The Ultimate Luther Vandross

iTunes Review

There are few voices in soul music as sensitive and mature as Luther Vandross’s. Vandross possessed both the masculinity of Teddy Pendergrass and the vulnerability of Marvin Gaye, and even today his breakthrough 1981 single “Never Too Much” remains striking, a complex fusion of pop and R&B given gravity by his voice. Over the course of the 1980s, a whole generation of music fans literally fell in love with that voice; Vandross was a performer who didn’t just recite songs, but reached out and touched the listener with every new performance. As his career progressed, it became evident that he was well-suited to mature, adult-contemporary ballads, but where many songs in that genre are flat and lifeless, “Dance With My Father,” “Here and Now,” and “Wait For Love” are complex, finely-tuned portraits. Even as he found a niche in the pop world, Vandross continued to deliver beautiful, positive soul music, represented here with “Got You Home,” “Take You Out,” and “Any Love.” With every song, Vandross imparted a piece of his love and generosity, which is why his premature death in 2005 came as such a crushing loss to a loyal legion of fans and soul music believers.