The nicest thing I can say about Whitney Houston's comeback album "I Look To You" is that it's good, but it isn't Whitney good.
I'm used to a Whitney Houston that can wail out high notes as if they came naturally to her. The old Whitney, at her best, was an ethereal experience.
This new Whitney has a voice almost as low and raspy as her cousin Dionne Warwick, and she just can't hit the notes she used to bless our lives with back in the early '90s.
Thanks, crack rock and Bobby Brown.
Some of the dance songs aren't bad, and much of the album sounds as if Whitney is talking directly to people in her life.
"Nothin' but Love" is a song to everyone, those who continued to back her during her trials and tribulations, and those who tried to "hate on" her.
The slow jam "Worth It" has an underscore that is both arrogant and incredibly self-aware, as Whitney sings "I know somebody's gonna make love to this song tonight."
I don't know of anyone other than the late Barry White, the late Luther Vandross or Teddy Pendergrass who could boast in such a fashion and still be truthful.
Of course, the earlier line of "This is for the lovers 'bout twenty years deep" paints a creepier, "This is music my parents could get down to" sort of vibe I'm fairly certain isn't supposed to be there.
I also have to give special attention to the album-ending song "Salute," as it seems to be Whitney talking directly to Bobby.
She's "feelin' better than" him and is ready to do her hair, call up her "girlfriends" and head out to a club.
Head on out, Whitney. You deserve it.
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