I enjoyed the late Luther's Van Dross' earlier, more soulful and less over-produced songs...such as "If Only For One Night," and "Never Too Much," but he started losing me as he produced more and more covers of Burt Bacharach tunes, and 1960s pop music. He had gotten too smooth, and too polished to retain his soulful funkaciousness (a Lingovation). I was a fan, but not a very faithful one.
Gregory Hines (now passed on), a fabulous tap dancer and actor with an amazingly sweet mellifluous voice (which was too seldom heard), sang a unique and stunningly beautiful duet with Luther called "Nothing Better Than Love." Their solo verses complement each other, and their voices in counterpoint harmony are heavenly. I listened to this song every single day, several times each day, for more than a month before I could listen to any of the other songs of the CD. Sometimes I hungered for the isolated holiness of the song so much that, if I were interrupted by a call on my cellular phone, or by some rapid maneuvering in traffic, I would re-start the song just to savor its sweetness and delicacy from the very, very beginning.
Has that ever happened to you?
Enjoy this wonderful song, with its amazing outpouring of heartfelt emotion and angelic harmonies. What a duet. Luther....Gregory...you are both profoundly missed. And by the way, Luther, you really brought my heart back around when you released "Dance With My Father." Thank you for renewing my faith.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CoyGHJjTok
RadioDAZZ recalls the 1980s.
The music of the 1980s was just an ambient part of my life; I was busy trying to build a career, make a fortune, seek approval (often, through desperate means) from members of the opposite sex; teach college and maintain a potentially (in retrospect) pre-cancerous tan. Yet, even though the music was not foveal (as it had been for me in the 1970s and the 1960s), it was always there, albeit peripherally...the background to the movie of my life. I under-rated and under-appreciated it.
I missed out on The Thompson Twins, Eddie Money, Soft Cell, U2, We B 40, Foreigner, Bryan Adams, Joan Jett, Mr. Mister, REM, Paul Young, Howard Jones, Pet Shop Boys, Oingo Boingo, Squeeze, Mr. Big, New Order, The Monroes, Suzanne Vega, Modern English, Bad Company, Aha, Belinda Carlisle (sp?), John Cougar Mellencamp, The Clash, Big Pig, Prince, Blondie (Debbie Harry), The Pretenders, Crowded House, Styx, Kansas, The Go Gos, Bad Company and a host of others, including disco stuff (late 1970s to early 1980s) that deserves a room of its own -- and its own atmosphere of glitter, ear-splitting pump, Southern Comfort, shots at the bar (no guns, just drinking fools) the smells of hairspray, perfume and drugstore aftershave... (sigh)...what a heady melange [that's French!]
There wasn't a great deal of funk in the 80s. The bass was being replaced by some casio keyboardist's left hand. Drums were shallow or tinny. Video performances were taking the ears out of the music and putting the money in the hands of the cosmetologists. But some of the songs were grabbers. And there were some truly powerful guitar and keyboard riffs. Truly.
Here goes DAZZ - trying to make up for his sorrowful neglect of a decade. Yep... http://RadioDazz.blogspot.com
Well...that's enough about me.
Radio DAZZ!
Please VISIT us and make us a FAVORITE at http://RadioDAZZ.blogspot.com
Again: "There's Nothing Better Than Love." Luther....Gregory...you are both profoundly missed. And by the way, Luther, you really brought my heart back around when you released "Dance With My Father." Thank you for renewing my faith. You are always missed: Luther Van Dross and Gregory Hines, R.I.P. - RadioDAZZ
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