Thursday, September 9, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 124: Didn't We Almost Have It All

Didn't We Almost Have It All - Whitney Houston (1987)

Whitney Houston cannot sing this song anymore. I honestly can't imagine how anyone could do it more than once anyway, without destroying their voice. The power in this performance is staggering, a Valkyrie descending from Valhalla to pummel us with her passion. Somehow the music intelligentsia were not impressed. For an album and song so derided by critics upon its release (for being too much like her debut smash), no one has ever commented on the versatility displayed here. Listen to how she slips into a funk bridge out of nowhere. Listen to how good her head voice holds up after belting her face off. These are pipes that have been forged in the steel of Thor's hammer (What is with all the Norse allusions today?). They would serve her for only two more studio albums and multiple single appearances before disappearing forever in a haze of self abuse and relationship hell. Whitney Houston cannot sing this song anymore. Still, she did once, and that is all that really matters.

2 comments:

  1. You know, I always gave Whitney a lot of shit because her technique was awful from every possible standpoint. Young, idealistic me didn't want young singers to hear her and try to emulate her because everything she did was a recipe for ruining a hell of a great instrument, even without the drugs.
    But in retrospect, she left us with some amazing sounds, and maybe that's enough.

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  2. She always blew my mind, in that tortured rawness of hers, much like Janis before her. This song never stops getting to me.

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