Professional ratings| Review scores |
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| Source | Rating |
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| AllMusic | |
| NME | 10/10 |
The Master (1961–1984) is a chronological box set album looking back at American R&B/soul singer Marvin Gaye's 23-year recording career. Spanning four discs, the box set goes over all portions of Gaye's career with a repertoire of themes including dance songs, love ballads, duets, socially conscious material, sensual material, spirituals, and autobiographical revelations. The set includes rarities such as a recorded 1983 live track of Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips each singing their seminal hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", Gaye's famed 1983 performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at an NBA All-Star game, and an a cappella performance of "The Lord's Prayer" taped during Gaye's exile in Belgium.
In 2006, Universal re-released the boxset as part of its Universal Earbook series, issuing it as an LP-sized hardback coffee table book.