Whitney Houston Bares Her Soul

Date: September 01, 1986
By Daniel Brogan

From Chicago Tribune
Submitted by: Larry A.


Whitney Houston stopped her band midway into her opening number Saturday at Poplar Creek to announce "Clap if you want to. Sing along if you want to. Tonight, this show is your show."

That's common enough stage patter, but the fact is that the shows Houston delivered Saturday and again on Sunday were a lot different than what the sold-out crowds had expected.

What they got was a far bolder, far grittier performer than the middle- of-the-road pop diva on "Whitney Houston," the best-selling debut album of all time.

Only 23 years old, it seemed almost inevitable that Houston would become a superstar. She's been singing publicly since the age of 8, and has been accompanying her mother, gospel and soul singer Cissy Houston, to the studio for almost as long (it's quite a musical family: Dionne Warwick is her aunt, brother Gary Garland sings two marvelous duets and serves as a backup vocalist on his sister's tour).

Stunningly beautiful, Houston worked as a model before Arista Records president Clive Davis signed her in 1983 and spent the next two years carefully grooming her before the release of "Whitney Houston." The album spawned three consecutive No. 1 hits and spent 46 weeks in the Top 10, longer than any other record by a woman.

But if there was any fault to be found with "Whitney Houston," it was that its glossy production didn't make it seem that the singer had much depth. At Poplar Creek, Houston went a long way towards setting the record straight. She let the crowd know they were in for a few surprises almost from the moment Saturday's show began. From behind a partition, she teasingly sang a few lines from her most recent No. 1 hit, "The Greatest Love of All," before bursting into the spotlight for a funky rendition of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'."

Then, as if to insist that she isn't entirely an overnight sensation, she sang "Eternal Love," which she recorded several years ago on a compilation album.

The audience, though, was waiting for the songs from Houston's album and ecstatically greeted the opening keyboard riffs to "You Give Good Love." Houston responded with hit after hit, but to each she added dimensions far beyond their vinyl counterparts.

"How Will I Know" was transformed from a schoolgirl's timid daydream into something bordering on a bold come-on. "You Give Good Love" took on a bluesy growl, and "Saving All My Love for You"--performed on a stage bathed in red--exuded a earthy ache that carried easily up Poplar's big hill.

Strutting across the elaborately lit and designed stage during "Someone For Me," she looked like a sort of uptown Tina Turner, in her tight, glittery miniskirt and high heels.

At times, Houston's drawn-out arrangements became a bit indulgent, but it's easy to imagine just how tempting it is to cut loose when you have as much natural talent as she does.

She also introduced two new songs--"Didn't Almost Have It All" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"--that will be included on her follow-up album.

But the evening's clearcut standout wasn't a Houston song at all. It was her passionately soulful reading of Jennifer Holliday's "I Am Changing." Houston sang the song with such conviction and determination that you couldn't help wondering if she was issuing a challenge for her audience to follow her in the new directions she is beginning to take.

Time will tell if Whitney Houston's more soulful side will make it onto her second album. But considering how carefully packaged she's been thus far, it seems a safe bet that Saturday's show was a well-choreographed glimpse of bigger and better things to come.