Customer Reviews

I Look To You

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The the world can be a cold and unforgiving place sometimes.

Ms Houston has had her fair share of glory's glare but has
doubtless also stared into the darkness of the abyss.
That her instincts have not always been a reliable guide is
evident in a career which has, to my ears and eyes, never
seen her quite comfortable in her own skin.

Slave to the 80's dancing-disco-diva-machine; the
tight squeeze of Hollywood in the 90's; the lacklustre
last two albums 'My Love Is Your Love' and 'Just Whitney'.

One of the great voices of our time needed a whole
lot more nurture than both the industry and her
more fickle devotees were prepared to give her.

Finally that voice has found a home.
'I Look To You' is a revelation.
It is the recording she was born to make.

It is crucial, if you have not yet heard the album,
that you disregard observations that her voice is no
longer a worthy instrument. That she reaches for those
stratospherically high notes less often is eminently
sensible for a singer approaching her autumnal years
with dignity. The tone has deepened; the middle and
lower registers now carry the weight of both dynamic
power and expression. It is gloriously unforced.

She has chosen some great songs for her renaissance.

Two of the finest torch-songs of her late-flowering
are here. Mr Kelly's marvellous 'I Look To You' and
Diane Warren's 'I Didn't Know My Own Strength' are
both given blisteringly heart-felt emotional performances.
Hard but beautiful truths.

Up-tempo energy isn't lacking either : Mr Russell's
'A Song For You' is given a treatment every bit as
good as her account of Ms Lennox's 'Step By Step'.
It is a stomping and storming highlight.
So too the wonderfully funky gospel energy of 'For The Lovers'.

That Ms Houston is back is good reason to celebrate.
Nothing to apologise for and certainly nothing to forgive.
After all these years this is the real deal.

Essential.

It's finally here, Whitney's first studio album in nearly 7 years and thankfully it's a very solid album. They said they were going to keep the music true to Whitney and not to conform to todays music gimmicks and for the most part, they have achieved this. The album is very 'Whitney' but obviously has an up-to-date sound, probably achieved mostly through the use of the best producers of the moment. These include Swizz Beats, Danja, R.Kelly, David Foster, The Underdogs, C 'Tricky' Stewart, Dianne Warren, Stargate and Akon.

Overall the album is very balanced and well rounded with a good mix of up-tempos, mid-tempos and ballads. The first single 'Million Dollar Bill' is an up-tempo feel good track and is not a bad way to start of the album but it is far from the best song. The best ballad on the album is without a doubt 'I Look To You'. There is a real sincerity in Whitney's voice and the track is very moving. The Danja produced up-tempo cuts 'Nothin' But Love' and 'For Lovers' are really very good, especially 'For The Lovers' which builds up to a highly energetic chorus. Great stuff. Other stand out tracks include the Stargate produced 'Call You Tonight' which is a fantastic mid-tempo similar in style to Jennifer Hudson's 'Spotlight' only better. 'Salute' is a ballad with bite, dealing with the breakdown of a relationship.

Overall, the album is very positive, tasteful and of a high quality. Whitney's voice has changed since we last heard her but it is still undeniably Whitney. The album is Whitney from start to finish and there aren't really any tracks that should have been left out. It's definately a must have for Whitney fans, shes finally back and in a better place than she has been for years. Its also worth buying if you haven't previously bought any Whitney records as it is contemporary enough to be appreciated for that reason. The music is much better than what anyone else is putting out at the moment. A great musical effort (",)

The songs are great, very inspirational. It's like she has never been away. Wecome back Whitney, God Bless.

I'm no musician or music guru but this is a brilliant come back album for Whitney; the first 5 songs differ from each other in style but are fantastic...I would like to see at least one of them reach to No.1 in the charts; she gives a beautiful tribute to all her family and friends who have supported her in one way or the other on the back of the album cover...but more especially she gives all that she has to God; Well done Whitney, keep going as strong as you have become and don't give in to the negativity that tries to invade you but give in to the love that evidently surrounds you!!

I really liked this new Cd by whitney Houston , i have got her old music going back to the 80s . i was quite surprised how much i liked it now its 2009 , her voice is still Amazing ...

Brilliant album can't believe amazon are selling it for such a low price.
Not a bad song on this cd. Love it

This album is very good, its a mix of the original whitney music from the 80's and the new music we hear at the moment, the collaborations with Akon are great on this album, would have been nice to have a few extra songs on it as it feels like quite a short album but maybe thats becaused every song is great!

I love this CD....most of the songs were great the second time round. To be honest, the first listen was a bit disappointing as it is nothing like the old Whitney. However, once i got over that and just accepted that her voice has changed, I began to embrace her new voice and the songs really got me hooked.

I am surprised that her songs don't get more air-time in the UK - except million dollar bill - which I actually don't really like. There are much better songs on there which i think would do much better if people knew about them....my absolute favourite is "I look to You" - such a powerful song - why don't they play that one on the radio? has anyone heard it played? I also love "Salute" - that song is so relevant and current...would definitely do well - imho.

Other songs that grew on me include: "Didn't know my own strength" - the words are very heartfelt; "Like I never left" with Akon - has a nice feel to it, quite Akon-like; "For the lovers" is good as well as "I'm a call you tonight" which have a kind of grooving feel to it. I didn't particularly like what they did to "A song for you" and there seemed to be a song missing - as I never heard "Worth it".

So all in all, this album would be a 5 out of 5, but because i can't help but compare her to the old Whitney, I give it a 4 (which is kind of unfair, as compared to anyone else, it would be a great album)

It was so good to have a Whitney album for sale again. Although I do agree her voice has changed, much deeper I thought her singing on the album was excellent. "I look to you" is a great song with great lyrics, her voice gave it a country and western feel and although not classic high pitched Whitney was a pleasure to listen to.

This is vintage Whitney at her best. All those reports that others have made saying this does not match her earlier work must be hard of hearing. Sure, her voice has changed,given the challenges she has faced, anyone's would, but she is still remarkably Whitney and only she could have the gift for pulling this one off. The tracks are current and leave all those rapp artist left looking very inadequate. This lady can and always will be head and shoulders above the so called superstars of today. They should listen to how it should be done. Buy this album-it really is a joy to hear.