Luther Vandross - Ultimate Luther Vandross (CD)

All Music Guide

The replacement for an identically titled disc released just five years prior, the 2006 version of The Ultimate Luther Vandross swaps out some of the earlier cuts contained on the 2001 version in favor of later material, such as "Dance with My Father" and his and Beyoncé's version of "The Closer I Get to You." What's baffling is that it leaves out some major hits in favor of a pair of previously unreleased tracks (including the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewisproduced, Chicsampling "Shine"), both of which are frontloaded in the sequence. So, bizarrely enough, the disc has a funny way of catering toward completists as well as slightly less serious fans who stopped buying Vandross albums after 1998's I Know. Though this is the best singledisc compilation available in the U.S. (as of 2006, at least), you really need something more extensive, such as Epic/Legacy's The Essential Luther Vandross, a twodisc set released in 2003.

- Andy Kellman, All Music Guide