Various Artists - Diana Ross And Marvin Gaye (CD, Rmst)

In the boxing world, it's called an overmatch. This 1973 artifact found Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross plugged into tracks by a half-dozen producers (including Gaye/Tammi Terrell masterminds Ashford & Simpson, Motown stalwart Hal Davis, and Berry Gordy himself). Although Gaye would later speak disdainfully of Ross to biographer David Ritz, and his richly emotive tone indeed sometimes mixes with her piping coos like oil with water, Diana & Marvin still proves hard to resist. Gaye's restraint is a fine thing to hear, and the two get fittingly touching material in two Stylistics covers and the wonderful single "My Mistake (Was to Love You)." (Never mind how unconvincing they sound on "I'm Falling in Love with You"; lie back and enjoy it.) More than a curio, less than a classic, the original album is augmented by four bonus tracks, three previously unreleased. --Rickey Wright