George HaffendenToday marks what would have been Luther Vandross’ 64th birthday. For us here at TF&SR there are few other singers in popular music who had the ability to sing and perform like Luther Vandross, and it makes it all the more sad that we never got the chance to see him live before he died in 2005. Turning on the news a nearly a decade ago, I never quite released the significance of his death upon music and upon me personally: Luther Vandross was the first artist that really hooked me onto to soul music. From the opening bars of ‘Never Too Much’ I was completely hooked.
This July marks ten years since Luther Vandross died and we’re planning on bringing you a special edition of The Funk & Soul Revue in honour of the man. Until then, we’re going to celebrate his birthday by revisiting ten of our Luther favourites.
- Take You Out – Luther Vandross, 2001
The 1990s weren’t a particularly great decade for soul artists generally, and Luther sadly wasn’t exempt from this: after the early ‘90s success of the Power of Love album, he had left Epic Records after the Songs cover album to sign with Virgin Records. That album, I Know released in 1997, was a bit hit and miss in places: for instance his cover of the song he gave to Aretha Franklin ‘Get It Right’ would be brilliant if not for the decision to pair Luther Vandross up with rapper Precise.
Then he signed with Clive Davis’ new J Records, and in 2001 released a masterclass in neo-soul with the album Luther Vandross. The lead single ‘Take You Out’ is delightful; it is Luther Vandross at his best, riding a neo-soul groove that isn’t too far away from his classic recordings. As always Luther is right on point here, and it’s one of his most overlooked singles.
- I Really Didn’t Mean It – Give Me The Reason, 1986
This was the last single of the Give Me The Reason album to be released and is one of our favourites. Certainly, the drum programming and synthesisers do sound somewhat dated, but that doesn’t really matter here for it is such a brilliant song itself, and with Luther providing his trademark smooth vocals combined with great backing vocals the song is still enjoyable today. It’s perhaps overshadowed on the album by the title song itself, the dancefloor smash ‘Stop To Love’ as well as the seductive ballad ‘So Amazing’. For us however, this is one of this best.
- Wait For Love – The Night I Fell In Love, 1985
Of all the ballads Luther released this is one of our favourites. The instrumental track itself is a brilliant mix of strings, slap bass and synth keys that somehow blends perfectly together allowing Luther to deliver a knockout vocal on this beautiful ballad. Once again, and taking inspiration from the Aretha Franklin records he spent listening to in his youth, the background vocal arrangement is pretty stunning too. Often ballads can be somewhat cheesy and, well, over-done but you don’t get that feeling on this song. It’s simply beautiful.
- Since I Lost My Baby – Forever, For Always, For Love, 1982
After the initial smash of the Never Too Much album, the follow up Forever, For Always, For Love was somewhat of a commercial disappointment. Critically, however, this is a brilliant album that cemented Luther’s place as one of the premier popular vocalists. One of the interesting cuts of the album is this cover of the Smokey Robinson-penned hit for The Temptations; it’s a bold choice to cover, but as with all the other many songs Luther covered in the course of his career it is re-made spectacularly. Indeed, Luther’s ability to cover songs ought to be a lesson for today’s record executives who insist their acts churn out cover album after cover album.
- The Glow of Love – Change, The Glow of Love, 1980
If one performance did more to launch Luther Vandross’ career it was this song with the group Change, the brainchild of producers Jacques Fred Petrus (1949–1986) and Mauro Malavasi. The song is an eighties groove classic featuring some great bass playing, incredible background vocals, and most importantly a brilliant lyric for Luther to do his work on. This song propelled Luther into the spotlight, away from singing jingles for companies like Pepsi and backing artists such as David Bowie and Roberta Flack, to a singer in his own right.
- A House Is Not A Home – Never Too Much, 1981
Taken from his first album, Luther completely transformed this Burt Bacharach-Hal David standard (originally recorded by his idol Dionne Warwick) to make his version the definitive version of the song. Luther stretches the song out to last over seven minutes long. The instrumentation is stunning: the strings, the piano arrangement allows Luther to glide completely solo on this track. Unusually for a Luther Vandross production, it features no other vocal than his own. Luther is at his most heart-wrenching here, and its simply just an incredible piece of music to hear. This version here is Luther singing the song live, in fact he may be singing it better than the original recording. Even more wonderful is Dionne Warwick in the crowd, crying at the joyous sounds of Luther Vandross.
- I’ll Let You Slide – Busy Body, 1983
This song is a deceptively funky song, featuring Marcus Miller’s trademark bass, as well as an imaginative use of drum and synthesizer programming. It is one of the most funky solo songs Luther ever recorded, and somehow one of the most underplayed of them. It also plays homage to his musical roots, referencing Martha Reeves & The Vandella’s song ‘Jimmy Mack’ as the song he and his girlfriend loved the most. It’s a delicious piece of eighties groove, one that is well worth checking out.
- Superstar/Until You Come Back To Me – Busy Body, 1983
Along with ‘A House is not a Home’, this is one of Luther’s finest ballads – lasting for nearly ten minutes. ‘Superstar’ is perhaps best known as song the Carpenters performed, whilst ‘Until’ is a Stevie Wonder composition made famous by the Queen of Soul; yet the genius of Luther Vandross combines the two – starting off the song with ‘Until’, before stretching the introduction into ‘Superstar’. Arguably it is Luther’s best vocal performance; it is a magical recording, one that sends chills throughout your body every time you listen.
- Are You There (With Another Guy) – Luther Vandross, 2001
This is perhaps an odd choice, but one I think is justified. It’s another Dionne Warwick/Burt Bacharach cover which outshines the original yet again. It features an updated eighties drum and synth programming, but more importantly Luther is so on point with this vocal. He pours all his emotion onto the lyric, sounding pained yet retaining his smooth vocals at the same time. It is one of the lost gems of the Luther Vandross catalogue.
- Never Too Much – Never Too Much, 1981
It’s a testatment to this song that after all these years, and all the other great recordings Luther made, his first single of his first album is still his best – and arguably one of the best soul songs ever recorded. It’s the song that hooked me onto soul and Luther Vandross, and it still sounds as fresh and exciting as ever. Drop this at any party, the dance-floor will be full. The Marcus Miller bass, the tasty guitar licks, the simplistic yet effective keys, and the lush strings combined to create one of the best soul grooves ever recorded. Luther’s vocal is a knock-out; of the thousands of times I’ve played it still hits me every time.
It’s the perfect pop-soul song. Luther’s vocals are incredible. It truly is TF&SR’s favourite song.