On record

By Dan Cairns

WHITNEY HOUSTON
Just Whitney
Arista 74321983242

AFTER bestriding the 1990s with her fellow coloratura queen, the now similarly troubled Mariah Carey, Whitney hit the buffers. Rumour followed rumour: tantrums, drug addiction, worrying chart positions and diminishing sales figures. Incredibly, she's back, with a squillion-dollar record deal (will they never learn?). The usual suspects - Missy, Babyface and P Diddy - have been rounded up, but they can't disguise the increasingly apparent cracks (no pun intended). Ten tracks, nine stiffs, and only one gem (Tell Me No) recalling better times: surely a poor return for Arista's money, let alone yours. On My Own is the nadir, with the singer straining for notes that would once have been effortless; while the hysterical vocal flourishes that close Unashamed make painful listening. Houston, you have a problem.