WHITNEY WOWS
If Houston has a problem, it's not music

BY JIM FARBER


WHITNEY HOUSTON
"Just Whitney"
(Arista)

She has endured more bad press than Charles Manson, inspired more juicy rumors than the British royal family and stirred more speculation about her weight, and resulting health, than Calista Flockhart.

Yet on Whitney Houston's first album of all-new material in four years and her first since she became a tabloid bull's-eye she sounds healthier, spunkier and more assured in her phrasing and tone than ever.

"Just Whitney" features consistently compelling melodies, pert production and big singing that rarely suffers from the worst bugaboo of modern divas: the tendency to scuttle real emotion in the service of showy technique. This encouraging news comes as a surprise for more reasons than Houston's personal problems, which were dealt with in vague, but still troubling, terms this past week in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC. For the music, several red flags had already gone up in previews.

Houston's first single, "Whatchulookinat," a bitter anti-media rant released in September, bombed on radio. It even managed to get a bad review in Billboard (which is about as likely as getting a negative notice from your mom).

Houston's proposed second single was going to be a cover version of Debbie Boone's mother lode of sap, "You Light Up My Life" which does appear on "Just Whitney," but will remain an album track.

Yet neither of these wobbly moves throws off the overall project.

A problem more suggestive of behind-the-scenes trouble is the album's length. It's 39 minutes, practically the duration of an EP by current standards. (Houston's last album, "My Love Is Your Love," lasted 60 minutes.) Whatever the reason for its brevity, much of what is on the new CD hits the ball out of the park.

LOSING THE GOO

The album wisely follows the trend begun by "My Love ..." in ditching most of the gooey ballads and conservative production styles that made Houston's '80s albums so frumpy. Instead, it goes for a big-time makeover.

On "Just Whitney," the star sounds contemporary without seeming to jump on any bandwagons. While she performs a track written by of-the-moment star Missy Elliott ("Things You Say"), it's rooted in solid R&B songcraft. The cut matches Houston's most supple vocals to a sexy, snaking guitar line. In "Dear John Letter," she works her voice around a hip-hop beat effective enough to give the track edge, yet subtle enough that the singer doesn't seem like she's trying to act younger than her 39 years.

You'll hear just as cool a groove in "One of These Days," which recalls Houston's anthemic "It's Not Right (But It's Okay)." "Love That Man" harkens back to the singer's sprightliest club hit of the '80s, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

Lyrically, the album misses few opportunities to address her recently muddied image with references direct and covert. She kicks the album off with a declaration of stress: "Got to take time out A You don't know what I'm going through."

She becomes more confrontational on the second track, "Telling Me No." "You're so quick to say what I can do/You criticize my actions, but I don't see you standing in my shoes ... I'm just human and doing what my heart tells me I should," she sings.

In "Unashamed," Houston asserts "the strength of my choices," and ends the album with the "Whatchulookinat" answer-back song, which includes lines like, "You're after me and my man A your lies don't excite me A never knew that you would do this to me/Try to ruin me and be my enemy."

If such stuff seems numbingly self-indulgent, after a few listens the sound of ax-grinding fades and the songs arise as legit expressions of self-determination. That's aided by their memorable melodies and well-placed production hooks. Most of the songs may well inspire you to sing along the first time through.

Even the number that seems the most personally defensive, "My Love" which lets Houston and embattled hubby Bobby Brown essentially renew their wedding vows in public clicks due to its old-school soul tune. Brown himself never sounded better, with a gruff and throaty vocal that would do Sam Moore proud.

The album, though, isn't without its slipups. The version of "You Light Up My Life" suffers not only from the song's unavoidable kitsch, but from trying too hard to recycle the to-the-rafters vocal blowout of "I Will Always Love You."

Yet, even there, Houston's vocal appeal isn't entirely acrobatic. Legit emotion peeks through. Elsewhere, Houston goes far further with her feelings, spinning out vocal loop-de-loops with such emotion that you may not notice at first how much athletic power it takes to put them over.

In "Tell Me No," her voice has a new meatiness. In "Dear John Letter," it has a fresh sass. The question of why Houston couldn't put a few more songs on the album is as much a mystery as the full story behind the rumors still surrounding her.

Regardless, the pop pleasures Houston has delivered couldn't be more clear.