#187 | Posted by cbob
There's a reason Whitney Houston sold over 170 million albums worldwide - more than U2, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra. Being "soulless" wouldn't be a term most would agree with. "Soul" is the feeling put into a song, whether white or black.
If you compare Dolly's version of "I Will Always Love You" I think you'd find the way Whitney Houston did the melody is pretty darned close to Dolly's except for the last note. Even Dolly did grace note runs from one note to another on certain lines.
#194 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2012-02-12 10:00 PM | Reply | Flag:
Hey, it's a matter of personal taste, I suppose. Yours just happens to be wrong, lol. (j/k)
Whitney Houston had one of the best voices on the planet, but I get no feeling in my gut when I listen to her. "Soul" is an intangible thing that you know when you hear, but it has to do with evoking an emotion rather than simply having rich pipes and incredible range, which Whitney surely did. I would much prefer early Aretha, or virtually anything from Mavis Staples, Tina Turner, Etta James, Sharon Jones (& the Dap Kings), or even Adele's output.
Just because Whitney sold a shitload of records doesn't change my perception of her. She had enormous talent, no doubt, and I wish I could have chosen a batch of compelling material for her to sing, along with maybe a grittier producer to force her to focus on depth rather than polish. The pop charts have been dominated by high-gloss, well produced, technically proficient shlock that lacks depth for many years now, and Whitney's enormous commercial success is one of the reasons.