Whitney Houston
Just Whitney (BMG)

By Cyclone Wehner


FOR a moment it looked as if Whitney Houston was going street -- on the sassy It's Not Right But it's OK from her last album.

But Houston is returning to her roots in adult pop -- keeping it not so much real as keeping it safe, with seriously dated production.

She proves she's in fine voice with the powerful ballad On My Own and a cover of You Light Up My Life, duets with hubby Bobby Brown on the defiant My Love and lashes out at tabloid critics on the over-defensive Whatchulookinat.

The verdict: 1/2

In a word: bland

Other releases: Whitney (1985), My Love Is Your Love (1998)