Most of the members of
Luther had deep and shared histories when they released the first of their two albums. Namesake and leader
Luther Vandross,
Diane Sumler,
Anthony Hinton, and
Robin Clark started singing together in 1966 and were part of
Listen My Brother, a workshop ensemble featured in early seasons of Sesame Street.
Vandross' group signed with
Avco Embassy in 1973. The deal didn't result in any commercial recordings, but they kept at it as they did assorted background work -- most famously lending credibility to
David Bowie's
Young Americans, a gig they landed through
Listen My Brother associate
Carlos Alomar -- and they eventually seized a new opportunity with the
Cotillion label. By the time
Luther recorded their self-titled debut,
Clark had left and was replaced with
Christine Wiltshire, and
Theresa Reed was added to make them a five-member vocal group. There's no doubting that this is
Vandross' thing -- he's the sole writer and producer and either fronts or shares the lead on every song, and the high level of finesse in the vocal arrangements sure sounds like his work. (The great
Paul Riser is the only credited arranger.) Although
Never Too Much is rightly considered
Vandross' true debut and breakthrough, this is an accomplished first step. Both singles reached the upper half of Billboard's R&B chart. Opener and number 34 R&B hit "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)" isn't exactly "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker," but only a sourpuss could deny its joyousness; when
Luther performed the song on the
Young Americans tour, it caught
Bowie's attention, and he reworked it as "Fascination." "It's Good for the Soul," the other single, persuasively encourages indulgence though a winding and layered groove driven in part by guitarist
Alomar and keyboardist
Nat Adderley, Jr., another
Listen My Brother player and long-term creative partner. The consoling "The 2nd Time Around," one of two songs here that
Vandross reworked over a decade later, charted as the B-side of "Funky Music" and showed that he could be a sneaky-powerful balladeer and an effective jingle writer. Another noteworthy deep cut is "Everybody Rejoice," a lively number given an even more exultant group-vocal treatment for
The Wiz (as "A Brand New Day," introduced on the theatrical version by
Vandross). After
Cotillion deleted both
Luther albums,
Vandross acquired the rights to them. They remained out of print until 2024, when his estate arranged a licensing deal. ~ Andy Kellman