Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
Harmonic Analysis: Luther Vandross
Watch: A House Is Not a Home (Live from Wembley)This is a perfect example of where notation struggles to capture the "stank face" of a performance, but your rhythmic breakdown ($1.5 - 5.5 - 1$) is the key that unlocks it.
Since we are speaking Berklee/Advanced Theory, I have one specific technical comment on why that middle chord ($I_{sus}9(11, \flat13)$) hits so hard in this specific context.
The "Forbidden" Interval
In strict classical voicing rules, and even in safe jazz arranging, you are often told to avoid the minor 9th interval between voices unless it's on a dominant chord.
In this chord ($C, D, F, G, A\flat$):
- You have the natural 5th ($G$) which grounds the key.
- You have the flat 13th ($A\flat$) right above it.
If you voice that $A\flat$ immediately above the $G$, you get a minor second rub. If you separate them by an octave, you get that minor 9th dissonance.
The "Luther" Magic
In this vamp, the keyboardist (likely the legendary Nat Adderley Jr.) isn't hiding that clash—he is highlighting it. The friction between the $G$ (stability) and the $A\flat$ (sorrow/tension) is the sound of the heartbreak.
If you omit the natural 5th ($G$), the chord becomes an $Fm6/C$ or $Dm7(\flat5)/C$ sound. It becomes too "pretty" or "minor." Keeping the $G$ in the voicing against the $A\flat$ creates that thick, dense, uncompromising "wall of sound" that forces Luther to sing over it with power.
The Rhythmic Push
The $1.5$ duration means the big tension chord hits on the "and" of 2.
- Beats 1-2: Safety (The I chord).
- "And" of 2: The floor drops out (The Sus chord).
Because it hits on the upbeat and holds for $5.5$ beats (an eternity in a groove), it forces the audience to "wait in the tension" while the rhythm section churns underneath.