01.Million dollar bill 03:24
02.Nothin' but love 03:36
03.Call you tonight 04:10
04.I look to you 04:27
05.Like i never left (feat. akon) 03:52
06.A song for you 04:13
07.I didn't know my own strength 03:42
08.Worth it 04:41
09.For the lovers 04:15
10.I got you 04:14
11.Salute 04:11

It's only been seven years between Just Whitney and 2009's I Look to You, not even Houston's longest time between albums, but it feels much, much longer, her glory days obscured in hazy memories of lost luster chiefly deriving from a bad marriage with Bobby Brown, chronicled in an embarrassing reality show for Bravo in 2004. I Look to You attempts to wash this all away with something of a return to roots -- a celebration of Houston's deep disco beginnings, tempered with a few skyscraping ballads designed to showcase her soaring voice. Houston's rocky decade isn't ignored, but it isn't explored, either: songs allude to Whitney's strength, her willpower as a survivor struggling through some unnamed struggle -- enough for listeners to fill in the blanks, either with their own experience or their imaginings of Houston's life. More than the songs, Whitney's voice tells the tale of her lost decade. The highs are diminished, the sweetness sanded away, leaving her a thick, knotty powerful growl that has an emotional pull not quite like a ravaged latter-day Billie Holiday, but not all that far removed, either; at the very least, Whitney can still sing, knowing when to wring emotion out of a phrase, knowing when not to push for the glory notes that she can no longer hit. This diminished skill set actually serves the showboating showstoppers well, turning them into something that operates on a human scale, injecting them with something approximating warmth, something that the songs quite deliberately avoid. Also, there just aren't that many of them on I Look to You, either. Most of the album splits the difference between burnished neo-disco and modern soul, aware of fashion but not pandering to them. Which isn't to say that these songs are necessarily age-appropriate, either: they're suspended in time and fashion, tinged with nostalgia but not quite taking into account that Houston isn't now (and never really was) a creature of the clubs. What she undoubtedly is, is a pro -- she sells these subdued glitzy productions, she makes boring songs interesting, she remains a forceful, tangible presence. With this admirable, if not quite successful, un-comeback out of the way, maybe she can pull away from the spotlight and settle into the serious business of finding songs to suit her new voice.---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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01. Until You Come Back
02. I Have Nothing
03. Why Does It Hurt So Bad
04. You Give Good Love
05. All The Man That I Need
06. Where Do Broken Hearts Go
07. Just The Lonely Talking Again
08. Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
09. Miracle
10. For The Love of You
11. Saving All My Love For You
12. Run To You
13. I Believe In You And Me
14. Didn't We Almost Have It All
15. All At Once
16. I Will Always Love Sou

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CD 1:
Saving All My Love
Greatest Love Of All
One Moment In Time
I Have Nothing
I Will Always Love You
Run To You
You Give Good Love
All At Once
Where Do Broken Heart Go
If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful
Didn't We Almost Have It All
All The Man That I Need
Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)
Count On Me
I Believe In You And Me
I Learned From The Best
Same Script, Different Cast (Duet With Deborah Cox)
Could I have this kiss forever? (Duet With Enrique Iglesias)

CD 2:
If I Told You That (Duet With George Michael)
Fine
My Love Is Your Love
It's Not Right but It's Okay
Heartbreak Hotel
Step by Step
Queen of the Night (CJ Mackintosh Mix)
I'm Every Woman
Love Will Save The Day
I'm You're Baby Tonight
So Emotional
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
How Will I Know
I Will Always Love You (Hex Hector Mix)
Greatest Love of All (Club 69 Mix)
It's Not Right but It's Okay (Thinderpuss Mix)
I'm Your Baby Tonight (Drones Mix)

Although Whitney Houston's Greatest Hits is a double-disc package (and is priced as such), only the first disc actually contains original versions of Houston's hit singles; the second disc, "The Greatest Remixes", collects remixes new and old to appeal to hardcore fans. Of course, it would be impossible to fit all of Houston's 20-plus chart singles onto one disc, but that single-disc format still could have produced a fantastic and near-definitive collection. That is, if Arista hadn't made the absolutely ridiculous choice not to include "How Will I Know," "So Emotional," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," and "I'm Your Baby Tonight," all of them number one hits. Granted, those songs are all present on the accompanying second disc, The Greatest Remixes, but fans who want the original versions are out of luck and will have to purchase the three different albums on which those songs first appeared. That said, the compilation does do fans a few favors; there are three new tracks, including one duet apiece with Deborah Cox and Enrique Iglesias, and there are also two hits that have never actually appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in Time" (the 1988 Olympic theme) and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful," a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 Precious Moments album. For the completist, Houston's Top 20 hit recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner," performed at Super Bowl XXV, is tacked on at the end of the remix disc as well. Overall, the Greatest Hits disc amply reinforces once again what a fine singles artist Houston has been for the entirety of her career. Still and all, though, it's a frustrating package marred by record company greed -- not only because of the glaring omissions designed to force consumers to buy the original albums as well, but also because casual fans won't appreciate having to pay double the money for a second disc of remixes that they probably aren't interested in owning. Overall, it's a wasted opportunity. ---Steve Huey, AllMusic Review

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