on one of my favorite albums, LITE ME UP.

I kind of disliked the fact that he employed outside singers even if I did enjoy them, after he decided he was going to do full-on R&B, because that tended to dilute the Herbie-ness of his records.

However, I don't understand why he, or Narada Michael Walden, thought it was a good idea for him to sing "naked" on this track. The song would have been decent early-'80s R&B if not for that fact... this song should have remained an outtake and re-recorded with the vocoder.

I let "Paradise" slide because Dave Foster knew how to cover up Herbie's shortcomings as a vocalist, plus... the song is straight "Al Jarreau". Can't hate on that.

as for Marvin Gaye? Without a doubt, "Masochistic Beauty". The sheer 80s-ness of this song, the questionable lyrics. We know Marvin got "dirty" sometimes, but while this song was kind of funny, it was also cringeworthy. I don't think Marv really quite sounded right on that kind of production anyway... and I almost shudder to think what he would have sounded like as the decade went on. He, more than Stevie, sounded like a shadow of his former self in the 1980s for the short time he was there. Then again, none of those '80s production tracks on DREAM OF A LIFETIME probably would have been released if Marv had lived.