Knowing 'Love'
Houston's great wisdom endears on new release

Date: November 17, 1998
By Mario Tarradell

From The Dallas Morning News
Submitted by: Larry A.


She's no Madonna, but Whitney Houston has remade herself more times than her critics would admit. She started out as the wide-eyed, syrupy balladeer we heard on her first two albums, then moved into sassy songstress mode (1990's "I'm Your Baby Tonight") before morphing into Carnegie Hall crooner ("The Bodyguard"), soul sistah ("Waiting to Exhale") and gospel belter ("The Preacher's Wife").

My Love Is Your Love, Ms. Houston's first studio album in eight years, reveals yet another side. The disc, in stores Tuesday, exposes a grittier, wiser, funkier Whitney. She recently told Billboard magazine that she "just didn't feel like singing about "I Will Always Love You,' " and she wasn't kidding. One of the release's surprises is its lack of gooey, all-is-perfect ballads.

Working with hot R&B-rap songwriters and producers of the day - Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill - Ms. Houston sounds confident and contemporary without forcing a note. And she actually has something to say. Although she's not a songwriter, she searched for songs that mirrored her multifaceted life - wife of R&B bad boy Bobby Brown, mother and recording artist.

Judging by the lyrical thrust of this album, Ms. Houston is ready to reconcile her tumultuous existence. "In My Business," written by Ms. Elliott, is a slam against the nosy tabloids that constantly probe her sometimes rocky marriage. Over a funky, hip-hop beat and Ms. Elliott's rapping, she delivers a powerful punch sans any histrionic vocal swings.

She also exercises control on Diane Warren's moody ballad "I Learned From the Best," a chilling testimonial about learning the art of breaking hearts from painful experience. When she soars into soulful stratospheres, we are reminded of 1991's "All the Man That I Need," a song that proved what Ms. Houston can do when the material and her voice are working in tune.

Such serious subject matter would suggest all is not as well in Brown--Houston land as she has emphatically stated in recent publications. So to lighten the load Ms. Houston offers the bass-and-boom number "Oh Yes" and Babyface's luxurious ballad "Until You Come Back," both dedicated to her husband.

The balancing act works until "When You Believe," the overblown duet with Mariah Carey featured in the upcoming animated biblical epic The Prince of Egypt. It's exactly what you'd expect - two power vocalists trying hard to out-sing each other over swelling orchestration.

Skip that track and focus on the rest, especially the funk 'n' frolic hidden cut, a cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Him" featuring vocals and production by Lauryn Hill. One listen to that song and the transformation is complete: Whitney Houston can get down with the young guns.