Date: Apr 23, 1988
Weeks: 2
Now this is a song that doesn't waste Whitney Houston.
I know I talk about singers "oversinging" a lot, but here's a great counterexample. Whitney Houston demonstrates how to sing fancily and elaborately without overdoing it and ruining the enjoyability of the song overall. She sings the song elaborately and fancily, but never strays so far from a basic vocal performance to detract from the basic song. I suppose there are a handful of occasions where she gets fancy, especially near the end, but that's when background singers are well-employed to keep the song balanced.
The music is deep into cheap 80s synthesizer territory, with its synthesized strings, sparkly chords, and fake bongo drums. The fakeness of it is really pretty awful. It feels like I'm listening to the karaoke version of this song. I'd like to label it the most excessive use of cheap, fake 80s synthesizers I've encountered yet, but I feel like I've said that before and might wind up saying it again. However, the result of that synthesized performance is that the music is fairly slight. It successfully places itself in the background, and lets Houston's vocals do all the work. This song is all about her voice, and the music does a good job of letting her voice be the main feature of the song. Yes, I just said the best thing about the music was that it didn't get in the way of the vocal performance, and I meant it as a compliment.
The lyrics are about the singer regretting a breakup, and this is her request to get back together. They're pretty simple, and I don't think there are any particularly clever turns of phrase here, but there are also no contradictory or regrettable parts, either. The main chorus is pretty memorable, and the song's intent is clear, even if you only catch the chorus and title.
My verdict: Like it. This song may be the peak of the talent and popularity of a great singer, and the lackluster backing music is mitigated by the fact that it doesn't interfere with the vocals.
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