Luther Vandross final album before he passed away is a conflicting work. The title track is one of the most beautiful songs that has been released in a long time. However, the rest of the album is bogged down by an attempt to modernize Luther's classic sound by having him team up with a variety of different rappers.
Starting the album, "If I Didn't Know Better" is a soft, pleasant way to start the album. It doesn't do anything risky for Luther but its lyrics are nice and the song is catchy.
Continuing on, "Think About You" is a decent song in which Luther talks about how wonderful life feels when he thinks about the love of his life. The song doesn't really have much punch to it and can feel a bit repetitive but its still a nice number.
On the third track of the album, Luther introduces the presence of rappers on the album with "If It Ain't One Thing." The track features Foxy Brown and it manages to work okay for a while. However, Foxy's last verse on the track turns around the entire track's meaning and makes the song mesh poorly. As such, an okay song but a disappointment nonetheless.
The surprise of the album, "Buy Me A Rose" is absolutely wonderful. The song is beautiful with a nice chorus and loving verses. Making the song a classic, it evolves nicely in the final verse as Luther changes the message. Overall, a great song and the highlight of the album.
The fifth track on the album, "The Closer I Get To You," is difficult to rate. Critically, it has been praised as being a beautiful song and a great duet between two big wigs in R&B. However, I find the song boring. It'd be great for a nice candlelight dinner with a loved on but beyond that, I'll pass.
Following the duet with Beyonce, Luther does one with Busta Rhymes in "Lovely Day." A remake of the song by Bill Withers, the song is nothing special. The vocals are okay but the song really doesn't do anything impressive.
Of course, nothing else on the album matters after the seventh track, the title song "Dance With My Father" plays. The song is beautiful and always brings a tear to the eye. It's a shame Luther never had the chance to perform the song live but it is an incredible number that warrants a purchase on its own.
Unfortunately, the highlights of the album seem like flukes as "She Saw You" is another downer. The song doesn't have a rapper but it gets repetitive. It takes a while befor ethe song really starts and the chorus is really weird. The beat is annoying and frankly, the song is just bad.
"Apologize," the ninth track on the album, is pretty quiet and has a nice laid-back feel to it. The song does have much strength but it doesn't need to. It's easy to sing along to and an okay listen.
Joining up with Queen Latifah for the tenth track, "Hit It Again," is a mediocre uptempo track. It's an okay listen but it really lacks the Luther touch. During the track, he tries to convince his secretary that they should just stop working and make love all day. I can't help but say that I wonder if that was reflected in the creation of the album.
The eleventh track, "Right In The Middle," is another mediocre song. As the lyrics say, it's not all bad, it's not all good, it's right in the middle. It doesn't pull you in but it also never really bothers you. It's an okay song, nothing more.
Fortunately, "Once Were Lovers" manages to pick up some slack as it is a nice touching love song. Amidst most of the trash on the album, it features some really beautiful lines. The chorus is enjoyable and the song is easy to sing along to. Overall, a pleasant listen.
"Lovely Day," appears again as the thirteenth track on the album. The vocals are EXACTLY the same, but this time, there is a different beat. Why this was done is beyond me. Again, I bring up the idea that not much work was put into this album.
Closing things, "They Said You Needed Me" is another average song. It doesn't really grab you but it's an okay listen.
