Luther Vandross

I have owned this cd for years....I had to order a new one this year because the other one got worn out. I have played this music every year for Christmas and my kids (who are now adults) always say it's not Christmas until mom plays Luther! I love ALL of his music and own everythihg he's ever recorded...it is so sad to me that he's no longer with us making his beautiful music...though I'm sure God is loving having him in heaven. What a gift his talent is...truly amazing!

Wonderful Christmas album! Luther VanDross always added a special touch to anything he sang, and made the ordinary extraordinary.

This product is a re-released version of Luther Vandross's 1995 Christmas album "This Is Christmas." In the mid-90s, it seemed that every high-profile R&B act was releasing Christmas albums for a quick buck, but this is truly one of the very best. With ten songs, seven are originals written by Luther, so it makes for a very memorable listen among a sea of generic albums with nearly identical tracklists. "This Is Christmas" does not explore the Christian side of Christmas (the only song that even mentions Christ is his performance of "O Come All Ye Faithful"), but songs are split between one of two types: the slow Christmas love ballads and the upbeat Christmas party tunes. Production is wonderful throughout, often simple and consisting of well-written piano parts. The songs are both well-written and often catchy, quite memorable, which in my mind are all great signs of a good Christmas song. Guests are minimal, only one duet exists among the tracklist. I highly recommend "This Is Christmas," one of my favorite Christmas albums.

The disc opens with "With a Christmas Heart," a slow and dramatic piece about the power of love at Christmas. He delivers a truly inspiring performance here. The title tune isn't quite as good but is another keeper, slow and thoughtful. You'll love "The Mistletoe Jam (Everybody Kiss Somebody)," a fast and funky party-starter that reflects Luther at his best. "Every Year, Every Christmas" is a classic ballad about a man's Christmas feelings after a breakup, it's excellent. He sings his own upbeat interpretation of John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things," then moves into a wonderful version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." My favorite song on this album is "I Listen to the Bells," a cleverly written pop duet with Darlene Love. The two trade off lines over a fast, soaring track about a Christmas breakup. Clarence Clemons of E-Street Band fame makes an appearance on saxophone. "Please Come Home for Christmas" and "A Kiss for Christmas" don't stand out quite as much, but are both pretty good, and his performance of "O Come All Ye Faithful" is just short of stunning, with old-fashioned production.

This album gets non-stop rotation from me every year around Christmas, and it's a really fun holiday record. I highly recommend it to those Christians who love Luther and 90s R&B.

I had gotten the cassette a long time ago, but needed the CD. I love all the songs and know them by heart. This the best Christmas CD I have and no one comes close to Luther. Please don't wait to get this. You'll enjoy it all year long.

This Christmas CD is so relaxing to listen to. You can feel Christmas in your heart as Luther sings the lyrics. This is a must to add to your collection, you won't be disappointed. My absolute favorite song is "Every year, Every Christmas".

This is an alright product but not as good as I thought it would be.

Luther can do no wrong. He puts a special spin on these songs. They really inspire and motivate throughout the holidays. Wrap those gifts and bake a little with Luther in the midst....

I had high hopes for Luther's Christmas CD. Not great...I got weary of it after the second song.

As with any Luther VanDross Cd, this one was fabulous. Most of his greatest hits were on it, with the exeption of just a couple. All in all,
I would recommend this CD to all Luther fans.

This is an excellent CD. It has most of my favorite Luther songs on it. I love it.

This CD is a terrific collection of some of his best songs, with one great classic after another and it's put together well.

It arrived in excellent condition - sealed, although for the shipping fee rate I would have expected it a little sooner.

I was never really a Luther Vandross fan because my sister played him so much. I do have to say that this is a Great CD and he was a wonderful singer. I would buy more of his CD's.

Good product. Speedy delivery. Good and immediate contact from merchant/seller upon order confirmation, shipping, etc.

I love it! This is the only L. Vandross music that I have, but it is a great collection. I miss his beautiful voice and this brings back memories: those of hearing his songs on the radio on a regular basis and the memories of parents who are longer with us and how he expresses his love for them.

luther vandross was and is the only ultimate love doctor that i have known and his music says it all. he was a legend in this life and hopefully in his current life. RIP luther.

Luther is an awesome artist...this CD is a great compilation of his greatest hits from his beginning to his end. I think there was only one song that I wasn't familiar with.

You just can't go wrong with having a Luther Vandross CD in your collection. This one is beautiful!

I bought this as a wedding anniversary present for my husband. It was one of the best purchase that I made. The collection is amazing the only thing I do not like is the fact that one CD had a commercial. Will recommend buyin.

Excellent. I didn't know that he had written so many of the songs that I grew up listening to. It's an awesome compilation. A wonderdul piece to remember Luther Vandross by.

I bought this as a birthday present for my sister, and she absolutely adores it! If you love music, especially music by Luther Vandross, this is well worth the investment for the price--four cds of nothing but Luther Vandross plus a book about his life. My sister has not been able to put it down yet, and she keeps the discs right next to her bed!

It is VERY hard to find his earlier song, "She Loves Me Back" on a CD, and since that's my all-time favorite Luther song, I think this box set is worth it for that alone. I tend to favor his earlier recordings even more than his later songs, so I appreciate that this song was included on here. That said, any Luther fan will enjoy all of these songs, of course, in one neat package.

Anything 'Luther' pleases me, and "Love, Luther" did not disappoint me. The personal information about this fantastic artist was informative, funny, poignant, and insightful. Thank you for making this Luther collection available to me!

The songs that are listed on the the web page for disc 2; NONE of the songs were on that disc. I am disappointed in the false advertisement of this cd, there is NO "creepin", "if only for one night",or "dance with my father".The Essential Luther Vandross

I had the best of love 1 and 2 and they were on cassette,out of date.This was the perfect replacement for the 2 cassettes

this really is the essential luther set! my only complaint is that a couple of the songs (like superstar and a house is not a home) are not in their entirety in this collection. other than that, it's a great cd.

I can't give this a perfect 5 because although the tracks picked are all excellent, the versions aren't always full.

I purchased this CD as a gift and they loved it!! CD arrived on time and in great condition!

This is a great CD. I lost my father to lung cancer this year, and this CD was perfect. Luther is just what I needed.

I loved the Dance with my father CD It is lovely. Each time i listen to the song I want to cry all over again.

I would tell every one about it.

Luther Vandross took 2003 by storm with the release of a song entitled "Dance with My Father." Music lovers used to revel when Luther released new music, and that juncture in 2003 was no different. "Dance with My Father" was the story of how he misses his father and wishes he had more time to spend with him before he passed on. Ironically, Luther passed not long after he released this song and album (which have the same title.) Personally, I love the song. There is an undeniable realness and sincerity he puts into his vocals.

The album? As a unit, this album is good, but not great. There are, however, some memorable numbers on here, but after taking a count, I only came up with five, and that is not enough to give this album a five star rating. It has quite a few guest appearances, and although I really like Busta Rhymes, Queen Latifah and Foxy Brown, I don't feel that they added anything to the album. Too many guest appearances show insecurity, and WHY would Luther have felt insecure? He's the best balladeer of our time for goodness sake! Beyonce' is featured here, too, but she did a wonderful job with "The Closer I Get to You" (although she tried to out-sing Luther, but isn't that always the case?) This ballad is one of the strongest songs on the album partly because it's a remake and the original is a classic and partly because they executed this number magnificently. "If I Didn't Know Better" is a song about two friends. The woman is in a relationship with someone else but Luther feels like she gives him subtle hints that she wants to be with him. Interesting to listen to. Bother versions of "Lovely Day" are lackluster. I see what Luther tried to do, but it just didn't work for me. "If it Ain't One Thing" is another weak moment. The melody of the hook remind us of old Luther, but the song is a bit too "hip hop." I really love "Buy Me a Rose" because its very sweet. It's about a woman who feels that her man isn't giving her enough attention, so he does little things for her like buy her roses.

Although this isn't a five star album, I still suggest you purchase it because it is worth picking up. Luther is a legend. When comparing this album to his best works, though, this is some of his weaker material. "Here and Now", "Any Love", "Your Secret Love", "Never too Much"; truly some of the best songs in history, and this album doesn't quite have that much staying power.

Mikeisha's Top 5

1. "Dance With My Father"
2. "Buy Me a Rose"
3. "The Closer I Get to You"
4. "If I Didn't Know Better"
5. "Think About You"

The Title Cut will make the best of the best tear up. With this last album (We have been told there are several Unreleased Luther Tracks that Sony & J Records are sitting on) Luther was stepping into new areas of Soul/R&B & Hip-Hop. No longer being labeled as a Ballad Singer there are several Uptempo/Dance Tracks (Some including Rappers), but this album is filled with Solid-Hit-Bound Tracks from the start to the finish! Key Cuts: EACH AND EVERY ONE!!!

If you are a great fan of Luther, you MUST have this CD...his last project before he left us! Listen to his career song - Dance with my father and you would definitely cry!

This is a must have CD for Luther fans. His rendition of A house is not a home is so beautiful, much better than the studio version (in my opinion). Miss him much, a voice like an angel who now sings with the angels I'm sure.

For all true Luther fans and anyone that has never seen Luther Live, this is the ULTIMATE compilation of hits. I LOVE IT! I have one for the house and one for the Truck.

I live in a little village in a small country many thousand miles away from Luther. But from the first day I listened to him singing the song 'Here and Now' many years ago, he has remained My Number One.No male vocalist today can match the sheer talent he was gifted with.

And I especially treasure this 'live album' because I never had the chance to see him perform on stage.Disappointed initially that it wasn't made into a music video, I found that with no visual distractions, the senses are more alert to every word, every pause, every scream in the crowd.To just hear him talk was thrilling. And I was laughing at his jokes!

This album is like Luther's musical history. Opening with 'Never Too Much', the song which catapulted him to fame, then a slower version of 'Here and Now' and then sharing some jokes with Kevin Owens and his
background singers before continuing with the seductive 'Take You Out'.
The ballads 'Love Won't Let Me Wait' and 'superstar' are stunningly beautifully ( there won't be enough adjectives to describe them ) sung as only Luther can do.

The audience was screaming ' We love you Luther' throughout the performance and I felt like doing the same too.By the time he had finished 'If Only For One Night', 'A House Is Not A Home' and 'Glow Of Love' and said "goodnight everybody, thanks for coming" , I was left speechless and breathless as if I was sitting right there in the audience.

It's been two years since he's been gone but he's still My Number One.

I've always loved Luther, although I wouldn't consider myself a fanatic.
Suffice it to say I've enjoyed MOST of his output. Vocally, he is the
last of the great male R&B vocalists, IMHO. No one since has come close
to his silky, sensitive yet powerful vocalizing. That said, I think this
CD stands as one of LV's very best. It has everything you want in a
live CD: great sound, great song selection, AMAZING vocals and that vibe
that makes you wish you'd been there that night. I highly recommend it
to Luther fans everywhere. Listen to the soundclips and see for yourself.
We miss you Luther, and we'll never forget you!

This is ok. For some reason of allmy Luther, this wasnt as Great as i expected. Could be longer with more songs and is about an 80%.
I expected more just looking at the cover.
Not Bad, just Not as Super as I ecpected. Buy the Wembly Stadium Live show Its Just what you want and Superb Live.

i ordered two cd's which came in perfect condtion. luther van dross is the singer. i have always recieved a good product from amazon.

There are plenty LV compilations out there,but I've had this one since it was released.And it sounds pretty good to me.I could complain about this song or that song not being on here but instead I'll talk about what IS here.This collection was released in 1989 so it covers LV 1981-1989.A couple of Change tracks from 1980 make it 1980-1989.
Can you honestly look at the song listing above and say something like "Yuck,that don't sound like it's right..." Yeah,right.

In closing I'll say this:Of the 20 tracks,the weakest selection in my opinion is "Treat You Right".Next to the other 19 tracks,it's a litle lacking.

LV:
RIP

I bought this CD for my dad for Christmas and he loved it! It's such a good price for the amount of songs on it.

I purchased this used and it arrived in about 5 days - it was in very good condition. Would purchase again from this vendor.

The death of Marvin Gaye left a hole in the R&B community that has never been filled, and R&B has been in decline ever since. Babyface is frankly too effeminate to step up; Luther Vandross was our best hope. Vandross was irrefutably male, had a great voice, and possessed amazing sensitivity. Unfortunately he was the victim of inconsistent material and goopy overproduction. This 2-CD anthology demonstrates the syndrome, when it's good, it's frighteningly good, but it's frequently bad and sometimes awful.

The cover of Marvin Gaye's If This World Were Mine sounds like it's on Quaaludes, simply soporific. The same could be said of Superstar, which is a dreadful song to begin with and here is stretched to the point where you're begging it to stop. A House Is Not A Home is equally slow, but the production is sparse and Vandross is free to nurse the genuine emotion from it. The jewel on Disk One is `Til My Baby Comes Home, good funk and purpose. Disk Two provides much more to be happy about. Stop To Love cooks, So Amazing is a three-hankie masterpiece, Give Me A Reason is one of those satisfying feeling-bitter kickers, and Any Love has a beautiful, anthemic quality. In short, this two-CD anthology embodies Luther's career perfectly. With better management and material Vandross really could have deserved a 2-CD Best Of anthology. As it is, what you have here is enough material to fill a superb single CD Best Of anthology. As far as I'm concerned, that still makes it a value, and well worth getting.

I have owned this cd for years....I had to order a new one this year because the other one got worn out. I have played this music every year for Christmas and my kids (who are now adults) always say it's not Christmas until mom plays Luther! I love ALL of his music and own everythihg he's ever recorded...it is so sad to me that he's no longer with us making his beautiful music...though I'm sure God is loving having him in heaven. What a gift his talent is...truly amazing!

Wonderful Christmas album! Luther VanDross always added a special touch to anything he sang, and made the ordinary extraordinary.

This product is a re-released version of Luther Vandross's 1995 Christmas album "This Is Christmas." In the mid-90s, it seemed that every high-profile R&B act was releasing Christmas albums for a quick buck, but this is truly one of the very best. With ten songs, seven are originals written by Luther, so it makes for a very memorable listen among a sea of generic albums with nearly identical tracklists. "This Is Christmas" does not explore the Christian side of Christmas (the only song that even mentions Christ is his performance of "O Come All Ye Faithful"), but songs are split between one of two types: the slow Christmas love ballads and the upbeat Christmas party tunes. Production is wonderful throughout, often simple and consisting of well-written piano parts. The songs are both well-written and often catchy, quite memorable, which in my mind are all great signs of a good Christmas song. Guests are minimal, only one duet exists among the tracklist. I highly recommend "This Is Christmas," one of my favorite Christmas albums.

The disc opens with "With a Christmas Heart," a slow and dramatic piece about the power of love at Christmas. He delivers a truly inspiring performance here. The title tune isn't quite as good but is another keeper, slow and thoughtful. You'll love "The Mistletoe Jam (Everybody Kiss Somebody)," a fast and funky party-starter that reflects Luther at his best. "Every Year, Every Christmas" is a classic ballad about a man's Christmas feelings after a breakup, it's excellent. He sings his own upbeat interpretation of John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things," then moves into a wonderful version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." My favorite song on this album is "I Listen to the Bells," a cleverly written pop duet with Darlene Love. The two trade off lines over a fast, soaring track about a Christmas breakup. Clarence Clemons of E-Street Band fame makes an appearance on saxophone. "Please Come Home for Christmas" and "A Kiss for Christmas" don't stand out quite as much, but are both pretty good, and his performance of "O Come All Ye Faithful" is just short of stunning, with old-fashioned production.

This album gets non-stop rotation from me every year around Christmas, and it's a really fun holiday record. I highly recommend it to those Christians who love Luther and 90s R&B.

I had gotten the cassette a long time ago, but needed the CD. I love all the songs and know them by heart. This the best Christmas CD I have and no one comes close to Luther. Please don't wait to get this. You'll enjoy it all year long.

This Christmas CD is so relaxing to listen to. You can feel Christmas in your heart as Luther sings the lyrics. This is a must to add to your collection, you won't be disappointed. My absolute favorite song is "Every year, Every Christmas".