a waste of time and space....

Why can't people just leave well alone?

Blimey and you called me narrow-minded for not liking some white pop records t'other week......?

Ian D

'Ain't That Peculiar' boasts one of THE classic Motown backing tracks. It's sounded fantastic for nearly 47 years now and it'll still sound fantastic in another 47.

Why anyone would think this mash up is clever is almost as big a mystery to me as to why anyone would think it's anything other than a waste of time and space....

...Marvin Gaye would not have liked it. Of that I am 100% confident.

Why can't people just leave well alone?

Hi Tony

Totally agree that it is one of the best rhythm tracks ever. Probably with Earl van Dyke, Benny Benjamin, James Jamerson and Robert White (unless you know otherwise?). Total class - agreed.

Two things about the question of Marvin liking it or not.

1. After Tammi Terrell died he was devastated and became morose and quite a changed person. This led to him writing music in a style that took him in a very different direction and a whole new creative era was born. He would often change his hits and rework them to suit his current mood. You can see this in the clip above posted by Smudger showing Marvin at a piano during his time spent in Ostend, Belgium. He sings Come Get To This and Distant Lover and smokes them both with jazz chords in a subtle change to the originals.

2. I am guessing, Tony, that you would also have been in the audience at Hammersmith Odeon in 75 when Kool & The Gang played Summer Madness and filled the stage with dry ice (quite rare in those days). OK not a classic piece of soul music but one of the best soft/jazz tracks ever that shas stood the test of time. My 10-year old daughter thinks it's wicked.

So, your comment as to why we should leave well alone would not be accepted by the majority of Marvin fans is because Marvin WOULD love it. Listen to the acapella and you can almost hear him trying to make it a ballad (maybe he was). Anyway I LOVE BOTH and think he would too.

Edited May 2, 201213 yr by soulmusicforever

Love the mashed up version, it takes the track to a whole new place.

Listen to the acapella and you can almost hear him trying to make it a ballad (maybe he was).

I've got a hundred of these acapellas and to be honest, you could say that about more or less all of them - without the original backing track they can be manipulated way beyond the producers original intention.

I'd certainly buy it. I got the Motown Remixed CD back in 2005 which had a good version of Let's get it on, and I'd say I find this more interesting.

I doubt he would have disliked this. Not Marvins best vocals. But the mix literally floats the tune, lifting it gently from the Tamla 60's, and placing it carefully back down amongst the 'modern soul' genre...... as if it's always belonged there.

Reminds me of Robbie Vincent playing his last half hour: Sunday night Radio 1, late 1980's.... Chilled soul. And that's good!

Thing is you have to totally dismiss the original before you can make a solid opinion about this version.......its not about whether its NS/trad Motown, its about whether Marvin would have approved & putting it into a contemporary enviroment, I think he woul have, on the whole approved...keep in mind where he was going with his music......to compare it with the original version is bordering on the ridiculous, but it stands up pretty well in its own right.......

Russ

Hi Dave, I really like this. I have always thought the original a fascinating track, as the tempo of the lyrics are sung at a ballad pace, yet the backing is very uptempo.

In his live performances Marvin would often complete alter a song, so I think the answer to your question is yes!

Back in 1990, Ice T took Curtis Mayfields 'Superfly' and made a really interesting track, which I ended up preferring to the original.

That thing about the different tempos is clearly what the people who made this picked up on too.....

MARVIN GAYE was an innovator and looking at the type of backing he put on his later records, I think he would have loved this...What type of records do people think he would have been making if he had lived longer? Mind you, there are plenty of people who say they only like his 60s stuff and dismiss his 70s output which I have always loved...

This sounds like they just transformed it in to "neo-soul". Marvin was a pioneer in terms of sounds, neo-soul probably wouldn't exist without "sexual healing." I don't know if he would like this particular mashup but if he were making music today I don't think it would sound very different.

This sounds like they just transformed it in to "neo-soul". Marvin was a pioneer in terms of sounds, neo-soul probably wouldn't exist without "sexual healing." I don't know if he would like this particular mashup but if he were making music today I don't think it would sound very different.

Well yes, without resorting to the 'labelling', obviously they were looking to transform it into a contemporary soul record which is what I think they have achieved....Put it this way, don't think many people would have had a problem with this if at all it had been discovered 'in the vaults' and was a project MARVIN GAYE had actually initiated....On the whole, I think TONY ROUNCE is right and there is not much call or need, for classic material to be recycled but the tempo factor on this record makes it pretty unique technically and yes I agree, I think this is pretty representative of the kind of stuff he might have produced had he lived....

Like you, when I heard of the remix I thought Oh No, but when I heard it boy did I change my mind. Am I right in saying it's a Neil Thompson remix? So many re mixes seem to start with 2 minutes of beat, the main content is very similar to the original, then they close with another 2 minutes of beat. But this is so far away from the original it is brilliant. Well done Neith Thompson, if it was you, and well done "Boot" for bringing it up.