Whitney's 'My Love' Is Fictitious, But Genuine

Date: November 20, 1998
By Al Hunter Jr., Staff Writer

From Philadelphia Daily News
Submitted by: Rache


You know your pub is bad when included in the liner notes of your new CD is a disclaimer: "The events and characters depicted in this album are fictitious ..."

But there's nothing bad about Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love," her first non-soundtrack CD in eight years.

Whether hanging out in song with her homies, Missy Elliott, Faith Evans and the Fugees' Wyclef Jean, or staying home in the orchestral comfort and familiarity of Babyface-produced tracks, Houston's voice is as clear and as beautiful as ever.

OK, so girlfriend has a few public relations problems, like her marriage to Bobby Brown and recent live performances - one a no-show on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" - that have left fans wondering if she was doing dope.

She says she's not addicted to drugs and professes her love for Bobby in a recent Newsweek article.

(And in case you have any doubt, Houston includes an unlisted 13th song on her CD. Suffice it to say that she'll love her man through thick and thin. "Nip ain't going nowhere.")

But listening to "My Love" - which gracefully brings Houston into the '90s thanks to producers Rodney Jerkins and Kelvin Bradshaw - it's no wonder she threw in the disclaimer.

There are songs of spiteful revenge (the mid-tempo "I Learned from the Best"), putting up with cheating men (the upbeat "It's Not Right, but It's OK") and dealing with nosy people (the neck-rolling "In My Business" with Elliott).

One that sticks is "Oh Yes," an Elliott-penned tune that uses a syncopated hook to announce Houston's love for the only man who can please her.

Whatever her personal problems, Houston has released a very strong package of songs. And remember, "any similarity to "actual persons living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental."

That's what Whitney says.

My Love Is Your Love - Grade: A

Whitney Houston - Arista