Luther Vandross Dance With My Father CD

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", Víctor 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 Beyoncé 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 tRolling Stone (6/26/03, p.72) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...He reinterprets pop and R&B classics masterfully, and his detailed lyrics give his own sleek ballads a lived-in presence..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/20/03, p.72) - "...The melding of old and new actually works..." - Rating: B