Whitney: The Greatest Hits - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Upon its release, Whitney: The Greatest Hits received generally mixed reviews from music critics. CANOE reviewer Jane Stevenson felt that it is "a greatest hits package that makes good listening sense.". Steve Huey from Allmusic showed his dissatisfaction with Arista's choice for the accompanying second disc included their remix instead of the original version, stating "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." Unlike Huey, Jim Farber of New York Daily News rated the second disc more highly than the first which "recycles Houston's boring old ballads." He commented: "In her dance mixes, she exudes an erotic dynamism that no one else has the lung power to match. This album isn't just an ecstatic piece of party music ― it utterly redefines Houston as an artist." Newsweek's Allison Samuels wrote "No one of her generation sings with more character and conviction," giving the album four stars out of five. Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly commented harshly on the album: "To listen to the two discs is to hear the sound of a gift being squandered," advising her "Continually pursuing mega record sales at the expense of invention, Houston needs to exhale — to loosen up and put more shoop-shoop R&B into her creative life." A reviewer from The Guardian commented that " is eminently more listenable. The likes of I Will Always Love You and Greatest Love of All weren't just a waste of one of the potentially great soul voices; they opened the door for Celine Dion. But Houston remembers her gospel and R&B roots often enough to counterbalance the slush with rootsier offerings like I'm Your Baby Tonight and It's Not Right But It's Okay. New duets with George Michael and (especially titanically) Enrique Iglesias complete a couple of hours of diva-style fun." Steve Jones form Usa Today rated the album four stars out of four, commenting that “Whitney: The Greatest Hits puts its subject in context by smartly arranging the material so it's easy to follow Whitney Houston's 15 year progression from ingenue to mature singer. The set does its job well, encapsulating a career that's still a work in progress”. Billboard called it “quite stellar collection”, adding that “timing couldn’t be better for this career retrospective.”. In contrast, according to NME “he timing couldn’t be worse. Issuing a double CD of Whitney Houston’s finest moments was intended to shore up her rapidly eroding soul diva supremacy against the rising tide of clued-up, modern successors to her throne – Missy Elliott, Lauren Hill, Kelis.”. It rated the collection, however, five stars out of five. LA Weekly reviewed the collection negatively, stating that “it’s damn near unlistenable. The first of the two discs is the “Cool Down” side, i.e., the ballads. One track slides too smoothly into the next, with Whitney’s voice — so strong, so assured, so boring — anchoring saccharine production and even sappier songwriting. The “Throw Down” disc is filled with astonishingly bad dance remixes of old hits”. According to Ebony, “Whitney: The Greatest Hits reminds listeners of the enormous talent this artist demonstrated on "You Give Good Love" 15 years ago, how she has grown, and the fact she has a long career road ahead.” Sonia Murray from Atlanta Journal and Constitution graded the album B+, commenting that "What makes Whitney Houston 's first collection of hits great is her. Not the songs. On the first CD there's her masterfully manipulated big pop confections ("I Will Always Love You"), the occasional, really soulful R&B tunes ("Saving All My Love for You") and new radio-ready duets with Whitney-in-training Deborah Cox and Latin smolderer Enrique Iglesias. The second CD of dance remixes is an appropriate nod to an artist who has held sway over so many genres. But without a gospel single from "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack --- some of her most emotive work --- this isn't Whitney at her best." Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that "The Essential Whitney Houston plays much like The Greatest Hits; even if it has a handful of songs not on the 2000 collection, it covers the same territory equally well and equally entertainingly.".