| One voice towers above the rest… a scorching new chapter from the worlds greatest R&B male vocalist DANCE WITH MY FATHER is the latest triumph for a singer who like a handful of superstars is immediately identifiable by first name alone. Say the name ‘Luther’ and record buyers the world over respond immediately. The five-time GRAMMY® winner, whose cumulative global sales top over 25 million copies, has been offering his distinctive brand of satin smooth vocal magic to international audiences year in and year out for over two decades.
It’s his fifteenth album in a star-studded career filled with accomplishment and achievement, DANCE WITH MY FATHER is the much-anticipated follow up to his 2001’s platinum-plus eponymous J Records debut. Self-produced, along with longtime associates Nat Adderley Jr. and Marcus Miller, 2003’s DANCE WITH MY FATHER finds international superstar Luther Vandross examining aspects of life, love and relationships "from different perspectives. If you listen to the groove music and the overall sound of the music, it’s like, ‘yes, this is the Luther we know’ but you might miss the subtlety and
nuances in the songs. If you recited the lyrics that I wrote for this record, you could see that there’s something being said…"
DANCE WITH MY FATHER also features killer collaborations with Beyonce Knowles, Busta Rhymes, Queen Latifah and Foxy Brown.
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Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Luther Vandross (vocals); Beyonce Knowles, (vocals); Foxy Brown, Busta Rhymes, Queen Latifah (rap vocals); Robbie Nevil (guitar, keyboards); Brion James, Victor Vega, Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar); Stevie Wonder (harmonica); Nat Adderley Jr. (piano, electric piano, keyboards); Chris James (piano); James Porte, Marcus Miller (keyboards, programming); Skip Anderson (keyboards, vibraphone); Byron Miller (bass); Ivan Hampden (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion); Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, Cindy Mizelle, Brenda White-King, Khadijah Mohammed, Ulisa Ivey, James "D Train" Williams, Michael Harvey, Ricky McDonald, Fonzi Thornton (background vocals). | | Producers: Luther Vandross, Nat Adderley Jr. | | Recorded at The Hit Factory, New York, New York; Beartracks Studios, Suffern, New York; Hannibal Studios, Santa Monica, California; Skip Trip-Algoryhthm Studios, Belle Mead, New Jersey. | | DANCE WITH MY FATHER won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. "Dance With My Father" won for Song Of The Year and for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The song was also nominated for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals and for Best R&B Song. "The Closer I Get To You" won for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Personnel: Luther Vandross (vocals, background vocals); Foxy Brown , Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes (vocals); Robbie Nevil (guitar, keyboards); Brion James, Ricky Watford "Bishop", V¡ctor Vega, Jay Williams, Paul Jackson, Jr. , Phil Hamilton, Rick Watford (guitar); Stevie Wonder (harmonica); Nat Adderley, Jr. (piano, electric piano, keyboards); Chris James (piano); Skip Anderson (keyboards, vibraphone, programming); Ivan Hampden (drums, keyboard programming, drum programming); Bashiri Johnson (percussion); Reed Vertelney (programming, keyboard programming, drum programming); Marcus Miller (keyboard programming, drum programming, background vocals); James Porte, Rex Rideout, Richard Marx (keyboard programming, drum programming); Cindy Mizelle, Cissy Houston, Brenda White-King, April Owens, Candace Thomas, Joyce James, Fonzi Thornton, Rick McDonald, Michael J, James "D-Train" Williams , RL, Sharon Bryant, Tawatha Agee, Big Bub (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: "You Can Ask" Giz; Ray Bardani. | | Recording information: Beartracks Studios, Suffern, NY; Dengen, Torrance, CA; Hannibal Studios, Santa Monica, CA; Hannnibal Studios, Santa Monica, CA; Playground Minimansion Studios, NJ; Right Track Studios, New York, NY; Skip Trip-Algorhythm Studios, Belle Mead, NJ; The Dengen, Torrance, CA; The Hit Factory, New York, NY. | | Photographer: Kevin Westenberg. | | Arrangers: James Porte; Ivan Hampden; Skip Anderson; Marcus Miller; Nat Adderley, Jr.; Reed Vertelney; Rex Rideout. | | Luther Vandross pours his heart and soul into Dance with My Father's title track, an ambitious kickoff single that misrepresents an album where most highlights are down-tempo. Vandross' own serious ailment at the time of the single's release makes the song's references to absent loved ones even more poignant. In top form at the time of recording, he is able to deliver the song with a voice strong enough to handle the monolithic sentimentality of the lyrics and Richard Marx's swollen production. The six-minute, sensual quiet storm "The Closer I Get to You" is the other high-profile track, a duet with Beyonc? Knowles holding her own with Vandross' perfect phrasing. The rest of the album's winners are the most restrained numbers, often with Marcus Miller or Vandross himself in the producer's chair. The Vandross-helmed "If I Didn't Know Better" is a complex combination of bitterness and vulnerability, with Vandross confronting a two-timing lover. Miller's "She Saw You" borrows heavily from Timbaland's production style, adding a tasteful Wes Montgomery-toned guitar to surround another story of betrayal. Superstar R&B album conventions being what they are, Busta Rhymes' and Foxy Brown's guest spots feel more mandatory than necessary, but Queen Latifah's contribution to "Hit It Again" is welcome and inspired. Tacked onto the end of the album, "They Said You Needed Me" is a silly, light calypso and also the one true dud. Dance with My Father isn't able to maintain the high standards it often achieves, but Vandross' voice is always compelling and the background singers live up to the superior arrangements throughout. With nearly 70 minutes of music on the disc to choose from, more savvy listeners will be able to program their CD players for a more focused and rewarding listen. ~ David Jeffries | | Life can be cruel and nowhere is this more apparent than when Luther Vandross was felled by a stroke just prior to the release of DANCE WITH MY FATHER. For the most personal of his 15 albums, Vandross dipped into the worlds of R&B and hip-hop for help on a handful of songs. Checking in are Beyonce Knowles playing Donny Hathaway to Luther's Roberta Flack on a lush reading of "The Closer I Get to You" that finds the roles flipped and Busta Rhymes hopping aboard a thumping cover of Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" (that includes a Part II). Also helping out with the heavy lifting are Queen Latifah on the snappy "Hit It Again" with its crackling rhythms, and bad-girl Foxy Brown who brings plenty of attitude to the sassy "If It Ain't One Thing." For all the celebrity cameos, Vandross is most successful when he masterfully changes gears into his guise as pop's premiere balladeer. With his velvety croon, this New York City native reminisces about better times on the wistful "Once Were Lovers" (featuring a moving Stevie Wonder harmonica solo) and also delivers the heartfelt title track, a self-described career song dedicated to Vandross' late father. | | Life can be cruel, as made apparent when Luther Vandross was felled by a stroke just prior to the release of DANCE WITH MY FATHER. For the most personal of his 15 albums, Vandross dipped into the worlds of R&B and hip-hop for help on a handful of songs. Checking in are Beyonce Knowles playing Roberta Flack to Luther's Donny Hathaway on a lush reading of "The Closer I Get to You" and Busta Rhymes hopping aboard a thumping cover of Bill Withers's "Lovely Day" that includes a "Part II." Also helping out with the heavy lifting are Queen Latifah on the snappy "Hit It Again" with its crackling rhythms, and bad girl Foxy Brown, who brings plenty of attitude to the sassy "If It Ain't One Thing." For all the celebrity cameos, Vandross is most successful when he masterfully changes gears into his guise as pop's premier balladeer. With his velvety croon, this New York City native reminisces about better times on the wistful "Once Were Lovers" (featuring a moving Stevie Wonder harmonica solo) and also delivers the heartfelt title track, a self-described career song dedicated to Vandross's late father. |
Engineer: Gabriel Varde; "You Can Ask" Giz; Marcus Miller; Ray Bardani; Stan Wallace |
Musical Guests | | Stevie Wonder | | Cissy Houston | | Queen Latifah | | Foxy Brown | | Busta Rhymes | | Beyonce Knowles |
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