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One of the difficult choices for an established
artist has to be whether to stay with the tried and true, what
made you what you are, or adopt new musical styles as they appear.
Having "Luther Vandross'" latest CD (his first for
Virgin) and the near simultaneous issue of an album of old classics
compelled me to compare the new Luther to the old. My feelings
about the his new work is, I must admit, influenced by how much
I've enjoyed his music in the past.
Luther has not been able to resist the
now all-too-common practice of guest artists on several of the
cuts on "I Know" including "Precise" and
"Cassandra Wilson." Nor has he avoided the dance remix
and rap influences but rather embraces them albeit in muted form.
The opening cuts, "Keeping My Faith
In You" and "Isn't There Someone" are some of
the best material Luther has ever done. Beautiful lyrics delivered
with feeling that goes right to your heart and soul. The first
single "Religion" has already charted and proves that
he doesn't need any gimmicks (although they could have lost the
"down, down down" chant without it ever being missed).
Then a cut like "Get It Right" with its rap intro follows
and just destroys the mood the prior cuts had established. It
isn't hard enough to appeal to the rap crowd but is distracting
enough to turn off a lot of his older fans, so it's doubly dysfunctional.
A special treat is the title track, "I
Know" with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica, although if
anyone should have sung with Luther it should have been Stevie.
The duet with Williams does come off well on "I'm Only Human"
making for a nice texture of voices.
Then the first of two versions of "Nights
In Harlem" pops up. This version with "Precise"
again breaks the mood with another poor "Salt N Pepa"
imitation. But it doesn't seem anywhere near as out of place
as the dance remix that is the final cut on the album. I would
have much preferred another song or just omitting this one. It's
not that these cuts are bad, they are just so unnecessary and
out of place on the album.
Four of the five cuts between the two "Nights
In Harlem" though are Luther in fine form. "Dream Lover"
is soft and seductive while his cover of "When I Need You"
is simply one of the best versions of this classic. "Are
You Using Me" ups the tempo and loses that sultry sound.
Maybe "Donna Summer" can make disco sound sexy but
it doesn't work for Luther. He makes up for it with "Are
You Mad At Me" and "Now That I Have You " before
the forgettable final track.
Since Luther produces his own albums I
can't blame anyone else for letting him wander afield You might
say he's like that little boy; when he's bad, he's very bad,
but when he's good, he's very, very good. However there's enough
meat here to let you ignore the gristle. Hopefully he'll realize
that when you've been serving up prime rib, folks won't settle
for hamburger. |
