Track Listing

1. You Give Good Love
2. Thinking About You
3. Someone For Me
4. Saving All My Love For You
5. Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (w/ Jermaine Jackson)
6. How Will I Know
7. All At Once
8. Take Good Care Of My Heart (w/ Jermaine Jackson)
9. Greatest Love Of All
10. Hold Me (w/ Teddy Pendergrass)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5828 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-29
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
Although she has now been eclipsed by younger urban R&B female stars, Houston will stand as the first to bring this type of clean soul music to the world. In the USA alone, this record stayed in the charts for four years, sold fifteen million copies and spent fourteen weeks on top of the charts. Itwould be churlish to offer any criticism when most of the world would disagree. The immaculate production is by Jermaine Jackson, bank manager is Clive Davis and even the bathing suit on the back cover gets a credit. It is however, with all its slickness, an indispensable soul album

Customer Reviews

The Golden Debut
Whitney Houston exploded onto the music scene in early 1985, signing a deal with Arista Records, under the guidance of Clive Davis. Her self-titled debut, released that year was the beginning of a fruitful career and lapped up some of Whitneys very best work to date.

The debut extract would be the sparkling, vibrant ballad, You Give Good Love, produced by the divine Jermaine Jackson. Whitneys positively exquisite and exhilirating vocal delivery was astoundingly powerful, much in the shadow of the great, Aretha Franklin. Despite its glorious content, You Give Good Love bombed on the U.S charts and was therefore not even issued in the U.K through lack of interest.

The slice of disco-pop in distinctly 80's style was the angelic, How Will I Know, a rather sappy and girly tune that hardly had the credibility of the previous single, but emerged as a winner where it topped the U.S charts, whilst storming its way into the U.K Top 10 charts. How Will I Know was produced by Narada Michael Walden who would go on to produce more of her work on future albums.

Thinking About You was an electric affair with its startling electro-pop orchestrations whilst Whitneys vocal delivery is highly dynamic. More jamming pop follows with the upbeat, Someone For Me, where her rocketing vocal delivery is once again astoundingly strong.

The genius Michael Masser who had produced countless soul classics with divine soul diva, Diana Ross, was involved in most of the project and worked his magic again with this breathtaking singer. The ballad, Saving All My Love For You is so uplifting and timeless. The full force of her vocal techniques floods out on this tear-jerker of a classic. Her delivery on here is almost mesmerising.

She duets with Jermaine Jackson on the sugary, Nobody Loves Me Like You Do. There is a nice range of harmonies between these two fabulous singers and even a slight air of sexual chemistry between the two sizzles through. All At Once is another sweeping ballad where she is joined by a gospel backing choir on the exalting chrous. All At Once became another huge International hit to her credit.

Theres another duet with Jermaine Jackson included with the exotic, late night R&B number, Take Good Care Of My Heart where their vocals are propelled into full effect and both sound equally as magnificent as one another. A timeless collaboration though failed to hit the U.S top 40 charts when released as a single there.

Another one of Whitneys most definitive classics follows with her fantastic cover of The Greatest Love Of All where her wide range of spectacular abilities is displayed yet again.

Hold Me is a sickly romantic ballad on which she duets with soul crooner, Teddy Pendergrass. Despite the overly syrupy content the track is actually exhilirating on just hearing these two fine singers like captured on record together. Always makes for a dynamic combination.

This album is actually quite remarkable for a debut. Consistent, solid and high quality work from one of the greatest singers of our era, it is an indeed timeless classic and stands as some of her most memroable work.

Good but greatest hits make this album redundant.
This is the album that turned WH into a star overnight. You Give Good Love is awesome - presuming you like W's voice to start with. But if you haven't got this yet, but the Greatest Hits and leave this behind. (Album came out just into the second half of the eighties!)

simply whitney

This had four number-one singles on it.
It's hard to choose a favourite among so many great tracks.
But the "Greatest Love Of All" is one of the best, most powerful songs ever written about self-preservation and dignity. It's universal message crosses all boundaries and instils one with the hope that it's not too late to better ourselves. It's impossible in this world we live in to empathize with others, we can always empathize with ourselves. It's an important message. Crucial, really. And it's beautifully stated on the album.