Soiree [CD]

Easily overlooked at the time: a rare gem of early developing superstar and almost superstar artists: Luther Vandross, Ron Richardson, Kleeer's Norman Durham and Woody Cunningham, Sharon Redd, Jocelyn Brown, Melvin Sparks and those gorgeous Arthur Clark strings - all dynamically rearranging a host of R&B and POP standards in a Disco/Dance style. Not as corny or limiting as you might suspect - as there is enough genuine genius going on here to rescue what could be seen as a lame disco cash-in and instead turning it into a proto-remixed/reimagined project filled with top musicians! It all comes across very nicely in that style popularized on the Bionic Boogie albums by mixer Godfrey Diamond and vocal arrangements by Luther Vandross. Don't believe what the credits say, that Luther only sings on one track. He is very much ALL OVER this record - giving the same sort of quality soulful kick he gave to Mascara, New York City Band or Change!