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130 of 155 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you're not looking for the old, it'll be easy to embrace the new, September 1, 2009
If you're looking for the old Whitney when you get this CD, then you'll be disappointed. The range and caliber of her voice has inarguably deteriorated (I'm not going to speculate into all the debatable reasons why, but I'm sure a part of it has to do with age, vocal nodules, etc). As a result, the songs on this album seemed to have been chosen to fit with Whitney's new, much more limited voice. You won't find an I Will Always Love You or All the Man I Need song on this album. That's just not happening. At first listen, I was a little disappointed with many of the songs. But that was because I was comparing 40something Whitney to 20something Whitney, and I was expecting more ballads, even though few people nowadays even sing them. But on second listen, taking the album for what it was, not comparing her to who she was, but simply listening to the music, I realized this is an excellent album. So from this point in the review, I'll be talking about the songs on the album itself, not how Whitney of today compares with Whitney of yesteryear.
Of the two slow, ballad-like songs on the album only I Look To You is worth listening to. Though I love the message in I Didn't Know My Own Strength, it's a pretty mundane ballad and Whitney's voice is nearly monotonous throughout the entire song. No "wow" moments in there. It was great for getting her messge out, but I doubt you'll be putting it on repeat. On the other hand, her vocals in I Look To You are delivered much more soothingly, with much more impassioned vocals. It's also a very well-written song, R Kelly did a wonderful job on both lyrics and composition.
Most of the other songs pretty much fit with the trend of today's music: dance/club songs. Million Dllar Bill straddles the line between good and great. It may take some getting used to due to the 70s disco beat at the beginning, but when you get into the song it'll definitely have you "going left, right, up, down, got you spinning 'round and 'round."
"Nothing But love" has a great beat to it, and her vocals are excellent. You'll definitely be bumping this in the car. It's motivational, and the lyrics attack all the haters that we know have attacked Whitney. Definiely one of the best songs. Also at the top of the list: A Song For You. If only for the note she holds at the end. The song is one of the few that showcase her vocals. Maybe Whit decided to go all out because she's been singing it for so long. Who knows? But she's hitting some clear, high notes and holding some long vibrato notes. It's also got a great, fast, disco-type beat about a minute into it. And seriously, you gotta hear that note she holds at the end. It's like 20 seconds long. That's Whit for you.
My favorite song on the album is Call You Tonight. It's mid-tempo, she seems to do her best work on mid-tempo songs. It has a smooth beat that'll have you swaying back and forth, trying to sing along with Whitney, but failing of course. It's also cross-generational. Not with the message of the lyrics, but with the flow of it. I'm 25 and played this for my married 51-year-old mother who listens to gospel music all the time and she loved it.
My mother did not, however, like some of the lyrics in Salute, which I really enjoyed. In particular, she had a problem with the line "you think your s*** don't stink, but it do." I'm not sure if it was the incorrect grammar, or the fact that Whitney said it but my mother replied upon hearing it, quote, "that doesn't sound right." I love it though. I think some of the lyrics are lazy(R.Kelly wrote it) but "Queen of the Night" Whitney sings it and you can tell she's feeling it. It sounds like a response to both her ex and the media.
There are other gems on this album, including Like I Never Left. But I heard that when it leaked last year, so it's pretty old to me now. But if you haven't heard it, it'll definitely be one of your favs. I could do without Akon singing on it though.
Worth It and For the Lovers are good, not great. For the Lovers sounds like a club dance song and will have you swinging yor hands, so maybe you shouldn't drive and listen to this one, might have an accident. Worth It is about, well...as Whitney sings "somebody's gonna make love to this song tonight." Great vocals in here too, and you can hear her easily shift from chest voice to head voice, a trait which she's known for.
I don't know how I feel about I Got You. It's got a smooth Jamaican-type vibe to it. It's not bad, but she's not really singing in it...just kinda talking and doing a hollow, calling out type thing. You may sway to it, but I'm glad it's at the end of the CD. I just wish it wasn't before Salute.
Overall, Whitney and Clive did a great job picking songs for this album. Only a few songs are lacking (as can be expected with any album), but all the great ones make up for it. The songs also mesh well with Whitney's voice, and brings her into the music industry of today without sacrificing her class.
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34 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome Back Whitney!, August 31, 2009
Whitney's absence from the music scene has been well chronicled by others and there's no need to revisit all of that gossip here. The question is whether I Look To You makes for a great listening experience.
And the answer is most certainly YES!
Back with strong vocals, albeit in a more limited range, Whitney's newest album is a new sound but still an enjoyable listen. Huskier and more gravelly than we remember, her voice is still The Voice and we should rejoice in a new era rather than mourn the passing of the past.
Its tempting to read more into her lyrics than perhaps she intended, but thats what great music allows for.
When she sings the title cut "I Look to You" by R. Kelly, which some have called churchy and schmaltzy, I wonder who she is really singing to...God? Perhaps...but maybe its really intended for her daughter whom she has credited with bringing her strength during her time away. I know I looked to mine as I conquered a period of depression and substance abuse in my life. "Who on earth can I turn to? I look to you...". Thank you Bobbi Christina!
On the track "Like I Never Left" with Akon we might think she is speaking to a former lover, but I wonder: is she really talking to Clive Davis? Her snubs of him were famous in the early 2000s and she eventually turned away from his guiding hand. Her last studio album, Just Whitney, was produced not by Clive but by Bobby Brown. And it was a dismal disappointment. Is Clive's girl back, and back on top? Lets hope so.
I have read most of the reviews of this album on here and in the print and online media and the thing that strikes me is how each track is a favorite of different writers, which speaks to the consistent strength of the entire album. Now that is classic Whitney.
I love this album, not because it soars like her previous albums but because it soars in new ways, with a new found emotional commitment to the lyric and the melody. Music we will remember, for sure!
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Whitney Unmodulated, August 31, 2009
On an early track of her latest CD, Whitney Houston poignantly sings "I want you to love me/Like I never left." Having listened twice through now, I can wholeheartedly claim that I still do. Which is not to say that "I Look to You" is a great album, or even a good one. But, hold on, it's not really a bad one, either. For the most part it plays out like a greatest hits collection in that we pretty much know what's coming next. Early bubblegum ("Million Dollar Bill") is followed by some power ballads (like the title track), followed by some mild flirtations with electronic hip-hop ("For the Lovers" for example). Houston is playing squarely in her comfort zone here, but she's earned it, no? Not every album can, should or needs to reinvent the wheel. The only true misfire is a disco (yes, you heard it here first) version of the Donny Hathaway classic "A Song for You." It's bizarre, to say the least, unlikely to be remembered as one of that song's best renditions.
And how is Houston's voice? A little heavier and thicker than it was, frankly, but still quite strong and supple. Perhaps the single most telling indication that something's changed is that every song stays solidly in the same key from beginning to end. A couple of times I thought, "Here comes the old Whitney Houston kick-ass modulation"...but it never happened. OK, so now we know, we can all move on.
Neither a triumphant return to form nor a crash-and-burn disaster, "I Look to You" is the uneventful return of an old friend. I, for one, am just fine with that.
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