If you have either the SACD or DVD-Audio version of "The Marvin Gaye Collection", you may have noticed that it lacks one particularly important song: "Sexual Healing". This last great single from one of R&B's most talented---and troubled---musicians can be found on the 1982 release "Midnight Love". It was seen as a triumph in light of his addiction and depression. The song's lyrics are sexually stimulating, of course, yet also metaphorically suggestive of a plea for help and desire for personal peace. "Sexual Healing", however, was the only song I recognized on the entire album. That's not to say the other songs aren't good, because I have learned to enjoy them quite a bit---a fairly easy thing to do considering the high quality of this Super Audio CD release. The recording sounds crisp, clean, and clear. It has just enough "air" to sound pretty decent on a larger home setup. And the surround mix? It's fairly aggressive. The rears contain primarily light percussion; but other instrumentation and, occasionally, background vocals are also present. Main vocals are spread across the front speakers. Overall, I like it. "Midnight Love" on SACD is a very good disc. In the area of technical quality, I think it is slightly better than the SACD/DVD-A of "The Marvin Gaye Collection". However, it would be my recommendation to start with "The Marvin Gaye Collection" due to the fact that it is a greatest hits collection. After that, of course, you could always fill in the missing piece with "Midnight Love".
Note: The SACD of "Midnight Love" was originally released as a stereo-only disc. Later versions added a multi-channel track. So be sure to check the packaging before buying. Also, this is a single layer disc. So there is no CD compatibility.
