Never Too Much Luther Vandross , released on August 12, 1981, by Epic Records . Mostly composed by Vandross himself, the album reached number 19 on the US Billboard 200Top 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]
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] Robert Christgau wrote about the album: "In music as tactful as this, where so much of the meaning is carried on the skip and flow of rhythm and timbre, songwriting doesn't matter all that much. So Vandross can attach tropes like "sugar and spice" and "she's a super lady" to undistinguished melodies and make me like them. But when his touch is just a little off, the great hit single you've just heard (or at least the good one that's sure to follow) seems almost as forgettable as the loser he's singing."[ 4]
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
^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" . Rolling Stone ^ a b Never Too Much at AllMusic ^ Kot, Greg (1993-10-03). "The Best Of Vandross On Record" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2013-04-03 . ^ a b 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 ISBN 9780679737285 ^ "Never Too Much - Luther Vandross | Credits" . AllMusic .^ "Luther Vandross Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard ^ "Luther Vandross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" . Billboard ^ "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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