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1981 studio album by Luther Vandross
Never Too Much is the debut solo studio album by American singer
Luther Vandross , released on August 12, 1981, by
Epic Records . Mostly composed by Vandross himself, the album reached number 19 on the US
Billboard 200 and number one on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been certified double platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Never Too Much earned Vandross two
Grammy Award nominations in
1982 , including
Best New Artist and
Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male .
The album's
title track topped the
Black Singles chart for two weeks. Vandross's rendition of
Dionne Warwick 's 1964 song "
A House Is Not a Home " became one of his signature songs, and received attention for its transformation into an "epic", since its duration was extended to seven minutes. In 2020, the album was ranked number 362 on
Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time .
[1]
Critical reception
AllMusic editor Craig Lytle found that Never Too Much featured "one outstanding song after another. Vandross concocts a bouncy, vibrant flow on his up-tempo numbers and an intimate, emotional connection on his moderate grooves and his lone ballad [...] This is one of the better R&B albums of the early '80s."
[2]
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from
AllMusic .
[6]
Performers and musicians
Luther Vandross – lead vocals, vocal arrangements, rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7), backing vocals (1, 3-6), arrangements (4), song arrangements (7)
Nat Adderley, Jr. – keyboards (1–7), rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5, 6), arrangements (4), backing vocals (4, 5)
Ed Walsh – synthesizers (2, 4)
Georg Wadenius – guitar (1, 2, 3, 7)
Steve Love – guitar (3–6)
Marcus Miller – bass (1–7)
Anthony Jackson – bass (7)
Buddy Williams – drums (1–7)
Errol "Crusher" Bennett – percussion (1, 4, 5, 7), congas (4)
Bashiri Johnson – congas (1, 2), percussion (2, 5)
Billy King – congas (3, 5, 6)
Paul Riser – horn arrangements (2, 5), string arrangements (2, 3, 5)
Gary King – arrangements (4)
Leon Pendarvis – string arrangements (6, 7), horn arrangements (7)
Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (1–6)
Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals (1, 2)
Cissy Houston – backing vocals (1, 2)
Yvonne Lewis – backing vocals (1, 2)
Sybil Thomas – backing vocals (1, 2)
Brenda White King – backing vocals (1, 2)
Phillip Ballou – backing vocals (3–6)
Fonzi Thornton – vocal contractor, backing vocals (4, 5)
Norma Jean Wright – backing vocals (4, 5)
Technical
Producer – Luther Vandross
Executive producer – Larkin Arnold
Production coordination – Sephra Herman
Recorded and mixed by
Michael Brauer
Engineer – Carl Beatty
Assistant engineers – Lincoln Clapp, Andy Hoffman, Nicky Kalliongos, Gregg Mann and Don Wershba.
Mastered by
Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
Art direction – Karen Katz
Photography –
William Coupon
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
References
^
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" .
Rolling Stone . September 22, 2020.
^
a
b
Never Too Much at
AllMusic
^ Kot, Greg (1993-10-03).
"The Best Of Vandross On Record" .
Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2013-04-03 .
^
Christgau, Robert .
"CG: Luther Vandross" . RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-04-03 .
^ DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; Miller, Jim; George-Warren, Holly (February 14, 1992).
The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music . Random House.
ISBN
9780679737285 – via Google Books.
^
"Never Too Much - Luther Vandross | Credits" . AllMusic .
^
"Luther Vandross Chart History (Billboard 200)" .
Billboard . Retrieved August 21, 2018.
^
"Luther Vandross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved August 21, 2018.
^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved July 5, 2022.
^
"Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1982" . Billboard . Archived from
the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020 .
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End 1982" . Billboard . Archived from
the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2022 .
^
"American album certifications – Luther Vandross – Never Too Much" .
Recording Industry Association of America . January 29, 1997.
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