Three of the 15 songs on this Luther Vandross compilation qualify as hidden.
Out of those three, one was released on the soundtrack to Hero (1992), another was pulled from the soundtrack to Money Train (1995), and the third track was a bonus cut on the Japanese edition of Luther Vandross (2001).
They are not quite gems, but dedicated fans should be happy to have them in one spot.
Out of the remaining dozen tracks, two come from gold-selling releases and ten were issued on albums that went platinum and double platinum.
So, those are not exactly hidden or "seldom heard," as a press release was crazy enough to claim.
Hidden Gems is more like the missing fifth disc from the Love, Luther box set released in 2007.
Between the releases, only two songs overlap, and this adds depth with not much filler, though it could have been more generous with '80s cuts and not so reliant upon relatively tepid '90s material.
The liner notes, written by Vandross' longtime associate Fonzi Thornton, are a great touch.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | When You Call on Me (Baby That's When I Come Runnin')R. Kelly | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | Once You Know HowLuther Vandross | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | I Know You Want ToPorter Carroll, David Gamson, Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | Once Were LoversRex Rideout, Fonzi Thornton, Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 5 | You Stopped Loving MeLuther Vandross | Luther Vandross | Play | 05:16 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 6 | The Impossible DreamJoe Darion, Mitch Leigh | Luther Vandross | Play | 05:14 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Are You Using Me?Kenneth Gonzalez, Fonzi Thornton, Luther Vandross, Luis Vegas | Luther Vandross | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 8 | Goin' Out of My HeadTeddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein | Luther Vandross | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 9 | The Thrill I'm In [Radio Mix]James Harris III, Terry Lewis | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 10 | Heart of a HeroLuther Vandross | Luther Vandross | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 11 | Buy Me a RoseJim Funk, Erik Hickenlooper | Luther Vandross | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | I (Who Have Nothing)Carlo Donida, Jerry Leiber, Giulio Rapetti, Mike Stoller | Luther Vandross | Play | 07:27 | 17 MB | 45 MB |
| 13 | I'd RatherShep Crawford | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 14 | Like I'm InvisibleRex Rideout, Fonzi Thornton, Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 15 | You Really Started SomethingDenise Rich, Luther Vandross, Junior Vasquez | Luther Vandross | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 72 mins | 164 MB | |||||
| 72 mins | 478 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nat Adderley, Jr. | Producer |
| 2 | Walter Afanasieff | Producer |
| 3 | Babyface | Producer |
| 4 | Tom Burleigh | Project Director |
| 5 | Alice Butts | Art Direction, Design |
| 6 | Porter Carroll | Composer |
| 7 | Shep Crawford | Composer, Producer |
| 8 | Joe Darion | Composer |
| 9 | Carlo Donida | Composer |
| 10 | Jim Funk | Composer |
| 11 | David Gamson | Composer |
| 12 | Kenneth Gonzalez | Composer |
| 13 | Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez | Producer |
| 14 | Frank Harkins | Art Direction |
| 15 | James Harris III | Composer |
| 16 | Erik Hickenlooper | Composer |
| 17 | Jimmy Jam | Producer |
| 18 | Jeff James | Compilation Producer |
| 19 | R. Kelly | Composer, Producer |
| 20 | Jerry Leiber | Composer |
| 21 | Mitch Leigh | Composer |
| 22 | Terry Lewis | Composer, Producer |
| 23 | Marcus Miller | Producer |
| 24 | Jim Parham | Project Director |
| 25 | Teddy Randazzo | Composer |
| 26 | Giulio Rapetti | Composer |
| 27 | Denise Rich | Composer |
| 28 | Rex Rideout | Composer |
| 29 | Tom Ruff | Material |
| 30 | Mike Stoller | Composer |
| 31 | Fonzi Thornton | Composer, Liner Notes |
| 32 | Luther Vandross | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 33 | Junior Vasquez | Composer |
| 34 | "Little" Louie Vega | Producer |
| 35 | Luis Vegas | Composer |
| 36 | Martha Wash | Duet, Main Personnel |
| 37 | Bobby Weinstein | Composer |
| 38 | Kevin Westenberg | Photography |
| 39 | Stevie Wonder | Harmonica |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |