In The Groove – MARVIN GAYE***

You/Tear It On Down/Chained/I Heard It Through The Grapevine/At Last (I Found A Love)/Some Kind Of Wonderful/Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever/Change What You Can/Its Love I Need/Every Now & Then/You’re What’s Happening In The World Today/There Goes My Baby

In The Groove was an album quickly assembled together to take advantage of the phenomenal success of I Heard It Through The Grapevine, a No. 1 single on both sides of the Atlantic. (US:63)

“For an album that was literally cobbled together to take advantage of the unexpected success of the single I Heard It Through The Grapevine, the results were surprisingly enjoyable. Featuring a mixture of previously released singles, previously recorded tracks that had been shelved for various reasons, and a couple of forgettable new tracks, the results were uneven, but managed to hang together enough to constitute an album that was thoroughly enjoyable. The result was an album without the MOR tracks that plagued so many of Gaye's earlier releases.”

“If there is filler on this album I'm not aware of it. Every track on here is worth a listen once you get past Grapevine, which is a great song all things considered. Every Now & Then is the lesser known gem on this one.”

“I really like Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever. And if Gaye was dissatisfied, you'd never know it on this record. On Grapevine, of course, and lead track You, Gaye wrenches out bravura vocal performances. Tear It On Down, Loving You, and the jubilant At Last (I Found a Love) are typical Motown productions, which means they're classic. There is filler, but this is a pop album.”

“In The Groove was at one time re-titled I Heard It Through The Grapevine to capitalise on the phenomenal success of the single. It wasn't envisioned as an album.”

“I Heard It Through The Grapevine is a three-minute masterpiece and spent a whopping seven weeks at #1, becoming Motown's biggest hit of the sixties. The single is justifiably considered by many to be Motown's greatest hit ever. This album was thrown together quickly to cash in on its success, and as a result is sometimes a little spotty. There are enough incredible songs and powerful performances to make In The Groove a very good release, despite it's unevenness.”