Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston (CD, Jul-1985, Arista)

Album Features
UPC:	078221821223
Artist:	Whitney Houston
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1985
Record Label:	Arista
Genre:	Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. You Give Good Love - (featuring Lala/Ray Wooten/Yogi Lee/Ira Siegel/J.T. Lewis/Kashif/Bashiri Johnson)
2. Thinking About You - (featuring Lala/Ray Wooten/Yogi Lee/Ira Siegel/J.T. Lewis/Kashif/Bashiri Johnson)
3. Someone for Me - (featuring David Williams/Ed Greene/Ernie Watts/Freddie "Ready Freddie" Washington/Greg Phillinganes/Jermaine Jackson/John Barnes/Nathan East/Paul Jackson, Jr./Steve Rucker/Tim May/John Robinson)
4. Saving All My Love for You - (featuring Lou Shelton/Dann Huff/Julia Waters/Maxine Willard Waters/Nathan East/Oren Waters/Paul Jackson, Jr./Richard Marx/Robbie Buchanan/Randy Kerber/Debbie Thomas)
5. Nobody Loves Me Like You Do - (featuring David Williams/Ed Greene/Ernie Watts/Freddie "Ready Freddie" Washington/Greg Phillinganes/Jermaine Jackson/John Barnes/Nathan East/Paul Jackson, Jr./Steve Rucker/Tim May/John Robinson)
6. How Will I Know - (featuring Cissy Houston/Corrado Rustici/Premik Russell Tubbs/Narada Michael Walden/Preston Glass/Randy Jackson/Yvonne Lewis)
7. All at Once - (featuring Lou Shelton/Dann Huff/Julia Waters/Maxine Willard Waters/Nathan East/Oren Waters/Paul Jackson, Jr./Richard Marx/Robbie Buchanan/Randy Kerber/Debbie Thomas)
8. Take Good Care of My Heart - (featuring David Williams/Ed Greene/Ernie Watts/Freddie "Ready Freddie" Washington/Greg Phillinganes/Jermaine Jackson/John Barnes/Nathan East/Paul Jackson, Jr./Steve Rucker/Tim May/John Robinson)
9. Greatest Love of All - (featuring Lou Shelton/Dann Huff/Julia Waters/Maxine Willard Waters/Nathan East/Oren Waters/Paul Jackson, Jr./Richard Marx/Robbie Buchanan/Randy Kerber/Debbie Thomas)
10. Hold Me - (featuring Lou Shelton/Dann Huff/Julia Waters/Maxine Willard Waters/Nathan East/Oren Waters/Paul Jackson, Jr./Richard Marx/Robbie Buchanan/Randy Kerber/Debbie Thomas)

Details
Playing Time:	47 min.
Contributing Artists:	Bashiri Johnson, David Williams, Nathan East, Jermaine Jackson, Kenny G, Richard Marx, Cissy Houston, Lala, John Barnes, Roy Ayers, John Robinson, Marcus Miller, Steve Rucker, Ernie Watts, Randy Kerber, Paul Jackson Jr., Randy Jackson, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters, Greg Phillinganes, Freddie Washington, Robbie Buchanan, Preston Glass, Ed Greene, Tim May, Yvonne Lewis, Narada Michael Walden, Kashif, Dann Huff, Ira Siegel, Corrado Rustici, Debbie Thomas, J.T. Lewis, Lou Shelton, Premik Russell Tubbs, Ray Wooten, Yogi Lee
Distributor:	BMG (distributor)
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	AAD

Album Notes
Personnel includes: Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston (vocals); Michael Gibbs (conductor); Shambbu Neil Vineberg (acoustic guitar); Paul Pesco, Ira Siegel, Dan Huff, Corrado Rustici, Paul Jackson, Jr. (guitar); Kenny G, Vincent Henry (saxophone); Jerry Hey, Marc Russo, Wayne Wallace (horns); Robbie Buchanan (Fender Rhodes piano); Preston Glass (keyboards, string synthesizer, percussion, programming); Kashif, Ralph Schukett, Walter "Baby Love" Afanasieff (keyboards, synthesizer); Randy Jackson (synthesizer, bass); Jack Waldman, Fred Zarr (synthesizer); Roy Ayers (vibraphone); Marcus Miller, Nathan East (bass); Narada Michael Walden, Paul Leim (drums); Greg "Gigi" Gonaway (electronic drums, tambourine); Bashiri Johnson (percussion).Producers include: Narada Michael Walden; Jellybean, Kashif, Michael Masser.Engineers include: Darroll Gustamachio, Michael DeLugg, Dean Burt.As big a hit as it was -- and it was a multi-platinum blockbuster, spinning off several chart-toppers -- it's not easy to think of Whitney Houston's 1985 debut as the dawning of a new era, but it was. Arriving in the thick of MTV, when the slick sounds of yacht-soul were fading, Whitney Houston is the foundation of diva-pop, straddling clean, cheery R&B and big ballads designed with the adult contemporary audience in mind. Houston's background lay in the former -- actually, it was even riskier, encompassing a stint with the experimental Bill Laswell outfit Material -- and her benefactor Clive Davis knew all about selling records to the masses. Appealing as this album is, Davis may never have imagined how Whitney Houston would shift tastes, pushing toward skyscraping ballads where the singer's affectations, not the songs, were paramount -- a move that later led to hollow records, but on Whitney Houston the songs were as important as the immaculate productions. Certainly, the showstopping "Greatest Love of All" provided the blueprint for decades of divas, but it's the only overblown moment here, with the rest of the ballads -- notably "Saving All My Love for You" and "You Give Good Love" -- burning slowly and seductively, but what really impresses some 20-plus years on are the lighter tracks, particularly the breakthrough single "How Will I Know" and the unheralded "Thinking About You," a dance/R&B hit co-written by Kashif that remains one of Whitney's purest pop pleasures. These joyful, rhythmic moments faded away from Houston's later work -- and also rarely surfaced on the records of those who followed her -- but their presence on this debut turns this into a fully rounded record, the rare debut that manages to telegraph every aspect of an artist's career in a mere ten songs. [The 2010 25th anniversary edition of Whitney Houston is expanded with five bonus tracks -- remixes of "Thinking About You," "Someone for Me," "How Will I Know," a live version of "Greatest Love of All" from 1990, and a superfluous a cappella mix of "How Will I Know" -- and a bonus DVD containing music videos from the album, new interviews, and -- best of all -- Whitney's star-making 1983 performance on The Merv Griffin Show.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Editorial Reviews
4 stars out of 5 - ...remains one of her best, featuring 'How Will I Know' and the genuinely moving tour-de-force, 'Greatest Love Of All'...
Q (19991201)

[A] delightful 1985 debut -- which featured gigantic hits like 'Greatest Love of All'...
Entertainment Weekly