Trouble Man
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There seems to be no shortage of biographies about Marvin Gaye, and once again the official one can probably be attributed to David Ritz. Not having read that version I cannot comment on its relative merits, but what I can say is that this one by Steve Turner is a pretty noteworthy effort. Its strength lies in its succinctness, its resistance to go off at tangents and the fact that barely a word is wasted throughout the narrative. The danger in telling this story is to avoid making it the cliched, 'good looking boy with musical talent rises from the ghetto to international stardom before falling foul of drug addiction and women' type tale. The elements that give this story an added impetus are the superb psychological profiling and the malevolent presence of Marvin's unhinged father lurking in the background. The father, a strict preacher who was highly intolerant of any human frailties in others possessed them in abundance himself. He was also a man who liked to put on women's clothing. Just by looking at the photo of his father in the middle of the book you can sense that the man is weird. From an early age Marvin worried what genetic defects he might have inherited, especially when his voice developed into such a high one. To combat these insecurities Marvin virtually committed his life to proving his manhood. Seducing women and trying to prove his prowess on the sports field were more than just pastimes, they were evidence that he was a normal human being. Turner shows real talent for understanding the psyche of this tortured soul. Of course it would be unfair to blame everything on the father, and Turner admits that Marvin was inherently lazy. He was also a shy man who did not enjoy public performances. Consequently he failed to turn up for many of his concerts, even a command performance for British Royalty. Marvin saw no conflict between his womanising, drug abuse and his belief in god. It was these mental gymnastics that eventually led to him becoming the confused human being that he was. Eventually the drugs he took exacerbated the psychological problems and he became paranoid. It was inevitable that he met the sticky end that he did when he was shot by his own father. The story of Marvin Gaye is already well known and has been told countless times over. What sets this version apart is the superb way that Turner looks behind the actions to the motivations which caused them. Books like this give deep insight into the human soul. |
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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