Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II is a tribute album to Luther Vandross, who died in 2005 at the age of 54, possibly due to complications from an earlier stroke. All the songs on the album had previously been recorded by Vandross, so some will sound familiar to listeners. There is a mix of instrumentals and vocal arrangements, up-tempo tunes and soulful ballads, each song featuring a different artist.
The CD starts off with an enthusiastic version of "Give Me The Reason," with Kirk Whalum on tenor, alto and soprano sax, followed by a nice interchange of Norman Brown’s guitar and Everette Harp’s sax on "‘Till My Baby Comes Home." The next three tunes, "There’s Nothing Better Than Love," "For You To Love" and "If This World Were Mine," pursue a mellow groove. The music then picks up the tempo in "The Glow of Love." Then we head back to mellow with "So Amazing" sung by Patti Austin. "The Night I Fell In Love" falls into nice groove, followed by some smooth vocals and guitar work by Jonathan Butler, who sounds a lot like Stevie Wonder on "Don’t Want To Be A Fool." The CD ends with a nice version of the familiar "Superstar."
I recommend this CD for someone planning a romantic evening at home.
