Marvin Gaye - Collected [2LP White & Silver Holland Import]

Marvin Gaye's Collected traces more than two decades of soul-shaping work across two 180-gram discs pressed in white and silver, a limited gatefold edition imported from Holland.

The sequence moves the way his career did. It opens on the sharp early Motown singles, with Hitch Hike catching a young crooner learning to sweat, then passes through the duet years that paired him with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross and, most memorably, Tammi Terrell. Ain't No Mountain High Enough is that partnership at full beam, two voices pushing each other higher with every chorus.

The third side is where the ground shifts. What's Going On arrives as the moment Gaye stopped taking direction, swapping hit-factory polish for layered vocals, hand percussion and questions about war and the planet that still sting. From there the grooves slow down and heat up, sliding into the sensual, slow-burning records that defined his 70s.

Sexual Healing, from the early 80s, shows him reinventing himself once more around a drum machine pulse, a late reminder of how restless his talent was.

It works as a front door for newcomers and a handsome refresher for anyone who already knows every word, and the two-tone vinyl makes it a pleasure to pull from the sleeve.