The Unfamous Luther Vandross

Did Miller just play bass or did he have some producer-ish role?

Hey Rob, I picked this up for $0.25 at Monday's record fair, and I plan on playing it out Friday night.

Whatchu know about that?!

Yes sir...stocked up on plenty of hits and some weird things I have no clue about at that table.

(we should move this offlist if it goes further)

Wow, i didn't see that coming!

This has a decent bio (well, comparatively) -- I didn't know he had anything to do with Hi-Gloss. And I have no idea what the band "Roundtree" is...

This is my "awww" moment for the day.

Sorry, Amateurist, that wasn't directed at you in any sort've mean way. It just buckling against the widely-held perception that I'm simply some sort've one-dimensional, cross-burning cartoon character. It might be largely my own fault, I suppose, but I can't help it that most of my favorite artists happen to not be black. This doesn't mean I don't like any black artists. Anyway. Whatever. Luther's great. I also like him because he apparently snubbed En Vogue when they opened for him (though En Vogue are light years better than, say, Destiny's Child).

My brain must really be messing with me to make that association from this post after forgetting about it completely for - jeez - at least two years now.

But yeah, too bad he didn't make it to the second Change record where it got a little more uptempo.

"let's think about a career
we can both be an engineer,
or learn about the atmosphere!

Hit the road, jack!
They've got the knack, it's clear...
they're on the right track to a career!"

Some time ago, I managed to find an early-'70s single on the Maxwell label by Listen My Brother, the choral group that Luther was a member of, around '69-70 (they appeared on a couple of early episodes of SESAME STREET). The single isn't that great, and Vandross' voice doesn't really stand out.
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"I don't suppose any of you remember luther doing saturday morning cartoon PSAs (a la School House Rock) about choosing a career path? with an afro-ed Luther in a yellow shirt and blue pants, dancing and singing?"
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CIJIMMCBRIDE, if you're still out there, around what year did those ads run? (Somehow, I don't remember those either...)

Yeah, that Bionic Boogie track is pretty great (as are their albums), but I still think Change's "Glow Of Love" is my favorite early Vandross, too.

Looks like nobody talked about this one below yet; these posts are all from last years "Buy That For A Dollar" thread, where I talked about buying this album for $2 in Greenpoint Brooklyn last summer:

1. New York City Band New York City Band (American International Records, 1979 -- not a real band, I'm guessing, and if it is, I doubt they look as tough as the multi-racial tough '70s NYC guys on the back cover, but still -- apparently Joey Travolta made a movie in 1979 that I never heard of until now called Sunnyside, which is also the name of the neighborhood I live in in Queens, and this the movie's soundtrack. How bad can it be if they cover "Bo Diddley" on it? Pretty bad, I know, but still, I was curious and could not pass it up)

Also, it apparently only played in theatres for three days, and the soundtrack is supposed to be one of Luther Vandross's first albums as a lead singer

2. New York City Band is good! Especially when Luther is singing! Though I have no idea when Sunnyside was the "ghetto" he says it is in that song; I always thought it was a working class Irish bedroom 'hood! I really want to see the movie now, though.

3. Or, maybe only good when Luther is singing. Though the mostly instrumental disco version of "Bo Diddley" can be lived with, I suppose. (And I still haven't decided how good the Luther stuff is. I may just be a pushover due to the Sunnyside angle.)

Second side (the one that ends with "Sunnyside") is actually really good, to my ears. Reminds me of a grittier version of his later work with the band Change. Not that good, but still good. Meaning "not as good as Change." But turns out I like most of the first side, too -- the Bo Diddley cover is cool, and I like when the rock/metal guitar takes over "Ride That Wave." "Got To Have Your Body" is about as awful as its title suggests, though.