Success hasn't spoiled Houston

Date: September 19, 1986
By Robert J. Hawkins, Tribune Entertainment Writer

From The San Diego Union-Tribune
Submitted by: Larry A.


Whitney Houston came to the Sports Arena last night to sing some things old, some things new, and some things borrowed while wearing sequins and blue. She held notes, broke hearts and promised to come back again. Success hasn't spoiled Whitney Houston; it's only made her better.

And how staggering it is to realize that she's barely begun. This is Houston's third time in San Diego in a bit over a year. The pop singer has risen from the cozy setting of Humphrey's concert garden to the Civic Center to the Sports Arena.

That's not a local phenomenon.

In that time her self-titled debut album has become one of the all-time best-sellers.

She has won handfuls of music and video awards, and her current concert tour is breaking house records across the country. No seat in the Sports Arena beats fifth row center at Humphrey's, but Houston has compensated for the big stage.

Her show is more polished, faster-paced and has enough techno-gimmickery to fill any soft spots. But nothing distracted or detracted from the star. While the arrangements are fuller, the size of her band hasn't grown much. Houston still uses four top-notch backup singers. Even the stage, with its senior prom/TV game show styling, is secondary -- merely an interesting place for the star to unleash her formidable talent. Houston's silver and blue sequined dress and jacket were quite modest for the big stage. Houston showed she has the musical breadth and depth, lung power and charisma to fill an arena twice this size. And considering her stature today, even opening with strains of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" had a whimsical appropriateness to it.

From offstage Houston segued into Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something." And she did. What she started didn't end until 90 minutes later, when Houston slipped away during the final notes of "Greatest Love of All." As if to remind the crowd that her success wasn't an overnight quirk, Houston moved quickly from Jackson's tune to "Eternal Love," a solo she performed on the album Paul Jabara and Friends when she was 16 years old. It was the first of many tender, torchy ballads. On "You Give Good Love," Houston gave her fans a taste of where she can take her voice, how fast she can take it up there and how long she can squeeze a single note. And just when you think her talent is unassailable, Houston pulls her oldest brother, Gary Garland, out of the lineup to sing Teddy Pendergrass' part on "Hold Me." Garland has filled in for Pendergrass and Jermaine Jackson (both have duets on the Whitney Houston album) since Houston began touring.

Last year he was just a good voice.

He's matured nicely, gaining poise, stage presence and a voice not unlike Lou Rawls at his best, especially on "Take Good Care of My Heart." Houston's and Garland's harmonizing on the end of "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" sent shivers up the spine. With the right material, Garland could cut his own album and add considerably to the family fortune. On her own material, Houston hit an emotional peak during the wrenching saga of illicit love and misplace devotion "Saving All My Love."

She has this way of reining in the power of a song, releasing it in an excruciatingly slow tempo and then unleashing all the pent-up energy on a single note -- held, squeezed and bled until there is nothing left. The effect on the audience is simple: It too must seek its own emotional release.

It goes bonkers. That's entertainment. Houston showed exquisite taste in borrowed material, too.

She soared on "I Believe," a gospel tune learned from her mother, Cissy, an original member of the Sweet Inspirations.

She breathed fire into Kenny Loggins' "Heart To Heart." Houston gave the night's most dramatic moments on "I Am Changing," a Jennifer Holliday song from the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls."

With arms open wide, she held notes captive, dramatically repeated phrases, and used pauses to theatrical advantage. Two songs from Houston's soon-to-be-released second album were introduced last night.

"Wanna Dance With Somebody" with its punchy, uptempo beat, will undoubtedly make its way into heavy rotation on the club and dance-aerobics circuits. "Didn't We Almost Have It All" is a touching ballad but really just more of the same for Houston. On more than a few tunes, Houston showed a curious reluctance to let them go.

She sent endings through nearly endless permutations, lending an almost improvisational feel to the music. But any improvisation was illusory.

This show has been tightly, carefully constructed to deliver all the emotional impact of good theater, as well as good music. The seven musicians and quartet of backup singers are all superb.

Their presence is felt and appreciated, yet they never overwhelm the star. Whitney Houston's rise has been marked by dignity, graciousness and a passion for the music.

Even as the size of her show has grown, she still gives these precious gifts to her audience. Singing to 800 people or 10,000, Houston managed to make each one walk out feeling as if they had been a part of something special.