The Music of Luther Vandross!

**marv2** · 07-18-2012, 05:13 PM

Luther Vandross was one of our greatest artists. He rarely gets a mention here so I was curious to know if you liked his music? What were some of your favorite Luther Vandross recordings? This is one of mine from 1977:

**Jerry Oz** · 07-18-2012, 05:42 PM

Marv, Luther was phenomenal. Especially his first few albums. He was a rare artist that I could listen to a song and tell that he didn't relax on a single syllable; he seemingly put effort into every note. My favorite songs by Luther are "Make Me A Believer", "Never Too Much", "Here and Now", and "There's Nothing Better Than Love". I even appreciated his vamps on Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover". I'm glad I'm not his only fan on this site.

**soulster** · 07-18-2012, 05:53 PM

He had the funk in the first couple of years of the 80s, and then it was all sappy ballads.

**skooldem1** · 07-18-2012, 06:01 PM

Luther is one of, if not my favorite male singer.

**P-Shark: The Revenge** · 07-18-2012, 06:04 PM

I agree Soulster. I don't have a problem with ballads if its done right, but I
couldn't get into the 80's "quiet storm" or dentist office music

**Jerry Oz** · 07-18-2012, 06:26 PM

Luther lost his mojo at some point and the production of his songs wasn't as good as it was early on. I'm not sure what it was. I was cool with his ballads and all of the cover versions of classic songs he was performing at the beginning. He made a bad calculation in coming out with an album full of cover songs, in my opinion. Most people that I know were not aware that he put covers on all of his albums and when they saw an entire LP full of them, they thought that he was being lazy moreso than respectful to the originals. That was actually the last album that I purchased, other than his greatest hits double CD, and I haven't listened to it since playing twice back then.

**marv2** · 07-18-2012, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

Luther lost his mojo at some point and the production of his songs wasn't as good as it was early on. I'm not sure what it was. I was cool with his ballads and all of the cover versions of classic songs he was performing at the beginning. He made a bad calculation in coming out with an album full of cover songs, in my opinion. Most people that I know were not aware that he put covers on all of his albums and when they saw an entire LP full of them, they thought that he was being lazy moreso than respectful to the originals. That was actually the last album that I purchased, other than his greatest hits double CD, and I haven't listened to it since playing twice back then.

I bought the album with the cover songs and I thought he did a respectful job on songs like "Reflections", "I Who Have Nothing", etc.

**marv2** · 07-18-2012, 07:55 PM

Two of my "radio" favorites by Luther were "Any Love" from 1988 [[make a grown man wanna cry...LOL!) and "Power of Love/Love Power", a great song, can be taken spiritually. I use to roll down the windows of my car while driving through rural parts of Ohio that summer and just blast it and sing along with it as best I could!

**Jerry Oz** · 07-18-2012, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by marv2

I bought the album with the cover songs and I thought he did a respectful job on songs like "Reflections", "I Who Have Nothing", etc.

I honestly believe that I expected every song to be done as well as "Superstar", "Creepin'", and "A House Is Not A Home". Luther made versions of those songs that rivaled the originals in how well they were done. I kind of found the covers on "Songs" to be less "Luther" than the earlier versions. But that's unfair to him to put him on a high status like that. He set the bar high, though.

**jillfoster** · 07-18-2012, 09:32 PM

I never could stand him.. he oversings everything.

**marv2** · 07-18-2012, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by jillfoster

I never could stand him.. he oversings everything.

Jill, are you serious? Check this out:

**jack020** · 07-19-2012, 06:36 AM

Luther is one of my all-time favorite singers with Frank Sinatra and Marvin Gaye!
I own most of his cds, dvds and the first 2 LPs. They were supposed to come out on cd before he died but sadly that never happened [[David Nathan are you listening?)
Saw him live in Miami once with Sounds Of Blackness, but missed his in Rotterdam/Netherlands concert due to a holiday abroad.
Maybe he lost some of the magic when he left Columbia/Epic records for Virgin, but his albums for J Records were really great again.
The Dance With My Father album I can still play every month!

**paladin** · 07-19-2012, 09:03 AM

Luther was a bad man, his first five or six albums where very good. His orchestra and arrangements were always killer no matter what the song. Luther certainly fell off, like most do during the latter part of his career but I guarantee you that if you ever attended one of his live shows, he made dam sure you got your moneys worth.

**Jerry Oz** · 07-19-2012, 10:03 AM

Luther had a wonderful run with Nat Adderley, Jr. and Marcus Miller. Marcus and Luther seemed to bring out the best in each other.

**chidrummer** · 07-19-2012, 10:25 AM

Sho you right, paladin. I was lucky enough to see Vandross' show several times before his death and he was amazing.
For me, Luther was one the greatest voices of our generation.

favorite songs gotta be -

If Only for One Night
Creepin'
A House is Not a Home
Stop To Love
'Til My Baby Come Home
Always and Forever [[better than Heatwave's original)
Wait For Love

**jillfoster** · 07-19-2012, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by marv2

Jill, are you serious? Check this out:

Yep... oversinging. Not as bad as most, my biggest complaint with that song is he's singing behind the beat, which I can't STAND. My idea of perfect male soul singers are Al Wilson and Cuba Gooding.... and even O.C Smith.

**nosey** · 07-19-2012, 11:10 AM

Marv that was "Marv"elous. Thanks!

**jdwheat** · 07-19-2012, 03:22 PM

I loved his vocal on "Hot Butterfly" by Gregg Diamond's Bionic Boogie [[what a name) back in 1978-79. That's my favorite right now.

**marv2** · 07-19-2012, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by nosey

Marv that was "Marv"elous. Thanks!

Thanks Nosey! Luther was incredible!

**blueskies** · 07-19-2012, 04:41 PM

I liked "A House is not a Home"....though, no one can surpass Dionne on that one, but, Luther is pretty good!

**jaybs** · 07-20-2012, 04:57 AM

Everyone has their own personal tastes but I have every album Luther released and you can hardly fault any tracks, these days when I transfer albums to my iPod often it is only a few tracks but with Luther it would be every track, give him a phone directory and he could sing in, also like Issac Hayes used to be I loved the way that Luther interpreted other artists classic tracks. I miss him but he left us so many good memories in his fine music.

**paladin** · 07-20-2012, 08:08 AM

like Issac Hayes used to be I loved the way that Luther interpreted other artists classic tracks. I miss him but he left us so many good memories in his fine music.

well said........

**marv2** · 07-20-2012, 11:24 AM

If you want to see just how awesome Luther was, check this out:

**marv2** · 07-20-2012, 11:26 AM

...and one more for good measure. Here he performs Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come":

**skooldem1** · 07-20-2012, 05:55 PM

Luther was simply the best. Here he is singing his classic version of "A house is not a home" to Dionne Warwick.

**marv2** · 07-20-2012, 08:30 PM

I'll never forget that show. He sang it so good, it made Dionne cry! LOL! He destroyed them......slayed his audience! LOL!!!

**paladin** · 07-21-2012, 08:24 AM

If you want to see just how awesome Luther was, check this out

Thanks Marv....bittersweet, indeed.

**splanky** · 07-21-2012, 01:34 PM

Luther was the most impressive voice in R&B/pop when he went solo back in the early 80's. I had previously heard him
fronting the group Change and knew this was somebody we'd be hearing a lot from. He ripped A House Is Not A Home
and I wore that sucker out. I used to jam it in my front yards and sisters who barely gave me a second look in the supermarket would plant their fat bottoms on my porch chair and ask for a glass of brandy or wine

Thank you, Luther.
I know his trademark runs are not to everybody's taste but he would kill me with that sh*t. I hadn't remembered he opened and closed The Arsensio Hall show so thanks for posting those links, folks...And BTW, Arsenio had the best variety show on the air for the longest time and though I don't watch TV anymore so can't be sure about this, I doubt
there is anyone who has touched what he did...

**timmyfunk** · 07-21-2012, 02:13 PM

I never really dug him after "Never Too Much", except for the ballad that he did with Gregory Hines [[a highly underrated singer).

**Jerry Oz** · 07-21-2012, 04:21 PM

My uncle came up from vacationing in Mississippi in the '70s with an album by a group called Luther. It had two excellent cuts, "Everybody Rejoice" [[which he wrote for "The Wiz") and "The Second Time Around". It blew my mind when he won for best new artist after going solo because I had already heard of him years before "Never Too Much". He would go on to retool and re-record "The Second Time Around" later.

**destruction** · 07-21-2012, 06:04 PM

Over the years I've found myself on both sides of the Luther divide......but truth be told, that had more to do with what kind vibe I was feeling at various times, moreso than what Luther was putting out.

I've seen him live three times......twice I was treated and once I paid. To say Luther gives you your money's worth is a definite understatement.....especially if you went with someone. The combination of Luther and company Napalming the stage while watching my date squirming in her chair half the night is a memory that will never fade. Hell, later one night after the show that I paid for, I distinctly remember writing Luther a mental check about 3:30 in the morning....with a big ole smile.

And to echo Splanky a bit......something that always came in handy was being able to croon a passable 30 seconds of Superstar.....secret was to bounce it just right.

**soulster** · 07-21-2012, 07:05 PM

I have to say perhaps the best cover he ever did was "Until You Come back To Me/Superstar". Back in 1983, I had that "Busy Body" album but never paid much attention to it, as I thought the quality of his music had dropped bigtime from the last album, which I think is his best. In late December of '83, I was driving to L.A. with my father and the track came on the radio. I was blown away! As soon as I got back home a week later, I put the album on and cued up the track. To this day I think the track is his finest, and I don't usually go for long, drawn-out ballads like that. The ballads I like like that are far and few in between.

**daddyacey** · 07-22-2012, 04:05 AM

""Luther lost his mojo at some point and the production of his songs wasn't as good as it was early on. I'm not sure what it was.""

What "it" was , was the pressure to produce more of what he did after the first two solo albums for Epic. The curse of the record company ,"that was great do that shix again" ,more more fast. I was into Luther from the first two albums on Cotillion. I bought those albums as cut outs before CHANGE and the Gregg Diamond tracks came out based soley on the credits of the personell listed on the covers back in 78. His voice and styling was unique and my ear pick him out later on on CHIC and CHANGE and Gregg Diamonds productions. In those days he was just being himself, growing and perfecting his talent. His first two albums on EPIC were perfection ,his peak. After that came that pressure and hype that just does somthing to the artists natural expression. You can't rush natural talent. The "Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum" scat on "A House" , that echos the horn part of the original version is pure genius. That's the signature of that song and instead of a horn playing it ,he scatted it. In Luther you had all the influences of all the female vocalists from Sarah to Aretha in a male voice. The man lived and breathed music naturally. You just can't rush perfection and in his case as well as other greats before him , commercial demand had a negative effect on his creative output.

Like MICHAEL and MARVIN ,CURTIS ,MINNIE and many others ,LUTHER is a standard that one can only compared to as "like" this artist .

**paladin** · 07-22-2012, 10:45 PM

the man lived and breathed music naturally. You just can't rush perfection and in his case as well as other greats before him , commercial demand had a negative effect on his creative output.

Like michael and marvin ,curtis ,minnie and many others ,luther is a standard that one can only compared to as "like" this artist .

Des, you wrote a mental check......for real...understand perfectly.

To be honest........I have quite a few cuts from Luther in my collection, but for some of the reasons that DA indicated, I went from being a big Luther fan to one who was only mildly interested . Let me elaborate, Luther's style was so distinctive and clear that in his early period, I enjoyed his entire albums to a fault. As time went on and he continued to release records using the same formula, I grew kind of bored and listened to his songs in that..."oh yeah I've heard this before mode". Sadly when he was stricken I felt bad and hoped that he would return triumphant, I never really enjoyed the Dance With My Father CD and I'll give it a listen, in fact I'll go back and give some of his later material a listen and reacquaint myself with a man whose talent was boundless. Yes its wasn't often that we'd hear a male vocalist say that his influences were some of the all time great female singers. Like several others I knew about Luther in the very beginning [[ Luther/Change/Diamond) but what used to really be fun was trying to pick out his voice in commercials. He was destined for stardom. We lost a great one..............the link below will give most here the breadth and scope of the man's career, there was quite a bit listed there that I didn't know........

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/luthe...s-mn0000208076

Kdubya

almost forgot, his first 5 lps were epic, loved them and loved his cut with Gregory Hines as well as The Night I fell In Love..

**marv2** · 07-23-2012, 01:13 AM

Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

My uncle came up from vacationing in Mississippi in the '70s with an album by a group called Luther. It had two excellent cuts, "Everybody Rejoice" [[which he wrote for "The Wiz") and "The Second Time Around". It blew my mind when he won for best new artist after going solo because I had already heard of him years before "Never Too Much". He would go on to retool and re-record "The Second Time Around" later.

Interesting! My brother Robert bought Luther [[that was the name of Luther Vandross's group at the time) first album in late 1976 and the follow up album in '77. We had never heard of Luther Vandross prior to that. Some of kids I went to school with thought I was referring to Luther Ingram when I tried to tell them they should give this guy Luther [[Vandross) a listen. I don't even think I knew his last name at that point but I did know good music when I heard it!

**marv2** · 07-23-2012, 01:15 AM

Originally Posted by paladin

Des, you wrote a mental check......for real...understand perfectly.

To be honest........I have quite a few cuts from Luther in my collection, but for some of the reasons that DA indicated, I went from being a big Luther fan to one who was only mildly interested . Let me elaborate, Luther's style was so distinctive and clear that in his early period, I enjoyed his entire albums to a fault. As time went on and he continued to release records using the same formula, I grew kind of bored and listened to his songs in that..."oh yeah I've heard this before mode". Sadly when he was stricken I felt bad and hoped that he would return triumphant, I never really enjoyed the Dance With My Father CD and I'll give it a listen, in fact I'll go back and give some of his later material a listen and reacquaint myself with a man whose talent was boundless. Yes its wasn't often that we'd hear a male vocalist say that his influences were some of the all time great female singers. Like several others I knew about Luther in the very beginning [[ Luther/Change/Diamond) but what used to really be fun was trying to pick out his voice in commercials. He was destined for stardom. We lost a great one..............the link below will give most here the breadth and scope of the man's career, there was quite a bit listed there that I didn't know........

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/luthe...s-mn0000208076

Kdubya

almost forgot, his first 5 lps were epic, loved them and loved his cut with Gregory Hines as well as The Night I fell In Love..

Anytime Kdub! I am enjoying this thread.

**glencro** · 07-26-2012, 04:22 AM

Originally Posted by marv2

Luther Vandross was one of our greatest artists. He rarely gets a mention here so I was curious to know if you liked his music? What were some of your favorite Luther Vandross recordings? This is one of mine from 1977:

Had no idea that he recorded this song first. I love Aretha's version on the JUMP TO IT release

**Jerry Oz** · 07-26-2012, 07:13 PM

I'm in agreement with most that his first several albums were his best. Luther got to a point [[like Freddie Jackson) when to hear his later songs, you'd think that he trying to sound like Luther Vandross. Rather than growing his music and his voice, he became [[in my opinion) more pop-centric than soulful and his voice was not one that rose above the production of the pop albums. I kind of held it against Luther and Freddie that I listened to them impersonate themselves on a lot of that music. "Dance With My Father" did seem to take him back into comfortable territory, though.

**soulster** · 07-27-2012, 12:48 AM

Looking through my server, I didn't see the "Busy Body" album. I thought I had it in digital form, so I dug out my vinyl and did a nice audio restoration of it the other day. Now I have all of his albums up to 1985 in digital.