peace of gaye

Quick! Who can tell me what Marvin Gaye's final two recordings were?
"Savage in the Sack", and "Masochistic Beauty", from the posthumous album DREAM OF A LIFETIME. This album has been debated and trashed, and for possibly good reasons. It's slapdash, and it's possible that Marvin never intended for any of it to be released. Some have even postulated that Marvin only recorded those two particular songs for in-studio shock value.
But oh my, do i love 'em. I love the thought that they were an alternate exploration of ideas begun in "Let's Get It On" and "Sexual Healing". Any speculation that Marvin didn't intend to release them does not impress me.
They are so erotic that many will find them disgusting and indecent.
It's indecency like that which i adore, when it's honest. The disc came to me through a brother who works at the Tavern on the Green restaurant. He discovered the disc had been playing at the restaurant for a week or two before a customer complained. No employee claimed knowledge of how the disc ended up in rotation. But listen to "Masochistic Beauty", and i dare you to not laugh at the thought of this song playing to patrons at one of the hoity-toitiest restaurants in NYC.
I wish i could send you to a site which has the lyrics. But i could not find such a link. Doesn't it strike you as strange that one would have trouble finding ANY lyrics of an artist of Marvin's stature? It makes me wonder whether the guardians of Gaye's legacy would rather these songs be swept under the rug. And it's not just that the lyrics are compelling and controversial, the songs themselves are great. But lordy, the words just simmer and sear. Particularly "Masochistic Beauty". It's so audaciously bawdy you keep saying to yourself, "Did he just SAY that?" Strong enough stuff to send churchfolk to their knees (and not in the good way, although it might have that effect too). One can't help imagining Marvin's minister father hearing this song, and spinning into the horrible mindset that left the world without a man we very much needed. There's no reason to believe that actually happened, and it's probably simplistic to think about "the straw that broke the camel's back". Most murders are not simple, and that must go a thousand times for a parent taking the life of their grown child.
Has any human ever walked the line between the sacred and the profane as movingly as Marvin?
There is one more song of his that you've possibly never heard, "Piece of Clay", which was released only on the 1961-1984 MASTER anthology. It might be the most moving song he ever recorded. A plea for understanding and tolerance, it should be more chilling when you realize how he died...but it's not really, it's just so beautiful and universal and sad and true.
Everybody wants someone to be their own piece of clay.
I love you all.