Soul lifts Whitney's slick movie soundtrack

Date: December 07, 1996
By Jennie Punter

From The Toronto Star
Submitted by: Larry A.


WHITNEY HOUSTON
The Preacher's Wife soundtrack (Arista / BMG)

Teenage gospel soloist, turned fashion model, turned multi-platinum solo artist, turned actress Whitney Houston returns to her gospel roots for her latest starring-singing role in director Penny Marshall's in-the-St.-Nick-of-time Christmas flick, The Preacher's Wife.

And like her previous cross-marketing triumphs, 1992's The Bodyguard and last year's Waiting To Exhale, Houston's latest musical offering has "Grammy! Oscar!" written all over it.

No supermarket, shoe store or video station will be spared.

The Preacher's Wife is a slick product to be sure, from its limited-edition holographic cover (now you see Denzel the angel, now you don't) to it video-ready "I Believe In You And Me" single, which mines the same terrain as the inescapable "I Will Always Love You," from The Bodyguard and the infinitely more appealing "Shoop Shoop" from Waiting To Exhale.

But just as Houston's current co-star, Denzel Washington, out-grooves The Bodyguard sidekick Kevin Costner, her new album surpasses the earlier film soundtrack solely on the soul factor.

Now, I prefer my gospel older, a la Golden Gate Quartet or Staple Singers (and, for starters, I highly recommend anything from the Columbia/Legacy The Gospel Spirit series).

But there are a few hand-clappers on The Preacher's Wife, particularly the tunes on which Houston's quivering, breathy soprano is backed up by the Georgia Mass Choir - "Joy" and "I Love The Lord" for starters.

Houston, credited as co-producer and vocal arranger on most tracks, gives her husband - the notorious Bobby Brown - and her mother - the very strained Cissy Houston - guest turns in the mix.

And, of course, Babyface chipped in a catchy tune, "My Heart Is Calling," which only made me want to hear how he would render it himself with an acoustic guitar. To these ears, the winner track is the rave-up "He's All Over Me," which features a full-throttle gospel-band attack, the Georgia Mass Choir and Houston trading vocals with gospel diva Shirley Caesar.