Dream of a Lifetime

Dream Of A Lifetime
Studio album by Marvin Gaye
Released	May 1985
Recorded	1972-85
Genre	Funk, soul, dance-pop, synthpop, smooth soul
Length	36:13
Label	Columbia
Producer	Marvin Gaye, Gordon Banks, Harvey Fuqua
Marvin Gaye chronology
Midnight Love (1982) Dream Of A Lifetime (1985) Romantically Yours (1985)

Dream of a Lifetime was the first posthumously released compilation of music by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. It spawned the #2 R&B hit, "Sanctified Lady".

Background

Marvin Gaye had been planning to finally end his seclusion at his home in Crenshaw when a final argument with his father Marvin Gay, Sr., ended with Gaye being shot to death on April 1, 1984. Prior to his death, Gaye was working on an album full of collaborations with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Barry White and Jermaine Jackson. However, none of the songs were recorded as Gaye rarely left his home in the months leading to his death. Afterwards, Gaye's label Columbia struggled to finish the contractual obligations as Gaye had agreed to do three albums with the label. This was the first of two projects Columbia - and Gaye's former label Motown - would work on to complete the contract and to help secure money earnings for Gaye's estate. Gaye, who was in debt at the time of his death, left no will. After this album's release, Columbia fulfilled the contract with the release of a covers album, Romantically Yours, culled from sessions Gaye had with Bobby Short from 1967 through 1978.

Recording

Gaye's confidant in his later years, collaborator and brother-in-law Gordon Banks and longtime mentor Harvey Fuqua, assembled a collection of unreleased and unfinished songs Gaye left behind after his death. Gaye had recorded several songs for the Midnight Love album but Gaye left the songs from the final track listing as he had yet to finish them. Among the songs left off were "Sanctified Lady" (which was modified from Gaye's original title, "Sanctified Pussy") and the S&M ode, "Masochistic Beauty". Both songs were co-written by Gaye and Banks. In the former song, Gaye tells listeners he wanted a "sanctified woman" he can love for life rather than just have her for sexual favors, which was a contrast with the latter song, as Gaye, speaking in a mock-British tone, plays a dominatrix. The other songs were culled from leftover Motown sessions including the self-parodying "Savage in the Sack" (which included the vamp lyric, "them niggers"). Gaye told David Ritz that he had no intention to seriously release the record, as he was high when he wrote it and recorded portions of the song. Inexplicably Harvey Fuqua helped to "finish" the recording. "Savage in the Sack" was recorded in a late 1978 recording session. The mellow track, "Ain't It Funny How Things Turn Around", was recorded in 1977 for the Here, My Dear album, but was left off its release. After it was issued on this album, Bootsy Collins would produce a remix of the track, featured on a deluxe edition issue of Here, My Dear, with extra verses from Gaye. Other songs went back as far as 1972 including "Dream of a Lifetime" and "Life's Opera", though the latter was written in 1972, it wouldn't be recorded by Marvin until 1976 though it remained unreleased. Finally, Fuqua gave the song a new production and had it issued on the album. "Dream of a Lifetime", according to Gaye, was inspired by hearing that Sammy Davis Jr. had signed with Motown, however, Davis never got to record the song. "It's Madness" and the Gaye/Smokey Robinson composition, "Symphony", were recorded during the Let's Get It On sessions in 1973. The original version of "Symphony" was included in the deluxe edition issue of Let's Get It On whereas the 1985 version included hip-hop-emulated sounds.

Charts

Dream of a Lifetime found modest success after its release in May 1985. The leading single, "Sanctified Lady", reached #2 on the Hot R&B Singles chart, while "It's Madness" peaked at #55 on that chart. The album itself peaked at #8 on the R&B chart and #41 on the Billboard 200.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Rolling Stone	(mixed) link

Track listing

1. "Sanctified Lady" (Gordon Banks, Gaye) – 5:25
2. "Savage in the Sack" (Gaye) – 3:20
3. "Masochistic Beauty" (Banks, Gaye) – 4:39
4. "It's Madness" (Gaye) – 3:21
5. "Ain't It Funny (How Things Turn Around)" (Gaye) – 4:54
6. "Symphony" (Gaye, Smokey Robinson) – 2:50
7. "Life's Opera" (Gaye, Ivy Hunter) – 7:42
8. "Dream of a Lifetime" (Gaye) – 3:49

Personnel

• Larkin Arnold – liner notes
• Gordon Banks – synthesizer, bass, percussion, drums, background vocals, producer, engineer
• William Bryant – percussion
• Harvey Fuqua – synthesizer, bass, percussion, drums, background vocals, producer
• Marvin Gaye – synthesizer, drums, keyboards, vocals, background vocals, producer
• Connie Howard & The Waters – background vocals
• John Kovarek – engineer
• Barney Perkins – engineer
• Preston Wilcox – drums