Music Monday #49: Whitney: The Greatest Hits

I love many singers, I love the works of art they have created, I get a lot of enjoyment out of them, and I can see merit in their creations.  I connect with different singers for different reasons, some of those singers are well known and others are obscure.  When it comes to picking an artist that could live up to the moniker of greatest artist of all time however there are only a handful of artists I would say are contenders for that title.  Without a doubt that crown could quite easily go to the late, great, Whitney Houston.  Her music career spanned 6 decades, throughout which she released hit after hit.  Picking just one album from that time would be incredibly difficult so once again I've gone for the easy option and chosen a compilation album, specifically 'Whitney: The Greatest Hits' released in 2000 although it misses out on the 12 years of her career that followed its release, it still covers most of what I want to talk about.

I have a lot of issues, something which I have made no secret of on this blog, throughout my life I have been on a journey to self acceptance that still hasn't found its end.  This journey is perhaps best epitomised by 'Greatest Love Of All' originally released as 'The Greatest Love Of All' in 1977 by George Benson it was 1985 that saw Whitney record and release her version.  I regard Whitney's version as the definitive version, something which will happen again before the end of this post [Shhh spoilers] where her version surpassed the original.  The lyrics to the song resonate with me, "Because the greatest love of all, Is happening to me, I found the greatest love of all, Inside of me, The greatest love of all, Is easy to achieve, Learning to love yourself, It is the greatest love of all" this sentiment, this message, and this belief are three things that I felt, heard, but did not accept for the longest time in my life.  I would be lying if I said I completely accepted this belief now in my life, I am still growing and I have further to walk before that belief is felt within me, but the lyrics remain an aspiration to me.

Sticking with 1985, originally released in the same year was the track 'How Will I Know' which is an anthem of my life, not least of all because I have been in that position so many times much more than I care to admit, those I have touched on in previous posts are the tip of the iceberg.  The lyrics, "There's a boy I know, he's the one I dream of, Looks into my eyes, takes me to the clouds above, Ooh I lose control, can't seem to get enough, When I wake from dreaming, tell me is it really love?" this perfectly reflects this mentality but the lyrics go on with the chorus "How will I know if he really loves me?  I say a prayer with every heart beat, I fall in love whenever we meet" speaks volumes of the potency of love and how infatuation clouds your mind and that flood of emotions that overwhelms all logic and reason leaves you dazed and confused.  These lyrics stemming from a song released early in Whitney's career reflect young love for me, from the time of innocence when you still don't really know what love is, when you can't tell if it's real.

And now we reach the moment I have alluded to in previous posts, Hex Hector features one last time on this list contributing a remix to the second disc of the album, 'I Will Always Love You' this song in its original incarnation is powerful, moving, but quite melancholy and given this version exists I wanted to feature it instead as it remains one of my favourite remixes of any artist and one of the best remixes that Hex Hector produced.  'I Will Always Love You' was originally written and recorded in 1973 by Dolly Parton and released in 1974 as part of her 'Jolene' album.  Dolly didn't feature on this list, which might come as a surprise to most people but I only own a few tracks by her from her career, I don't own a complete Dolly Parton album, which again I know will come as a surprise to some people but I never really connected with Dolly's music the way I did with other artists.  I will revisit her music in time to see if that has changed but beyond a few tracks over the years I wasn't an ardent fan.  Even though Whitney's version of this track was not the original it remains the definitive version of this song for me, and many others.  Released in 1992 as part of the soundtrack to 'The Bodyguard' - the best selling soundtrack of all time as Michelle Visage likes to remind us since she was in SOUL SYSTEM which features on the album as track 9 'It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day' he fact remains this moment of eclipse where a cover surpasses the original happens quite often in the music industry, and while I often defend the originals and hold them in higher regard, this is one case where there's no argument to be made, Whitney did it better.

The entire second disc of this album is perfection from start to finish I wouldn't change a thing about it, as for the first I have a few points of contention there are tracks I would swap but we will stick to the positives for now.  The Thunderpuss remix of 'It's Not Right But It's Okay' stands out for me as another incredible remix, heavily incorporating EDM influences it takes a song that was already powerful and ramped it up even further.  This track speaks to me in volumes for the lyrics "It's not right, But it's okay, I'm gonna make it anyway, Close the door behind you, Leave your key, I'd rather be alone than unhappy" this more than anything for that final line which I hold in great esteem, I'd rather be alone than unhappy, this is something I have already mentioned a few times in this list but it bears repeating, there's a distinction between being alone and being lonely, the latter is the longing for a connection, the former is a state of being which with time and patience and discipline you can learn to embrace.  A lot of love songs like to borrow the metaphor of being one half of a whole and needing another to complete that whole, but the truth is self love can make you whole, something which most people never take the time to pursue.  You don't need someone to complete you, compliment you perhaps but the idea that you need to be completed devalues your self worth.  You are worth more than you give yourself credit for and I think these themes and the internal conflict that arises from these conflicting motives features quite a lot in Whitney's music and that's one of the reasons I love her because her music was always relatable.

'I Wanna Dance With Somebody', 'So Emotional', and 'My Love Is Your Love' all get a mention here because they speak to insecurities, and the domination of our thoughts by our emotions.  From the first disc once more, 'One Moment In Time', 'Run To You', and 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go' get a mention here for articulating thoughts at times in my life when I couldn't find the words myself.  There are however two tracks in particular I want to focus on, the first is 'Same Script Different Cast' a track that speaks of the frustration and the anger we feel when we see history repeat and we see others go through the same thing we went through.  In those moments it can be tempting to confront those people and impart the wisdom we acquired, but wisdom is experience plus knowledge, and no matter how valuable that knowledge can be, without the experience the other person won't receive it.

The last song I want to touch on is a duet Whitney did with Enrique Iglesias who is hot as fuck, someone I have had a crush on ever since I laid eyes on him, he's quite literally part of the reason I knew I was gay.  The track is called 'Could I Have This Kiss Forever' the lyrics of the second chorus "Could I hold you for a lifetime?  Could I look into your eyes?  Could I have this night to share this night together? (Un beso para siempre, para siempre)" made me feel happier than words can describe.  I adore Enrique and I adore Whitney and when the two were combined it was almost too much to handle.  Enrique is yet another driving force behind my desire to learn Spanish when I first set out to study the language.  This track with its lyrics reflects the desire when you finally fall for someone to fall into their arms and kiss them and never let go.

When Whitney Houston died in 2012 she was one of the first celebrity deaths that I felt more than just sympathy for passing and felt a genuine sense of grief and loss.  That feeling was something I didn't understand at the time, I didn't understand how you could be so attached to someone who you had never met, and feel so emotional about their passing, four years later when 2016 rolled around that feeling would intensify in a year when so many big names were lost, people who had been part of popular culture for as long as I could remember and I realised the reason we feel loss for people we have never met is because we project onto them a part of ourselves when we form that emotional connection and when they die we lose that part of ourselves for a time this is why we mourn.  With time however we learn to remember them for who they were in life, and Whitney's music took on new meaning for me when this feeling finally took hold.  I still listen to it now and I always will because it keeps the memory of her alive, all that she achieved and all that she meant to me and everyone who found inspiration through her.