PICK HIT
Whitney Houston "I Learned From The Best"
Arista

For me, 1999 will be remembered as the year of Whitney Houston. The wholly unplanned organic crossovers of the "It's Not Right But it's Okay" and "My Love Is Your Love" remixes redefined both Houston's position in pop music (They were the hit POP versions) and also the level to which the marketing of dance music in America can be successful and sustained. (For what it's worth the Hex Hector "Heartbreak Hotel" remix was pretty solid, too.) And so here we are, a new year. Just as Thunderpuss 2000's remix of "It's Not Right But It's Okay" altered everyone's perception of Whitney Houston at this time last year, Hex Hector and Mac Quayle's massive reproduction of "ILFTB" the fourth single from "My Love ," will do it again. Reproduction? That's right. For the first time in her storied career, which has included many a club hit along the way, Houston has gone back to square one, contributing new vocals to flesh out the house version of her latest single (some of the original vocal track remains as well) AND SHE NAILS IT. "I Learned From The Best" is the most "traditional" Whitney song on MLIYL; it's one of the grand, heartbreaking, reflective ballads she built her career on, with just the right dash of powerful yet, melancholic horns lending musical support. For the HQ2 CLUB MIX, Hector and Qauyle pull out all the stops to transform the song into grand heartbreaking dance anthem. The horns are a prominent feature in the mix, while the duo's trademark thick as molasses percussion (with a defiantly militant edge in the intro) forms an unshakable base. Hector and Quayle often use synths in their mixes that are key to the overall sound without becoming too involved in the main melody; such as the case here, save for the middle break, when the pair rip through a spectacularly over-the-top run that is matched only by the sheer force of Houston's looped vamps. Also notable is how Hector and Quayle use something as small as Houston's breathing as part of the record's sound, looping her exhale to the beat and the in effect creating another percussive element of the mix. And the there's Houston herself, who deserves her own paragraph. As terrific as the remixes of her previous singles were there is nothing like hearing a vocal designed to complement a house beat, instead, of the other way around, and she goes for the gusto here, turning in a dramatic performance that digs into to the nuances of Hector's & Quayle's wonderfully complex production. At turns soft and mournful, then larger than life in only ways she can be, Houston caps off what is sure to be the first big dance record to be released in Y2K. It is a testament to how important dance music has become to her career that she joined in the remix process in the first place. As a parting though, that's not even where the story ends. Wait until the Junior Vasquez remix of "ILFTB" surfaces. It likely to join the legion of his all-time classics.
**** (Four Stars)

--Peter Glowatsky