LUTHER VANDROSS

Personnel includes: Luther Vandross (vocals, arranger); Marcus Miller, Soulshock, Karlin, Shep Crawford (various instruments); Phil Hamilton (acoustic & electric guitars); Paul Jackson, Jr. (electric guitar); Babyface (guitar, background vocals); Jon Smith, Ira Siegal, Michael Thompson, Professa, Ricky Kenyarnz (guitar); Nat Adderly, Jr., Greg Phillinganes (piano); John "Skip" Anderson (keyboards, string synthesizer, bass); Fred Cash, Jr., Neil Stubenhaus (bass); Ivan Hampden, Harvey Mason, Jr. (drums); Bahiri Johnson (percussion); Jon B (programming, background vocals); Ron Lawrence, Reed Vertelney, Byron Miller (programming); Silky, Cindy Mizelle, Tawatha Agee, Cissy Houston, Paulette McWilliams (background vocals). Producers include: Warryn Campbell, Jon B, Kaygee, Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence, Luther Vandross. Engineers include: Paul Boutin, Adam Kudzin, Bill Malina. "Any Day Now" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. For his self-titled debut on J Records, Clive Davis's post-Arista venture, Luther Vandross manages to incorporate enough contemporary production touches to keep himself sounding current, without abandoning the old-school style that made him a star in the '80s. Vandross is the original R&B love man--he's been practicing his singular brand of soul and sensuality since most of today's mack daddies were in short pants, and his experience is apparent here. Instead of the full-on approach of an R. Kelly, Vandross is content to let his voice glide gently across a subtle bed of funky guitars and keyboards, issuing a quiet-but-confident invitation to love. The melodic hooks that are intrinsic to the album's arrangements (production chores are ably handled by Davis and Vandross) leap out just enough to pull the listener into the music. Once immersed in Luther's world, you'll likely be focused largely on the man's powerful voice and tasteful, emotive singing; that's what it's all about anyhow.