I must confess, Luther's last CD "Dance With My Father" was the first time I did not rush out and buy it. I own everything else!! I bought this CD hoping to relive the magic of Luther's concert and like others, hoping that I will be able to see him perform live again.

I was not disappointed. If you are a Luther fan, this CD is a must!!! If you never have seen a concert, here is an inexpensive way to get a taste of what you hear. Luther has been my favorite vocalist since the early 80s and this CD rekindled all these years oflistening to his vocal art. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!!

The best way to appreciate what Luther -- and his band, OH MY GOD let's please not forget that magnificent band -- has done in this live-recorded CD is to go back and listen to the studio versions of each song, particularly his classic ballads.

When an true artist finally gets around to recording a live CD (and all TRUE artists eventually do!) you hope that he or she will bring a new interpretation of their material and not just sing it verbatim to what they recorded in the studio.

Then there's always that overriding fear when someone releases a live CD they'll be exposed for the fraud they truly are.

Not LV.

He's one of the a select few that actually sounds BETTER live than when he's "augmented" with electronics in a studio. And he NEVER performs his songs the same way twice -- a hallmark of creativity, ingenuity, and skill. Of course, he's been at it a very long time so anything less than perfection would be unacceptable...and perfection is what you get on this disk.

I'll agree with what I've seen in other reviews. The atmosphere on this CD is so intimate that you're completely unaware at times it's being recorded live.

Take Superstar, for example. Everybody familiar with his original version of this song knows it's the vamping/ad-libbing that he does near the end that transforms it from a story of lost love to one of subtle sexuality and seduction. Well, if you thought what he did on the original version was captivating, you will not believe what he does on this live version. With the help of angelic background singers (which are absent during the vamp on the studio version), a near perfect "bass drum" level and pacing (at the same level as the studio version but a much slower pacing!!), and his ability to stretch a harmonic phrase to its breaking point make this one of the most beautiful R&B ballads you'll likely hear in your lifetime. He does three falsetto passes just near the end that will absolutely melt your soul and send shivers down your spine. I guarantee it.

You could right a review like that for each song on the CD but his ballads steal the show by a long shot. You will be transformed after you hear them. Again, I guarantee it.

2003 is the year of the live CD. From Coldplay to Floetry, everybody is getting their live discs out in the fall to rack up pre-Holiday sales. But to call Luther Vandross' "Live at Radio City Music Hall" a mere cash-in would be a severe miscalculation. It's a thoroughly enjoyable 75 minute performance that proves, once again, Vandross is THE man to beat in the game of r&b. If singing live is the ultimate measure of vocal talent, then Luther passes with flying colors. "Live at Radio City Music Hall" cruises through older material as well as his hits from his last two studio albums. While the set omits a few personal favorites ("Don't You Know That" and "Since I've Lost My Baby"), it does include stellar renditions of "Never Too Much," "Stop to Love," "Superstar," and the oft-sampled finale, the classic "Glow of Love." Luther's delivery on these songs is just as good in concert as they are in the studio, and they stand tall as classic samples of old-fashioned r&b stripped of glitter and overproduction. "Live at Radio City Music Hall" is a standard by which all live CDs should follow

Due to various injustices suffered throughout my life, I am a self-proclaimed atheist/agnostic and have been so as long as I can remember.

I tell you no lie when I say that somewhere among 'Love Won't Let Me Wait', 'Superstar', and 'A House is not a Home' I have once again rediscovered my religion. There's no guaruntee it'll stay with me so while I have it and before I offer my review of the new CD, let me share with you an internal mental memo I plan on sending to God in the very near future:

Dear GOD,

Signed,

Then I thought to myself, wait a minute. HE can't be a vengeful GOD -- at least HE allowed Luther to complete this CD just before he fell ill, right?? Right??!!

So while I continue to struggle with this dilemma, allow me to throw a few numbers at you: 7 minutes, 31 seconds; 10 minutes, 25 seconds; and, the mother of them all, a whopping 12 minutes, 49 seconds!!!

Now if you're a true fan of soul/R&B, those numbers probably won't mean alot to you because they represent the playing times of the three aforementioned ballads on the new CD and, let's face it, you're lucky to get 5 minutes out of a song on a typical CD these days!!

Let's also face it that you're only need to be concerned about the ballads on this disk. While EVERY SINGLE SONG, including the mid/up-tempos, are worthy of honorable mention, it's the delivery of his classic ballads (not the newer ones) that will truly alter your state of mental being.

There are moments on this CD - especially on 'Superstar' - when the audience is so quiet as a sign of respect and in anticipation of what Luther might do next that you're completely unware that it is a live concert taped in the middle of Radio City Music Hall!! As good as the studio version of this song is, it pales by comparison to this one. The pace and delivery of his vamping near the end is so syrupy and deliberate that it'll totally disrupt your breathing pattern if you're not careful!! And it's an almost incredible 13 minutes long!!!

More of the same on 'Love Won't Let Me Wait' and 'A House is not a Home', including incredible performances by the backup singers and rhythm section, who set a perfect pace and compliment Luther to a tee. The soprano sax accompaniment on "Love Won't..." is a particularly good standout.

It's amazing when you think these are the same songs previously recorded in the studio yet the style in which Luther and his band deliver them makes them feel totally new.

Everything from his interactions with the crowd to his "attaboys and attagirls" to his band when they emotionally move him with a particular instrumental passage or phrase is done with ultimate class and style.

So, GOD, if you're listening get busy, you've got alot of work to do.

I second Gerald Levert's thoughts from his liner notes on his own new CD: Luther, get better. We need you out here.

The more I listened to him, the more I appreciated his ability to sing a song and tell his stories through his music.

I will miss him without end. Thank You for your time on this earth and for giving the message of Love through your song's.

With deepest respect,

God Bless You and Your Family.

Tyrone G. (P-Way, NJ)