Vandross looks for a No. 1 // Seeks crossover hit with new `I Know'

When Luther Vandross did interviews after the death of anothergreat singer, Frank Sinatra, more than a few commentators introducedhim as "the Sinatra of R&B."

That claim would be hyperbole for most singers. But Vandross'career supports it. Since his solo debut in 1981, he has released 14albums, dominated the R&B charts and become one of the most belovedvocal stylists of his time.

Vandross' first release on his new label, Virgin Records, "IKnow," arrives in stores on Tuesday.

Vandross expects to tour in the fall, but he talked to theSun-Times on the eve of the album's release and a series of warm-upgigs in Europe.

Q. You've said that your new music never really comes togetheruntil you take it out onstage. Are you looking forward to touringbehind "I Know"?

A. When I said that, I am sure I was absolutely feeling thatway. But it does come together for me in the studio because one ofthe most exciting and rewarding things for me in the world is thatfinal playback, after you've struggled through the viola parts andthe flute parts and fixed the drums and flown the background vocals.After you do all of that and you sit down and hear it all back,there's nothing more - can I say "orgasmic," or is that a nasty word?(He laughs.)

Q. No, that's a great word. And that's still true even after 14albums?

A. Oh, sure. Just like Frank Sinatra: I want to be doing thiswhen I'm 80. When I did interviews about his unfortunate passing,that's one of the things I said. He did this throughout, for theduration. He loved his art. I know I'm going to feel the same way.

Q. You've always dominated the R&B charts, but you've never hada No. 1 pop single. I've heard that's your goal with this album.

A. It really is. It's a career goal and a personal goal. Ihave a lot of friends who are peers, and they've all had No. 1records. I want to experience that.

Q. What do you think of the state of the pop world in 1998?Critics complain that it's dominated by teenyboppers and moviesoundtracks. There aren't a lot of great singers like yourselfmaking their marks.

A. It's a very different and quirky time. No one could haveanticipated that this would be the climate 10 years ago. I thinkeverything is different about every era though, isn't it? When TinyTim had "Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips With Me" and the Singing Nun had"Dominique," Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick were somewheresaying, "What is this?" In times like that you just have to stayalert to the signals.

Q. I've asked you in the past about the differences between theR&B that inspired you and the sounds that top the charts in 1998. Doyou think that with the advent of computer musicmaking, we're gettingfurther away from the old warm sounds?

A. Casting is everything. Even if you're using ahigh-technology approach to your music, if you cast people who ain'tgot no soul, no matter whether they're playing live or they'reprogramming, it's going to sound plastic and unemotional. I use alot of high-tech equipment - it's all state of the art - but when youhave Marcus Miller or Nat Adderly Jr. playing it, therein lies thedifference.

Q. So you can't be afraid of technology, but you can't losesight of what matters?

A. Yes! I have lots of friends who also sang jingles rightalong with me in the beginning, and some of them got robbed of thatzeal. They lost the passion for singing by always singing somethingthat was required of them instead of singing things that were totallymaybe without reason. I never bought into the whole idea thatchance-taking was no good. I don't care if it was a demo for "NeverToo Much" or a Pepsi-Cola spot, I was going to try. And if I wastold, "Well, that sounds really good, but it's got a little bit toomuch emotion and passion in it for a gum commercial, you've gottastraighten it out a little," then I would. But my first instinct wasgoing to be to give you what I got.

Q. You were singing for Luther instead of the man?

A. Absolutely so! (He laughs.)

Q. So how do you keep it fresh after 14 albums?

A. I can't explain or dissect it. The thing that can make itdifficult on a given night, if I'm playing Chicago, I'm fine withthat, unless there was a bus ride from San Diego the night before.That can deplete anyone of his or her energy. But in terms of myregard for the music, I am totally at home and at peace with havingthis type of career. I could have stayed in school and been theprincipal of some high school right now, still wishing that I knewwhat a backstage area looked like. Anybody who gets to do what theywant for a living is a lucky person.

Q. You're getting away from your signature ballads on this albumand trying a lot of new styles: pop, dance, rap, jazz.

A. I didn't mind including some other things in it. With a newlabel, with a new set of faces, it was time to do something new. Allthe newness couldn't be external; some of it had to be what wascoming out of me. There's a song I wrote with Richard Marx called"Isn't There Someone," which is just the most gorgeous thing youcould hear. It's got a 65-piece symphonic orchestra recorded in LosAngeles.

Q. Why did you decide to go back to "Get It Right," a song youwrote for Aretha Franklin in 1983?

A. A friend of mine named Fonzi Thorton, who is also a sessionsinger in New York, he was about to do a jingle and he was waiting inthe studio. Out of one of the doors he kept hearing this track thatwas very funky. Then he realized, "Wait, that's Luther's song."

Q. You always choose interesting covers. Why did you recordLeo Sayer's "When I Need You"?

A. That's such a great song. I wanted to do it because it'ssuch a good "clean slate" song. It has a simplistic chordprogression, and there's no better song to work on and twist and turnand make the plot thicken. I was also into the singalong aspect ofit, even though it's seven minutes long.

Q. What was it like working with jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilsonon "I'm Only Human"?

A. When I called her, she was surprised to hear from me,because we didn't know each other. I met her in the studio that day.She just kept saying, "This is an entirely different way of singingfor me." I didn't quite understand what she meant because it was sosecond nature to me, but she handled it so well, as you can hear.And we got Bob James to play the solo on it. My goal is to get myface on the bus on those "Cool Jazz" radio station ads. (He laughs.)I alwayssee Vanessa Williams and Kenny G., and I wanna be up there!