Your Secret Love Explained
| Your Secret Love |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Luther Vandross |
| Cover: | Luther Vandross - Your Secret Love album cover.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | October 1, 1996 |
| Recorded: | October 1995–July 1996 |
| Studio: | Camel Island Studios (Los Angeles) |
| Length: | 60:14 |
| Label: |
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| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | This Is Christmas |
| Prev Year: | 1995 |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
Your Secret Love is the tenth studio album by American R&B singer Luther Vandross, released by Epic Records in October 1996. The album's title track won the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and was nominated for Best R&B Song at the 39th Grammy Awards in 1997. The album served as Vandross's final album under Epic Records after being part of the record label for fifteen years.
Critical reception
Greg Kot, writing for Chicago Tribune, noted that with Your Secret Love "Vandross' brilliance as the most artful soul singer of his time has never been more apparent. Your Secret Love is stuffed with ballads [...] Vandross keeps the tunes simmering, however, with a voice that never calls attention to its spectacular range but rather engages in a nuanced dialogue with his veteran musicians, backing vocalists and duet partners." AllMusic editor William Ruhlmann found that the album had "much in common with its predecessors. It is filled with midtempo love ballads in which Vandross emotes over tasteful R&B gospel arrangements, mostly writing his own songs, but also finding room for a couple of pop favorites [...] As steeped as he is in the nomenclature of R&B vocal expressionism, Vandross as usual sounds more self-involved than romantically devoted."
J.R.Reynolds from Billboard wrote that Your Secret Love "demonstrates a practiced versatility via trademark style tracks, an obligatory cover tune, a genre-bending song, and guest artists."[1] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly noted that the "latest batch of love songs are mostly serviceable, and the studio-musician sterility of the music makes nearly every track [...] seem interchangeable. Unrequited passion will always be in style, but Vandross needs to seduce some new sounds as desperately as he does the partners in his songs." The Advocates Barry Walters called Your Secret Love "the singer's most low-key, nearly snoozy album. He felt that "like most Vandross albums, Your Secret Love has its share of borrowed songs personalized by the singer's patented groans, croons, and cries."[2]
Personnel
- Luther Vandross – lead vocals, vocal arrangements, arrangements (1, 5, 8), backing vocals (6)
- Reed Vertelney – keyboards (1, 5), string programming (1), bass (1, 5), drum programming (1), arrangements (1, 5), drums (5), strings (5)
- John "Skip" Anderson – additional keyboards (1), strings (1, 3), bass (1, 2, 3), arrangements (1, 5, 8), keyboards (2), synth strings (2), drums (2, 3, 8), acoustic piano (3), synthesizers (8), synth orchestra and arrangements (8),
- Ivan Hampden Jr. – additional programming (1), drums (9, 10), percussion (9)
- Marcus Miller – all instruments (4, 6), programming (4, 6, 7), arrangements (4, 6, 7), backing vocals (6), keyboards (7), guitar (7), bass (8, 10)
- David Ward – additional programming (4), programming (7)
- Nat Adderley Jr. – vibraphone solo (7), acoustic piano (8, 10), arrangements (8, 9, 10), keyboards (9), synth bass (9)
- Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10), additional guitar (4), acoustic guitar (7)
- Yogi Horton – drums (8)
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion (2, 3, 5, 8)
- Kirk Whalum – saxophone solo (10)
- Leon Pendarvis – string arrangements (2, 4)
- Alfred Brown – music contractor (4, 9, 10)
- Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (1-5, 7, 10)
- Paulette McWilliams – backing vocals (1-5, 7, 10)
- Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (1-5, 7, 10)
- Brenda White-King – backing vocals (1-5, 7, 10)
- Lisa Fischer – backing vocals (2, 4), lead vocals (9)
- David Lasley – backing vocals (2)
- Cheryl Lynn – backing vocals (2)
- Cissy Houston – backing vocals (4, 10)
- Deidra "Spin" Roper – rap (7)
- Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals (10), vocal contractor
Production
- Luther Vandross – producer, executive producer
- Marcus Miller – producer (4, 6, 7)
- Nat Adderley Jr. – producer (9, 10)
- Ray Bardani – recording (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10), mixing
- David Ward – recording (4, 6, 7)
- Al Schmitt – orchestra recording
- Mike Baumgartner – assistant engineer
- Kyle Bess – assistant engineer
- Greg Denon – assistant engineer
- Mark Eshelman – assistant engineer
- Paul Falcone – assistant engineer
- Sue McLean – assistant engineer
- Pat Weber – assistant engineer
- Max Risenhoover – digital editing, sound designer (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10)
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Bibi Green – production coordinator (for Marcus Miller)
- Pat Dorn – album coordinator
- George Corsillo – art direction, design
- Norman Jean Roy – photography
- Guzman (Connie Hansen and Russell Peacock) – front cover photography
- The Marsha Burns Co. / Gallin-Morey Associates – management
- Max Szadek – personal assistant
- Studios
- Recorded at Camel Island Studios (Los Angeles, California) and Sony Scoring Stage (Culver City, California).
- Mixed at The Hit Factory (New York City, New York).
- Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York).
Charts
Year-end charts
Notes and References
- J.R.. Reynolds. Reviews & Previews: Albums. Billboard. October 19, 1996. 61. November 24, 2024.
- Barry. Walters . Music: Love Hurts. The Advocate. October 19, 1996. 82. November 24, 2024.
- Web site: Luther Vandross ARIA Chart History complete to 2024. ARIA. Imgur.com. July 26, 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
- R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 1996. Billboard. August 20, 2018.
