Just Whitney by Whitney Houston (CD)

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Just Whitney
Weathering rumors of drug addiction, spousal abuse, and even her demise following her skeletal appearance at 2001's Michael Jackson tribute concert, Whitney Houston strikes back with a bold disc. Attaching her peerless pipes to often unapologetic lyrics, the diva lets the music answer tabloid tattlers. On the dramatic, Babyface-produced "Tell Me No," Houston pleads, "You criticize my actions, but I don't see you standing in my shoes," and on the triumphant power ballad, "Try It on My Own" (also produced by 'Face), Houston blares, "I'm stronger now/ I've learned from my mistakes which way to go." Just a few lines later, however, the defiant songbird proclaims, "I'll live my life the way I feel/ No matter what I'll keep it real." Well, that's for sure. On the duet "My Love," she and Bobby Brown knock skeptics who thought their torrid, ten-year union wouldn't last, and on the mid-tempo "Unashamed" she declares she "lives her life with no regrets." Musically, Houston is most famous for soaring, chart-busting anthems such as her cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," and she hopes to duplicate that success here with a reverential remake of Debby Boone's ubiquitous '70s hit "You Light Up My Life." Houston's spitfire personality, however, shines through best on sassy midtempo songs such as the She'kspere-produced "One of Those Days," which samples the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets," and the Missy Elliott-produced "Things You Say." Although the disc seems short at ten songs, the confessional Just Whitney... is more than enough to herald the return of this living legend. Tracy E. Hopkins, Barnes & Noble