Whitney Houston Albums Ranked From Worst to Best
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- It's Whitney Houston week here on Tastes Like Music. Today we're ranking the seven studio albums from one of music's all-time greatest voices. However, we're a little out of our rock n roll comfort zone on this one; venturing further into both R&B and pop than we usually do. It makes for an interesting episode.
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Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. She is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Her singing style, which was strongly inspired by gospel music, had an innovative influence on popular music. Houston is known for her powerful, soulful vocals and vocal improvisation skills. She also enhanced her popularity by entering into the movie industry. Her works, which include recordings and films, have generated both great success and controversy.
Houston began singing in church as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. She is the only artist to have had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, from "Saving All My Love for You" in 1985 to "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" in 1988. Houston's third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), continued to yield two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need".
Houston made her acting debut with the romantic thriller film The Bodyguard (1992). At the time of its release, the film was the tenth highest-grossing film of all time. However, it received negative reviews for its screenplay and performances of the lead actors. She recorded six songs for the film's soundtrack, including "I Will Always Love You" which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became the best-selling physical single by a female in music history. The soundtrack for The Bodyguard won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and remains the best-selling soundtrack album of all time. Houston went on to star and record soundtracks for two high-profile films, Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). Soundtrack of The Preacher's Wife, which was produced by Houston, became the best-selling gospel album of all time. As a film producer, she produced multicultural movies including Cinderella (1997) and series including The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls.
Houston's first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love (1998), sold millions and spawned several hit singles, including "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right but It's Okay" and "My Love Is Your Love". Following the success, she renewed her contract with Arista for $100 million - one of the biggest recording deals of all time. However, her personal problems began overshadowing her career and the 2002 studio album, Just Whitney, received mixed reviews. Her drug use and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown received widespread media coverage. After a six-year break from recording, Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 chart with her final studio album, I Look to You (2009). On February 11, 2012, Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards and was covered internationally.
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Let us know what you think of Whitney's catalog and how you rank her albums. Thanks for watching!
Next week: Blur
After That: The Darkness, David Bowie, Roxy Music
#WhitneyHouston #AlbumsRanked #WorsttoBest
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Much respect for covering this artist and any-and-all musical genres. I've heard a lot of Whitney Houston over the years (my wife has been a big fan), and there's a bit of nostalgia working for me on her break-out songs from '85-'87 (I was in college). But in general I find her career trajectory sad. So talented, such a performer and so much what could have been. RIP.
This was great! Outside of the singles, I'm not a Whitney fan by any measure but I almost enjoy the videos where you step outside of your comfort zone more than the ones in your wheelhouse. Would love to see more of this sort of thing. Good job, guys. Really excited for Blur next week.
First of all, I want to say I love that you guys did this. I think it's cool and very important to give all kinds of different artists of different genres a fair evaluation. I've been really looking forward to this episode for that reason.
I listened to everything this week but the Christmas album. I wasn't sure if that was going to be covered and I just couldn't bring myself to listen to Christmas music by anyone in January. Before this, I knew all the hits and I own I'm Your Baby Tonight because I picked it up once at a thrift store but I don't think I actually ever listened to it (I also have had the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack since I was a teenager but she doesn't have that many songs on that). I went into this with an open mind and honestly not even really sure what to expect because I don't think I'd ever heard a whole album by her. So many of her hits are undeniably great but the rest was a mystery.
I can't say I loved any of these albums which actually makes me kinda sad. I was really hoping to. The worst for me was easily I Look To You. I agree that the first song was good but then it fell apart entirely. I have come to learn that I really really can't stand late 00s r&b/hip hop production even when it's artists that I love. I've mentioned my love for Mariah Carey and even her albums from that time period are also probably at the bottom of her catalogue for me as well.
I'm not even sure though which album would be my favourite. I love her upbeat 80s songs and the L.A. Reid /Babyface tracks on I'm Your Baby Tonight for the most part (I agree 100% on the critiques of "My Name is Not Susan" - SUCH a weird name choice). But I am 50/50 on the hit ballads, I like some but others just don't do it for me. None of the album track ballads stood out and I felt like there were too many of them. I also felt sad listening to this discography chronologically. I feel like for someone who was such a huge artist and a huge talent that she should just have this monster discography and I feel like, especially in the second half, it just petered off. I feel like she deserved so much better.
I might listen to Whitney again, none of the album tracks connected with me but after Jason and Joe's reviews I feel like maybe I am missing something.
If all the books and documentaries are correct, she had an overbearing family who very much had opinions about who and what she should be. Houston seemed afraid of asserting herself both musically and in her personal life and even went so far as to denounce her longtime best friend and female lover rather than go against her family's wishes and acknowledge her true sexual orientation. Given the contrast between her personal life and the lyrics of most of the songs she sang, I wonder if any of her albums even come close to expressing what she wanted to express.
One of the great rnb/ soul voices . No question. Sadly , she didn't have that quality producer / songwriting partner throughout her career ,so she doesn't leave a legacy of great albums that her talent deserved . Never mind , to the general population , she transcended any critical appraisal , so she could sing the phone book and it went platinum. Unfortunately, the phone book might've been preferable to a lot of the material she was given to work with over her career . In short:
Patchy , underwhelming discography. ( some great singles )
Inspiring , brilliant voice .
RIP Whitney
1. Whitney Houston ( 1985) : 3.5 stars
2. My Love Is Your Love ( 1998) : 3 stars
3. Whitney : ( 1987) : 2.5 stars
4. I'm Your Baby Tonight ( 1990) : 2 stars
5. Just Whitney : ( 2002) : 2 stars
6. I Look to You ( 2009) : 1.5 stars
7. One Wish ( 2003) : 1 Star
you must be deaf ahah her albums are some of the biggest selling albums ever produced and she had the best producers and musicians in the game you really don't know your facts.
Haven’t quite gotten to this one yet, but I’ll post a ranking in a couple days. Appreciate your willingness to cover stuff outside your norm! Keep up the great work!
Awesome! Your first r&b artist! (Though Whitney is often more pure pop than r&b). I enjoyed this one a lot and hope to see an Earth, Wind & Fire week sometime this year.
For most artists, the album was the end product of their artistry, for Whitney it was only the beginning. Also, the song Miracle is a masterpiece. Try Babyface's version of it hear how good it is.
Did you know that Whitney Houston's debut LP, called simply Whitney Houston had 4 number one singles on it? Did you know that Kramzer?
No; her second album did. The debut was a three year slow burn. Her first major hit only in the Americas was “You Give Good Love” went to #3 on Billboard and then she beat Elvis and The Beatles by having seven consecutive #1 hits. Three #1’s on her debut (25M copies globally) and four #1’s on her secondary album, Whitney
Kram’s a bit too harsh but I respect the honesty. In my opinion All At Once is one of the greatest pop ballads of all time. Jason seems to be the most reasonable to me this video. However I fully support Joe’s effort to spread his love of pop with the rest of us.
Of all the artists that have been covered on this channel, the format of ranking songs and albums applies least to Whitney Houston. She recorded albums and songs and those form the measuring stick for this ranking. For most artists this works fine. They do a great recording and sometimes are able to recreate it reasonably well live.
Not Whitney Houston. She is more like a jazz-musician who takes the framework of the song and builds something unique every time it is being played. Her live perfomances are mesmerizing. She's capable of finding new ways to approach a phrase and is always able to keep it musical. It's never a show of technique, but a channeling of passion for her art. So, while formally she is a recording artist, treating her as such doesn't do her justice. She's a vocal performance artist, whose qualities shines on stage, much less so in the recording studio.
It is very true that not everyone is an albums artist or even a great studio artist and there’s nothing wrong with that. - Joe
Wow! What a surprise man! I’ll give this review a shot lol. Sorry for the long writing- i used to work in news lmao. Ray Carter
A wonderful singer. I have no opinion of her albums. I never considered purchasing any of them. But, what a voice! Too good for pop BS.
I wish she would have taken care of herself better. A sad story that is all too common amidst the pop music world wasteland. She deserved better but she chose it.
As a modest R&B fan, I would say that during her peak phases, Whitney really did have the best voice note-for-note of anybody in the modern pop/rock era, and she could do it all live too. Any run, any volume, any dynamic. Just effortless gifts.
The vocal winner: Whitney by whatever the hell she wants.
P.S. Her Star Spangled Banner for the Super Bowl in 91 is hands-down the best version of it that I think has ever been done.
Loved your guys review!
For me, Whitney Houston died way too soon!
If she were alive today, she would propably be considered the queen of pop. I remember that during her peak phase, I defiantly think that she was more popular than Madonna
. I agree with joe and you guys on Whitney having way too many ballads on some of her albums. I remember my parents buying me the The Preacher’s Wife Soundtrack in 1996. I Believe In You and Me and Step by Step are my two favorite songs from her.
The only issue is when time moves on a lot of her peers like Mariah or Madonna seem to have made big comebacks and overshadow her past work.
The downside for me is that Whitney Houston didn’t really delve into too much pop or electronic stuff like Janet and Madonna! I wished that she would have! She and Bobby always have fun and joked around.
Here are my rankings:
1. Whitney 1987- Her best balanced album. So Emtional, Love Will Save The Day and I Just Wanna with Somebody we’re so good! Some of the strongest dance pop stuff even compared to Janet and Madonna. To me, this is the closest to Madonna that Whitney Houston ever got. I think of True Blue and her Like A Virgin albums when listing to Whitney 1987.
2. The Bodyguard Soundtrack(1992): It’s got some upbeat tunes and huge ballads. The album will propably stand the rest of time. It’s good mix of electronic music and Power ballads. The only issue is that Whitney and a lot of her team always seemed to battle on how many ballads for her to put into the music. My favorites were Queen of The Night, I Run To You, and I’m every woman with Chaka Khan.
3. I’m Your Baby Tonight (1990): My Aunt said to me, that before they was Becky, there was Susan lol! You guys cracked me up with those comments! All the Man that I Need, My Name is Not Susan, and I’m your baby tonight. I wish that she would have stuck with a cool image with that video!.
4. The Preachers Wife Soundtrack (1996): I Believe in You and Me, Step By Step, and Joy To The World were outstanding R and B tracks.
5. Whitney (1985)-This was such a shock when I bought this album. It’s good, but it’s sort if like-eh? It’s not as strong as her later work.
6. My Love is Your Love (1999):-I remember that I was alittle disappointed when it came out. I thought there would be more uptempo songs. HeartBreak Hotel, When You Believe, and it’s not right but it’s ok we’re decent. I really preferred Erika Badu and Jill Scott during this time.Didn’t really care for its not right but it’s ok.
7. Just Whitney (2002): this album was after the infamous Diane Sawyer interview. You could tell that both Whitney and Bobby were huge drug addicts but through all that pain they kept people smiling. I remember that I was watching Diane Sawyer, and She announced Whitney releasing a new cd. I thought to myself! Whose going to buy that? Janet was still hot. I gave this a listen for the first time about 2 years ago. Pleasently surprised- I thought it would sound dated, but it still sounds halfway decent. Why You Lookin At Me, Tell Me No, and Just John(???) we’re the only tracks that I remembered. To me this is a hidden gem but was laughed at when released.
8.
I Look To You (2009): Bobby and Whitney really seemed to be making a comeback. Her voice gave out but thousands of people still cheered her on. What a great entertainer. I felt disappointed by the tracks they released like Million Doller Bill, and I didn’t Know My Own Strength. It definitely was an adult contemporary album that they wouldn’t to put out. It just seemed like it didn’t catch up with the times.
I love that this is even here and you guys did a great job... Although my motivation for saying this is that I adore the ballads ,I do get awfully tired of people calling the ballads fluff and saccharine. Also, those ballads were just as popular back then as the fast songs, if not more, actually. It's just that the new crowd and new generation of radio pushers want to act as though the ballads weren't important or relevant. That's why we hardly ever hear them on the radio anymore. We can call them saccharin or whatever, but they were at the top of the charts because the public liked them. Also, an artist doesn't have to always have say or artistic push in order to be successful. They are a commodity. They are working just like the rest of us work. We don't always get to do what we want to do. I'm sure all the session musicians involved in these albums didn't necessarily want to do what they were doing either. And I would bet every dime I ever had that if she had done a whitewashed Christmas album at the peak of her career, it would have sold a lot better than "one wish".... I say that with every bit of confidence, and everybody knows that that is true.
thanks for this, guys, great review
Not counting greatest hits, the only album of hers I purchased was "My love is your love"... between 1996-2000 I bought everything Wyclef got his hands on, which was a lot. Haha.
Great video guys. Joe and I may have disagreed several times in the comments but I have to back him fully on this one. Also, I think I figured out Kram's problem with Whitney, you have to turn the volume above "0." Hope that helps!
Really enjoyed this, fellas. Huge Whitney fan when I was growing up. If you want to hear her at her absolute best, check out A Song For You live from a 1991 HBO concert. She kills it (nothing like her 2009 uptempo version). th-cam.com/video/DESaISVK8l0/w-d-xo.html
Whitney was always a magnificent live performer. Not as much of an albums artist. However, she could take even her so-so songs and turn them into gold with her live interpretations of them. In contrast, most artists can turn any song into magic in the studio with the right production, but fail miserably when they take those songs on tour to sing them live. Even Mariah couldn't produce much magic singing live, which is probably why she didn't tour often.
When modern-day critics do criticisms of the first three albums, it kind of isn't relevant because everybody is tainted now. Nobody remembers how important and beautiful those albums were during the time they were popular. They were popular because of the production. Now we sit here and bash the production. 75% of people who say they love Whitney don't even realize that it was the songs they loved . . That's why none of those people own anything from her catalog after 1994.... When she try to do her own thing, nobody wanted to listen anymore.... Don't hate my comments. Go to billboard and see it for yourself
Whitney broke out when I was a kid -- "Saving All My Love For You" was released just after my 10th birthday -- and I never really got the appeal. Sure, she's a technically proficient singer, but all of her songs just always felt kind of generic. Looking through the singles, I recognize most of the songs from the '80s, when I still listened to a fair amount of Top 40 radio -- but they all kind of feel similar and nothing really distinguishes them from anything else that was happening in pop music at the time. The only song I ever heard which I thought was mildly cool was "My Love is Your Love", which was written by Wyclef Jean and has that late 90s Fugees/Lauryn Hill vibe.
If it wasn't for this channel I probably wouldn't have gone through this discography, and I did find a bunch of songs I really like!
1. Whitney Houston ("How Will I Know" is her best song. You also have the smooth as silk one-two punch of "Saving All My Love/You Give Good Love". "Thinking About You" sounds like it could have been in Beverly Hills Cop and it's awesome.)
2. Whitney (A no fucking around follow-up. A real 1987 AC/R&B/Pop monster.)
3. I'm Your Baby Tonight (Not too sure about some of the more dated dancey ones, but "Who Do You Love" and the Stevie penned "We Didn't Know" still work. The slower ones are solid and the title track still thrills (even though I've heard it thousands of times). Plus, her best album cover.)
4. One Wish: The Holiday Album (It IS some of her best material. Some of the backing track ideas are pretty good.)
5. Just Whitney (This is an easier listen than "My Love & I Look". Highlights- "Tell Me No" and "Love That Man".)
6. I Look to You (Would have been great if the whole album was in the style of "Million Dollar Bill".)
7. My Love Is Your Love (I get the case for this if you like that late 90s sound. I don't, and at the end (of this 60 minuter) you get stuck with two Diane Warren tunes in a row. The second of which, "You'll Never Stand Alone" is flat-out treacherous.
All Whitney Albums was amazing it just depend on your taste if you love more Pop Whitney than the first 2 albums is where you to go now if you want in between Whitney than the bodyguard is where you should go for pop/R&B/Soul/gospel now if you want gospel Whitney than the preacher wife but if you want R&B/hiphopsoul Whitney than that's the my love is your love now if you want R&B/pop Whitney than that's just Whitney but if want Whitney with different genres and and trying new things while stay classy in the new music world than it's I look to you but you can never go wrong with any Whitney album because you always gonna find and love what ever you hear.
24:48 😀Rolling over the floor laughing! 🙂 hahaha
I enjoyed listening to your opinions on this video.
I have never been a huge Whitney fan but I do know a couple of the albums fairly well: I enjoyed my love is your love for example.
I think what made me reflect after watching the video was how much she was manipulated by her family and in
the industry as a moneymaking machine - Which is why she ended up singing potentially music she did not want to sing and maybe in that, she lost some authenticity as an artist.
And hand in hand, you have the whole tragedy that was her life.
It is devastating as she was incredibly talented and I believe she had a beautiful soul but was just vulnerable. She became famous too fast too young and the fame was abused by those around her. RIP Whitney 💙
Man the Jermaine Jackson slander is crazy, he's a legend😤😤. I like their duets, they got like 5 or 6 out there, Christmas is definitely a 5 star holiday😂
3 negative people, stop bashing and criticizing a legend, shame on you
I’m telling it like it is. - Joe
Sexual Chocolate’s cover of The Greatest Love of All in Coming to America is brilliant though.
He's good
Stoic Jason with the rare comment on one of his partner's rankings (but still stayed in character)!! Nice. 😂
I love this channel!! But I wish you guys reacted to songs from her soundtrack albums as well like the preachers wife and the waiting to exhale soundtrack! Consider reacting to some of her live performances where she makes otherwise dull songs so much more complex and interesting :) Also could you please rank Lana Del Rey albums !
I was 11 or 12 when Whitney’s debut came out and she was so adorable in her videos that I got a big crush on her-not on the level of my Madonna crush, but enough that I bought her debut and listened to it for a few months. Whitney was such a powerful singer, and I can think of no bigger testament to her talent than how she used her voice and charisma to turn relentlessly bland, generic songs and arrangements into memorable, huge pop hits. With the exception of the Dolly cover and maybe a couple of her early hits, the songs on Whitney’s albums sound like they were primarily the products of focus group testing and corporate marketing campaigns.
Actually saw Whitney live after the release of her debut album and apparently she had a bit of a throat issue, however she still sounded amazing. I think the debut is clearly her best album.
Thanks God we have our own opinion, but the guy on the top left side is definitely very "strict"..Regarding his No. 6 and No. 5 positions probably his apretiation is not according a 80s point of view, just like these albums were realesed recently, whoever, is his point of you.
I appreciate the gentleman on the top left. As a young black man that grew up listening primarily to r&b and hip-hop (even though I lean now more into rock and disco - oil and water, of course), I’m sure it was tough going through this material since we rarely see people cross the color line genre-wise. However; I have to say that I’ve always agreed with his [I’d wager] hot take. If you compare her to female heavyweights Tina, Madonna, Cyndi & Janet, there’s no depth in her material. The focus was clearly on her vocal prowess and Clive knew was he was doing, but it risked the critical success of the former artists who had a stronger visual/artistic brand.
Appreciate it!
@@TastesLikeMusic Absolutely! Keep up the great work. I genuinely hope you guys will do a compendium of Tina Turner’s nine solo albums (ten counting her film with Mel Gibson). Writing a book on her currently; global megastar but wasn’t really received as much after Private Dancer here in America. Through her sad passing, I think you guys would give a sobering, unbiased review as (what I’d presume) non-fans to semi-fans since she was basically close friends with every major rock star on Earth.
Do mariah careys catalog. She did write 98 percent of it
Kudos for stepping outside your comfort zone by so much. Much respect for that.
Loving Joe-nuary so far!
Hey guys, I am a new viewer of your channel and I am enjoying it. Question: When you rank albums, can you add the year of each album printed with the album name and the rank? That would be especially helpful for those of us who may not know a particular artist's discography as well. Thanks! Best wishes!!
Lmao, Kramzer’s face in the thumbnail is fuckin’ priceless! 😂
Whitney is a surprise to see in such manly company as this channel, but a welcome one. Due to her disastrous private life, it can be easy to forget just what a great singer
she was in the early part of her career, before the drugs and who knows what else completely ruined her pipes.
Her first 3 albums all contain mostly great stuff, and there's usually a single here and there on the others that hold up as well.
Her most underrated album is perhaps "I'm Your Baby Tonight" which I think was unfairly less successful than her previous two efforts.
It got a lot of attention for "All the Man That I Need", but I think "Miracle" is the highlight on that album. Almost as good as "One Moment in Time".
But the greatest mystery to me is why "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (the title song) is almost only available in various inferior dance remixes nowadays?
The original version only exists on the original CD and on a few compilations. Even on Spotify, the track has been replaced with a dance remix.
She went downhill during the 90's and was completely past it by the 00's, but what a run she had prior to that!
I agree with Jason's take on "I Will Always Love You" in that Whitney Houston totally oversings the song. For me, it is one of the all-time clearest examples of oversinging in a song. Unlike Ms. Houston's other songs, I can't even listen to it when it comes on the radio it is so over the top to me. My favorite version is actually Linda Ronstadt's -- Dolly's friend, who recorded it only a couple of years after her original. Linda's version is the one that Kevin Costner played for the soundtrack's producer for potential recording by Whitney. I also prefer Dolly's original version over Ms. Houston's, but Linda's is my all-time favorite.
This gives me the same feeling as when the (at that time) esteemed NME put the Spice Girls on their cover…
fun video lol I'm not a huge Whitney fan admittedly, I recognize that she's talented but I'm a little too young to have been exposed to her most popular stuff at the time and i never really heard her music very often when I was growing up so it doesn't really connect with me for some reason, I'd rather listen to Salt N Pepa or TLC any day of the week tbh
Speaking of Salt N Pepa, my favorite song of theirs is Whatta Man which has the lyric "he knows that my name is not Susan" lol i always liked how random that line was and I never would have known it was a Whitney reference if it wasn't for this video so i thank you for that haha
Oh I forgot about that reference - nice catch.
Definitely a singles artist for me. The big singles are up there with just about anything. The album tracks... well the less said about those, the better.
whitneys one wish album was okay, yes there where some songs that didn't work quite well but how can you say oh holy night wasn't good she knocked that out of the park still my favourite version of that song to this day and I can only imagine what it would of sounded like at her full voice. its just a shame she never recorded a Christmas album in the 80s or early 90s that would of been fire.
The early hits remind me very much of a bygone era of my adolescence. Interesting choice for a ranking video, I'm always up for education on music. Not a catalog I'm going to dig deep on but good to have a overview
Now you guys need to do SADE! 🙌😍
Yes, and Jill Scott, Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu and more. 🙂
I'm not the biggest Whitney Houston fan but I always thought she had an amazing voice. I think it's cool that you covered her. Jason, I think maybe your dad may've had a crush on Whitney Houston?!
Anyway, I know a few of her albums. My mom had the Whitney album, which was pretty good. And I have The Bodyguard Soundtrack, which I like. The only other albums I'm interested in are her debut and I'm Your Baby Tonight. The rest, not so much. BTW, having said I'm not a Whitney Houston fan, I'll choose her over Madona, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Katy Perry or Taylor Swift any day.
4:21 you can tell what she’s wishin’ for on the album cover.. she looks SOOOO high. SO HIGH.
I like my R&B a little grittier than much of Houston's catalog has to offer. Less adult contemporary would be okay by me, but there were plenty of fun, danceable songs in here to like. Not wild about ballads, so most of those songs end up dragging her albums down for me. I'm afraid for many people she is known for her ballads and for what I think are gratuitous vocal gymnastics. She's got one of the best voices of all time, but as I listened to her catalog I kept wishing she would show some restraint and a better feel for dynamic variation. Don't need to fill every second of every song with vocals, and not every moment calls for full throttle vocals. Also, my mom really liked her first two albums, but those weren't great times in our house so those two records used to depress me. They don't anymore, but funny how nostalgia and memory work differently for different people.
1. I'm Your Baby Tonight
2. Whitney Houston
3. Just Whitney
4. Whitney
5. My Love Is Your Love
6. I Look to You
Been a long time since I'd listened to any of Whitney's albums. It was good to revisit the ones I knew (her first three releases) and hear the others for the first time. Really enjoyed Just Whitney, so a discovery for me. Thx for this.
Definately one of those artists best listened to on a single disc greatest hits album.
I miss her so much!! I loved me some Whitney
Justice for whitney
Anybody else permanently glued to Kramzer's screen to see all his squirms and reactions?
Personal trigger point; Joe saying that Whitney was ahead of R.E.M's Document in 1987. I almost levitated out of my chair in a state of shock!!
But I like I Will Always Love You and I Want To Dance With Somebody. Good pop songs for sure.
You might actually like BarryManilow's catalogue. The filler tracks are actually pretty good. He was the writer,producer,quality controller of his music. Plus he perfected the best huge thunderous snare drum reverb sound, even for today's production standards.
There was a shopping mall in Australia that had a problem with hoodlums hanging out in the parking lot, so they pumped Barry Manilow's music out there and the hoodlums never returned! Heh-heh. Seriously, tho, I like Barry and would love to see a Manilow week.
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 I agree. A Manilow week would be pretty cool.
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 I think a lot of criticism of Manilow was solely the critic's. same thing concerning JohnDenver. Jealousy is actually the Biggest form of flattery.
I gave her a chance--great voice, but unfortunately she wasn't my style. That said, these off-the-path episodes are some of your best. Really appreciated the analysis and reviews.
her Aunt Thelma had a strong voice also. "Dont Leave Me This Way'.... wait now some sources say they are not related. But I heard decades ago that she was Whitney's Aunt. whatever...
FYI, she's also not related to Sam Houston.🤣
I loved her first two albums. Wore the tapes out listening to them... That's where my WH journey kind of ended.
Ah no way! Her third album is also amazing as well. Then her Journey most certainly ended after the 3rd album!
Mind you her 4th album is actually not bad. She has ok songs but also great songs on that album.
But her 5th-7th albums are a big no to me and I like to pretend those albums don’t exist!
Not much love for Whitney Houston yet in the comments. Is it a Whitney Houston thing or just no one liking Rn'b/Soul? If Taste Like Music would do Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Booker T. And The MG's, Michael Jackson, Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, Lionel Richie or other similar artists in the future would that be more of interest?
I’m working on those. We’ll be doing a big one this year. - Joe
The problem might be that people think she's a pop artist and not a r n b/soul artist. Obviously theres crossover but to me r n b is slow jamz and her hits were dancey and upbeat. Her biggest song I Will Always Love You isnt R n B. Someone like Mary J Blige is way more R n B compared to Whitney.
Stevie Wonder , of course will be epic (thanks Joe ) ..Marvin Gaye, Bobby Womack, Luther Vandross , Aretha would be nice ..
You throw a lot of things into one big bucket. Temptations, Bobby Womack or Booker T have pretty little in common with the Whitney/Vandross bunch. This is a bit like talking about "Country" or "Jazz" (our hosts have done a great job with their little country episode where they have proven that even there is something for almost everybody even for those who loudmouth "I do not like xxxx).
@@roxannewalsh no one’s comparing Whitney to Bobby Womack or Aretha . We’re just referring to a genre of music ( soul/ rnb) that might get some love on this channel . Vandross I rate highly as an artist , maybe didn’t produce a “ What’s Going On” or an “ Innervisions” but is highly regarded in the rnb community where maybe there’s less of the snobbery and elitist “cred” hogging we get in “our world” 😊
Clive Davis was on board for that huge contract late in her career where she underperforming. He was in a position to know that her voice and her commercial appeal probably couldn’t be sustained. Did the powers at be think they could slap her face on an album cover and people would buy it? Anyone who would enable Whitney that way deserves to lose their money
An Hour Of Whitney ! 😕 - I thank Whitney for helping to pay my salary when I was an employee at Arista ! She also sang the national anthem before my New York Giants shocked 😲 The Buffalo Bills 🐃 in the Super Bowl 🏈 !
WWWIIIDDDDDDEEEE RRRRIIIIGGGGHHHHTTTT !
@@bengalgangster The Week Before , Matt Bahr made a Game Ending 43 Yarder to eliminate the 49ers - Pat Summeral saying " There Will Be No Three Peat ! "
@@davidellis5141 kinda remember the game . low scoring i think , if i have the right one [ in san fran?]
@@bengalgangster 15 - 13 All Field Goals For The G Men - They knocked out Montana in the 4th - Leonard Marshall with the big hit & Roger Craig fumbled at the 2 minute warning allowing The Giants a last chance. Classic Game.
My name is not Susan, it’s Whitney. Miss Houston if you’re nasty.
honestly that's funny
I hope you guys eventually get to Donna Summer, but Whitney Houston is truly amazing
lol I’m trying not to lose my shit when Kramzer keeps saying 2 stars on the first three albums he doesn’t like by her but does enjoy her hits 😂
I kind of lost my shit when he gave her first three albums 2 stars 🥴🤣
You can tell Jason wasn’t having it either. But hey agree to disagree. We can’t all like the same thing.
Great voice, not my cup of tea, I only know 3 albums:
1. Whitney (6/10)
2. Whitney Houston (5/10)
3. I´m Your Baby Tonight (5/10)
Greetings from Canary Islands
Kramzer probably shouldn't be rating the discography of a musician he clearly loathes so much that he is incapable of any objectivity. Instead he comes off as snarky and nasty. I'm not a huge Whitney Houston fan, but there is no evenhandedness in his criticism. It's just a pile on. He's like the Simon Cowell of this channel.
I did like the other two fellows' evaluations of Houston's work.
So you see why he’s necessary. - Joe
I’m sitting out on this week, but I started listening to Blur’s discography, so I’ll play along next week and post my rankings with you guys! Looking forward to the weeks ahead! Nothing against Whitney, I just feel like with her, I’m a just the hits kind of guy
Edit- that being said, I was highly entertained by this episode
Yeah, I sometimes skip artists i'm not interested in to dedicate more time to bigger discogs. Blur, Bowie then Roxy Music definitely rivals the best 3 run discog I think they have ever done
Except those aren’t all in a row. You’ve got The Darkness in there too
@@TastesLikeMusic 2 outta 3 aint bad ! where have i heard that?
@@TastesLikeMusic The Darkness is going to be so much fun to go through, a one hit wonder gem
@@TastesLikeMusic Excited for that one too. Permission to Land was a top listened to album of mine in my freshman year in University
Whitney is definitely more a singles artist than an album artist IMO, I wish Clive Davis would've allowed her to stretch out more musically, with her voice it would've been interesting.
Kudos for doing an artist like Whitney. Not the biggest fan (although I do love R&B generally). Not sure why I don't go for the "diva" type artist (like Adele). Can't wait for Carly Rae week. More my style for a female solo singer. I too am a big fan, Joe! (both the blonde and brunette versions)
Carly can be part of a future Canada month. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic Good idea, eh
@@TastesLikeMusic I am 100% on board for a Canada month.
Completely with Kram. If you were a musician in your 20s in the 1980s you weren’t a fan of this kind of music. Her hits were overplayed soooooo much that you hated them even more because of that. SO OVERPLAYED and candy hearts lyrics - Kram well done. So much respect for her amazing voice for sure. And her descent in to heroin skid row death…. It’s one of the great tragedies of the last century. Probably a very sweet, innocent person destroyed by fame and fortune. Tragic, but I can’t listen to her overproduced, saccharine ballads or the plastic, mechanical, robotic sounding uptempo songs. A small handful of decent songs. It would have been way more interesting to see what she could do on a stripped down Aretha Franklin kind of album, just to let her own personal soul singing come through.
Never listen to more than three songs of her and don't plan on it but I love watching you guys anyways
Out of all the incredible 80's bands/artists Joe could have picked...Smh
This is your penance for all your noise and indie rock picks. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic Patrick Bateman was a HUGE Whitney fan. Music for sociopaths apparently.
@@afermata949 Well, they already did Phil Collins, didn’t they? Next up: Huey Lewis & The News
@@beetlebum7760 Get the raincoats ready
@beetlebum You take that back about Huey Lewis .. don’t give them any ideas! 😫
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one
Whitney might have the greatest voice of all time. I only listened to her two 80s albums. Whitney Houston, the debut, is pretty great, but the duets were unnesscary, and it should have had more dance tracks. 4 stars. I don't know what to think of Whitney, the second album. I Wanna Dance With Somebody is easily her best song, and one of the greatest pop songs of all time. So Emotional is also really great, and Didn't We Almost Have It All and Love Will Save the Day are good, but the rest of the album is just one filler song after another. All the ballads sound the same with the same cheesy production and melodies. I love 80s and 90s pop music, but she has no creative control over her albums, so a lot of the album tracks all sound the same. I have no interest in listening to the rest of her discography. I do like Whitney, but in the realm of old school pop music, she does not compare to MJ, Madonna, Prince, or Janet, all of whom have made very creative, catchy pop records with a variety of sounds and styles. Whitney Houston has great talent but really no artistry.
Over the years I've met a few women I've known as Sue. Susan was the name that their parents called them as children if they were getting told off.
Her first 2 albums are amazing everything after is average.
Her first three albums are definitely the best out of her catalog
Amen! I said that after she died: the real fans of Whitney weren't the ones blasting "i will always love you" AFTER she died. The real fans were the ones who were rocking the cassettes of the first three albums everyday BEFORE she died.
Surprisingly I grew to like her 4th album. It’s honestly not bad. It has ok songs and great songs on it.
But ya her first three albums are the best ever by her. Now her 5th, 6th, and 7th albums are definitely a big no for me! 🥴😣
It’s crazy because some of the songs like didnt we almost have it all and a few others, she hated and didn’t want to sing, but eventually did so
Even I, as a fan, don't listen to her studio albums. She sounded much, much, much better singing live, even when very young. Her 1983 version of "Home" is close to perfection. She didn't have any great album, but she was still a genius-level singer and amazing interpreter.
Speaking of prominent R&B artists, would you guys ever do a ranking of Stevie Wonder's albums? I'd be curious to see what your differing opinions might be.
Oh definitely doing a Stevie. Top 10 all-time for me. - Joe
Tastes Like Music is starting to run out of the classic rock superstars, but if they open the doors to more genres then the field is wide open again. Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, etc etc
@@craigyoun7642 oh there's plenty left to do
TY for doing this tired of whitney being slept on in music communities
Really sad to listen to some of these songs. Their lyrics are such a contrast to the life she lived, her relationship with Bobby Brown, and the life she perhaps wanted to live but couldn't because those around her did not and would not approve. So many of her songs are about loving your man, being grateful for your man, and being true to yourself, and yet, she led a closeted life and had to turn against her longtime best friend/lover to keep up appearances for Brown and the rest of the Houston family. Cruelly, sadly ironic.
Listening now, and ready for some culture.
Sorry but the guy in the top left corner is so patronising, it’s actually painful listening to him. Whitney was the greatest singer of all time and deserves more respect.
I get he doesn’t like her music but it’s not worth hearing his opinion if he’s going to have such a hateful and negative attitude from the outset. It’s like getting a vegetarian to do a review of a meat market..
I'd rather get someone's honest opinion of an artist. Not interested in someone just saying-the-right-things to avoid controversy or whatever. Leave that to politics. I want the truth - as they hear it.
But....I hated the music and it was a negative experience for me. Why is that not valid?
@@ryankramzer1256 because you weren’t asked
@@w4ka997 technically, Joe asked
very negative person, and praising madonna so highly, none of her music seems memorable., whitney is a legend among producers and singers alike, a lot of dispute with these 3
Whitney was always better live than her recorded studio material. Esp in her prime.
I love you guys! Kramzer was in top form here! 😂
Not my kind of music. I like a few of the singles but I’d never consider her albums an artist. I’m not quite as critical as kramzer , but I kind of agree with his assessment. But then again I’d put most r&b from this era in the same ball park. love 60s and 70s r&b when it was a soulful but too much of this is just boring.
Especially the ballads. Don’t like r&b ballads (not just Whitney) from this era. Great singer, Just not my kind of material. But she did do some upbeat pop. Just wished she stuck with that instead of the boring crap. It was what they were producing back then though, so she was limited by what they gave her to sing.
This was an era before popism was a thing. Now, critics look to elevate pop music artistically beyond what it actually is but in Whitney Houston's era they didnt do that. I dont know who the modern day Whitney Houston is but someone like Dua Lipa gets widespread acclaim. Even the generation after Whitney with people like Mariah Carey and then Brittney Spears didnt get the free pass like the dance pop artists do now. Olivia Rodrigo wouldnt be getting all the praise she does now if she was from a previous generation. My theory is since rock "died" the critics were forced to and beholden themselves to elevate pop to rock's artistic level even if it doesnt deserve it.
I don't know if that's true -- Michael Jackson and Madonna were pretty well liked by critics back in the day, but both of them kind of had their own style, where Whitney was just a generic mish-mash of styles that tried to showcase her voice. Whitney didn't really have any artistic vision for her music, which is why she never got much love from critics.
@@edgustafson No I wasnt implying Whitney and other pop artists got trashed back then. Far from it. Just implying that critics place way more importance on pop music now than they did then. Id like to know what artistic vision for their music people like Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo have cuz they are getting unanimous praise these days. How much artistic vision does any pop artist have when their albums have a million writers and producers, anyway ?
I agree that her discography isn't a very exciting one, but there's no way that the christmas album is her best. Not my type of music, but she has got a couple of good songs here and there.
7. One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003) ★½
6. Just Whitney... (2002) ★★
5. I Look to You (2009) ★★
4. My Love Is Your Love (1998) ★★½
3. I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) ★★½
2. Whitney (1987) ★★½
1. Whitney Houston (1985) ★★★
★★★★★ - Masterpiece
★★★★½ - Really great
★★★★ - Great
★★★½ - Really good
★★★ - Good
★★½ - OK
★★ - Bad
★½ - Really bad
★ - Awful
½ - The worst
As a true Whitney fan I feel confident in saying, they spent way too much time talking about the Christmas one here.
whitney should have been singing songs like "aint nobody" and "i feel for you". That chaka stuff that was pop but always had its ear to the street and what was cool. I agree she had so much potential but so many boring songs. how will i know and a couple of others were decent
I am with Kram - she can sing the phone book, but she can't make the phone book interesting. Loved the show, though!
Ok, this is the dumbest comment in here. I would understand if you would talk about some random singer but you are talking about one of the most influencial musicians of all time. Her songs are blueprints for legions of singers. Whitney Houstons discography will clearly outlive 80% of musicians the guys are reacting to…
I agree with Kram. The difference between Madonna and Whitney Houston is the difference between pop and schlock. I think Madonna made interesting pop records, and some really good albums, and was her own performer and was able to assert herself somewhat. Whitney Houston was great, but a lot of those records have no balls at all. Those weepers sell by the boatload, so her handlers know a lot more than I do, but listening to a whole album and I'm checking my messages real quick.
Do Janet’s albums
Should be a top 10 song list instead. This plummeting into a heap bums me out with so many bad al-bums. To attempt to restore a little sanity I will list her best songs. Kramz wins this one though I didn't listen to even 1/4 of this episode. Her amazing voice is merely likeable to me as song choice, songwriters and production values are much more important.
1 How Will I know
2 Dance with Somebody
3 Saving all my love
4 I'm Your Baby Tonight
5. Emotional
Worst song : "Song for You" which was great by Leon Russel or Karen Carpenter or good by Donny Hathaway.
Got to be honest, this is shaping up to be another week to enjoy more Fleetwood Mac records. Am looking forward to Blur though. Definitely a big disparity between top WH singles and album. #shunjoe
Thank you.
Not a big fan of hers, although lately I’m getting around her upbeat 80’s singles in which she doesn’t overdo things and let her talent serve the songs instead.
Question to Jason; seen the Kernal’s clip this morning and I’m wondering about the record player. Which one is it?
Nothing fancy. It’s an old technics SL-BD20D.
@@TastesLikeMusic Thanks, man.
Mine’s been in less than ideal circumstances and sounded distorted once I hooked it up again a month ago. Could be the stylus, but I’m not sure. I don’t want to subject my vinyl to all that, so a (new) set might be best and you guys know your stuff. 👍
I'm not familiar with Whitney Houston's discography (apart from the hits), but I found this video highly entertaining. I would suggest that Kramzer takes revenge on Joe and inflicts Engelbert Humperdinck. Just joking, of course.
The biggest pain Kramzer could inflict on me would be Interpol. - Joe
Joe, what an impossible position you’ve put me in.
The Hansel and Gretel Overture is not that bad.
Babes lost in the woods, you say?
a Listography / Tastes Like Music "Top Five Moment" - Christmas CD as an artist's #1 release - well done Kramzer!!! Amazing voice for sure, and some great songs (both pop & ballad) but as far as making it through a complete CD, let alone seven of them, you all earned your pay this week. Agree Joe, that a Gospel CD might have been something. Regardless, a far too common & tragic end to a performer's career, and more importantly, life. She looks awful in later day concert footage. I wonder if friends, hangers on, and advisors lead her down a path to destruction, or if would have gotten there on her own. Sad.
I think the friends, hangers on, advisors, and family pushed her down the path towards destruction. It's no secret that her sexual orientation was at least fluid but that she had to keep any bi- or homosexual preferences in the closet and even broke with her longtime friend and lover under pressure from her family, her husband, and who knows who else? Even after her death, her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, has said that she would not have approved of her daughter's sexual orientation being anything except hetero.
this is way outta my comfort zone but it wasnt too painful!
7 one wish the holiday album 2.5 stars
6 my love is your life 2.5 stars
5 i look to you 3.0 stars
4 im your baby tonight 3.0 stars
3 whitney houston 3.0 stars
2 just whitney 3.5 stars
1 whitney 3.5 stars
she has a good voice i will give her that , but i much prefer mariah carey!
and of course, GO BENGALS!!!!!!!!!!