Record setters: Who hits, who misses

Date: November 17, 1998
By Jim Derogatis

From Chicago Sun-Times
Submitted by: Rachel D.


Whitney Houston, "My Love Is Your Love" (Arista) * * 1/2 Pop-R&B

It's been a long time since Houston gave us an album that wasn't pegged to a film -- eight years, to be precise -- and Arista Records was guarding advance copies the way Fort Knox looks after its gold. Then again, what they have here is better than gold in music-biz terms: It's a guaranteed multiplatinum hit representing the slickest mix of pop, R&B and hip-hop that big bucks can produce in the '90s.

Hip-hop -- Whitney? Yeah, you read right. The diva hasn't abandoned her trademark soulful wail in favor of rapping, but she does recruit producers Wyclef Jean ("My Love Is Your Love"), Missy Elliott ("In My Business" and "Oh Yes") and Lauryn Hill ("I Was Made to Love Him," a "hidden" bonus track) to bring more of a street edge to this, her fourth studio disc.

Those tracks are definitely the highlights. The rest is dominated by hired songwriter Dianne Warren and producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, who combine to make the musical equivalent of olestra: sort of tasty, and maybe even good for you, but you know it just ain't natural.

It's hard to knock Houston's vocal prowess. But like so much of her recorded work, this disc begs the question of what she would sound like fronting a tight four-piece band, recorded live with no overdubs, no digital tomfoolery and no Dianne Warren. We can only hope that day will come.