Marvin had earlier in the decade recorded duets with two other Motown ladies in Mary Wells, and then Kim Weston, and after the death of Tammi in the early seventies went on to record a string of hit singles with Diana Ross. As good as these collaborations were, they never quite captured the same excitiement as his recordings with Tammi.

Tammi Terrell herself had recorded a number of songs under the name of Tammi Montgomery before joining Berry Gordy’s Motown empire in late 1964. She herself whilst recording some superb solo singles for the label never quite got the recognition she deserved at the time, and it is ironic that thirty six years on from the first release of her only Motown album ‘Irresistable’, saw the release of an almost definitive collection by Universal/Spectrum at budget price last year. The one time girlfriend of James Brown and Temptations lead singer David Ruffin her life was reputedly a roller-coaster ride during her late teen years. One thing is certain, and that is had Tammi not have died so young then she would have become a much bigger star in her own right. Sadly it was not to be.

To read our review of Tammi’s CD and hear some great audio  - please click here.

This double CD is nothing short of superb, but, before rushing out to buy your copy take a few minutes to read this review. First of all, you may already have the majority of songs featured here. For a start it contains three original Marvin/Tammi albums from the 1960’s with ‘Easy’ ‘United’ & ‘Your All I Need’

Reviews on other CD's by Marvin Gaye can be read elsewhere on this site by clicking here.

Then you have four tracks from her only album in ‘I Can’t believe You Love Me’ ‘Hold Me Oh My Darling’ ‘Come On And See Me’ and a non LP ‘b’ side ‘Baby Don’tcha Worry’. The first three are available on other UK released Motown CD’s. You are then presented with an unusual alternate take of ‘Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing’ which if you want hear it then please click here for a sample.  Likewise there is an alternative version of ‘Keep On Lovin’ Me Honey’ whilst ‘We’ll Be Satisfied’ is credited as an unreleased duet.

The package ends with nine unreleased songs, two of which are well known Marvin/Tammi duets that appear as solo songs minus Marvin’s vocals. ‘Two Can Have A Party’ has appeared before on the Motown Northern Soul compilation’s on the Debutante label, and ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ from 1967 doesn’t sound THAT different even though it is a one-sided affair. Different versions of ‘You Ain’t Livin’ Till You’re Lovin’ (from Your All I Need) are worthy of attention, as is ‘Give In You Just Can’t Win’ (from the same LP)  Don’t overlook too the superb ‘Memory Chest’ which along with the demo version version of ‘Oh How I Miss You’

All in all a great package but watch out for those songs that you may already have on other discs, but that will not bother the purists amongst you.

Rating 8/10
Expect to pay around £16.99 in the UK

Audio samples from this CD

Other related titles include;

Marvin Gaye;

‘United’/'Your All I Need To Get By'
' In The Groove'/'Moods Of'
'Take Two'/'Together'
'MPG'/'That's The Way Love Is'
'Stubborn Kinda Fellow'/'How Sweet It Is'
'Marvin & Friends'

Tammi Terrell;

'The Essential Collection'