Try It On My Own
WHITNEY HOUSTON
Producer(s): Babyface
Publisher(s): Brownville/E One/EMI-Blackwood/ECAF/Sony/ATV/Warner-Tamerlane/ All About Me, BMI; NBdaGRB/E Two/EMI-April/Andre'sia, ASCAP
Genre: R & B
Catalog Number: Arista 82876 (CD promo)

Edited by Chuck Taylor


If an artist is rarely seen promoting her own music, why should the public rally behind her? Perhaps that's part of the problem behind Houston's Just Whitney, a very good -- albeit very short -- album that's sinking with alarming speed at retail. Third single "Try It on My Own" is the best song on the disc, a classic Whitney ballad that pushes every diva button, from huge celestial notes to a creamy orchestral arrangement. Arista also commissioned Thunderpuss to wring the song into a dance thumper, hoping that tempo will foster radio favor, à la previous remixed ballads "I Learned from the Best" and "It's Not Right But It's Okay." It's heartbreaking to see Houston's career faltering in the midst of self-admitted personal problems. One has to wonder if she can score a hit in spite of herself. --CT