Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Gerald LeVert (vocals, keyboards, keyboard programming, drum programming, background vocals); Gerald LeVert; Teena Marie (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drum programming, background vocals); Marc Gordon , Sean LeVert (vocals, keyboards, keyboard programming, drum programming, background vocals); Jason Champion, Faith Evans, Dave Tolliver, Joe Little III, Johnny Gill, Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey, Keith Sweat, Kelly Price, Vanessa Williams , Sherena Wynn (vocals, background vocals); Miki Howard, Missy Elliott, Yolanda Adams (vocals); Jay Williams, Randy Bowland, Robert Cunningham (guitar); Walter Dewey Pfeil (harp); Bonnie Ayers, Larry Abramovitz, Patricia Brown, Jean Perrault, Helen Wedeen, Christine Reeves, Barbara Sonies, Emma Kummrow, Olga Konopelsky, Gregory Teperman, Charles Parker (violin); Ruth Wright, Nina Cottman, Davis A. Barnett (viola); Doug McNames, Vivian Barton, Mark Ward (cello); Jack Faith (flute); Douglas Gaines, Gerald Albright (saxophone); Richard Schwartz, Glen Estrin, Paul Rosenfeld (French horn); Dennis Williams (piano); Edwin Nicholas (keyboards, keyboard programming, drum programming); Larry Marcus (keyboards, background vocals); Niles McKimkley (keyboards); Gio Copper (vocoder); Joe Nero (percussion); Shawn Smith (programming); Jim Salamone (keyboard programming, drum programming); Renee Spearman, Rosalind White Gonsalves, Propensity Choir, Victoria Purcell, Darrell Crawford, Jennifer Price, Melvin Sephus, Raymond Reeder (background vocals). | | Author: Gerald LeVert. | | Arrangers: Gerald LeVert; Edwin Nicholas; Faith Evans; Kelly Price. | | Voices, a compilation of duets featuring Gerald LeVert, is neither as great nor as handy as it could have been. Containing three new songs and an assortment of ten other selections picked off nearly as many albums, it has both casual and die-hard fans in mind. The new songs -- featuring a reunion of the LeVert trio, Vanessa Williams, and newcomer Sherena Wynn -- are up to LeVert's usual standard and should make the disc worthwhile for those who have tracked the singer's every move. The previously released material dates back to 1988's "That's What Love Is," a number four R&B hit from Miki Howard's second album, and the later selections are wise in most cases, though a pair of LSG cuts, one from LeVert's solo album G, and another from Father and Son (the album billed to Gerald and Eddie LeVert, Sr.) will be redundant for a lot of the followers. Duets with Kelly Price, Yolanda Adams, Men at Large, and Teena Marie factor in, while Rude Boys' "Written All Over Your Face" is a group effort that showcases LeVert in more of a background role as an arranger and producer. (LeVert's productivity behind the scenes often goes unnoticed. Ask Regina Belle, Millie Jackson, Troop, Silk, Christopher Williams, Stephanie Mills, and several other artists who have benefited from it.) This set could've easily contained a second disc -- scads of equally deserving songs, including Keith Sweat's "Just One of Them Thangs," Mack 10's "Money's Just a Touch Away," and Tamia's "(They Long to Be) Close to You" are absent. A sequel release would be a welcomed thing, especially since a lot of LeVert's duets have slipped through the cracks since the late '80s. When Voices was released, there were eight LeVert solo albums (from 1991's Private Line through 2004's Do I Speak for the World), so a standard greatest-hits really ought to come first. ~ Andy Kellman | | Gerald Levert is no stranger to inspired collaborations, having worked with Levert, LSG, and his father's band the O'Jays. His duet record VOICES is presented in the smooth, serene manner which becomes him, quietly presenting two engaging new songs--the catchy "I Like It" and the inspirational "Storm Has Passed" with Sherena Wynn--along with classics like "Written All Over Your Face" (sung with its original singers, the Rude Boys) and "I Believe I Can Fly" with the perfectly complementary vocals of Yolanda Adams. |
Producer: Gerald Levert; Edwin Nicholas; Faith Evans; Larry Marcus; James Allen; Jim Salamone; Kelly Price; Marc Gordon; Shep Crawford; Teena Marie; Warryn Campbell; Gerald Levert; Gerald Levert (Compilation); Edwin Nicholas (Compilation); Leonard Brooks (Compilati |
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