She's Every Woman

Whitney Houston's greatest hits are definitely worth adding to your collection.

She's won six Grammy awards and seventeen songs sung by her have been in the top five position in charts worldwide. All her albums have reached Platinum and Gold status several times over. Her initials are also those shared by the residence of the President of the United states of America. She is Whitney Houston and she has got herself a star - studded collection in her latest two CD/tape release called "Whitney - The Greatest Hits".

The first album "Cool Down", is a compilation of all her hit singles from 1985 - the year she launched herself into the music industry through Arista records - to the present. "You Give Good Love", "Saving All My Love For You" - which has a dusky, jazzy feel to it, "Greatest Love Of All" - which commands the respect generally given to an anthem, among her fans and "Didn't We Almost Have It All" - are some of her songs from the eighties. The diva has included duets sung with various artists too. "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" with Enrique Iglesias is rather flat and grey, but "Same Script, Different Cast" sung with Deborah Cox and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful" with Jermaine Jackson are a pleasure to hear. Needless to say, the lyrics to all her thirty - six tracks have a certain amount of depth and meaning.

Popular original soundtrack singles have been thrown in too, like "I Will Always Love You", "Run To You" and "I Have Nothing" from "The Bodyguard"; "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" from "Waiting To Exhale" and "Step By Step" as well as "I Believe In You And Me" from "The Preacher's Wife". At all times, her voice is stunning - it's versatile, strong, cultivated and toned. It alone is responsible for her celebrity and prestige as a singer and her large group of admirers.

The second album is a set of her remixed singles that have become a part of dance club culture globally. "My Love Is Your Love", "I'm Every Woman", "Step By Step" along with the eighties hits "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "How Will I Know" and "One Moment In Time" which was the 1998 Summer Olympics theme are just few of many racy songs waiting to tickle your toes. Moreover, They're mixed by DJs like Junior Vasquez, Hex Hector, Jonathan Peters and David Morales. The only track that doesn't seem to fit the class quality of the rest of this album is her duet with George Michael - "If I Told You That". Don't get me wrong. In itself, it's quite tolerable, but it savours distinctly of Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love" right from the beat to the tune to the style of singing. What made this established songstress add such an un-Whitney like track to her otherwise faultless compilation, we'll never know.

A comprehensive, well-thought out, satisfying album this, that any music collection could do with.

This article was first published on19 Jun 2000.