MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE: LIVE
CHICAGO TRIBUNE REVIEW - 23 JUNE 1999

The press reviews are in. Whitney's first appearance of her summer concert tour garners a stellar review from the Windy City's major newspaper, the Chicago Tribune.

Music review:
Whitney Houston at Arie Crown Theatre

By Audarshia Townsend
TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, June 23, 1999

In Whitney Houston's case, all that glitters is gold.  From the elaborate stage setting to her dazzling couture ensembles to her powerhouse voice, Houston's first show in five years was so rich that it belonged under lock and key in Ft. Knox.

Tuesday's show, which launched her 16-city tour, was in the intimate confines of the Arie Crown Theatre. It brought out many of Chicago's elite, including socialites Sugar Rautbord and Desiree Rogers, as well as Houston's mother, gospel star Cissy Houston.
Tuesday's setting was very important to Whitney Houston, whose last area show in 1994 was in the arena-like atmosphere of the Rosemont Horizon.

Her aim was to connect with the audience in a way they've never seen her before. And in each song she shot out the many moods of Ms. Whitney: She was a flirty schoolgirl in the '80s hit "How Will I Know," a wounded lover in "Heartbreak Hotel" and a streetwise but stylish "sista" in "In My Business," in which she defended herself against the criticism about her rocky relationship with husband-singer Bobby Brown.

With her slender frame draped in sexy fashions created by Dolce & Gabbana, an edgy design company that's taken the urban market by storm, Houston's stage presence was phenomenal.

For the first half of the show, she donned a dramatic, black fur-trimmed sequin cape over a backless top and pants.  And for a more whimsical, yet sophisticated look during the second half, she wore a sheer black skirt over a simple rhinestoned catsuit.  But the main event was the power of her voice--five octaves of energy that ranged from a Minnie Ripperton high to a Sarah Vaughn low.

Houston was backed by a six-piece band, four backup singers and four feisty dancers, and her voice was outstanding as she jumped right into material from "My Love is Your Love," her first full-length album in eight years.  As she sang the current hit
single, "It's Not Right, but It's OK," a hip-hop-influenced song about imperfections in relationships, the strength of her voice suggested that love would conquer all.

And she continued on as she took the audience on a trip down memory lane with sass and verve. "Saving All My Love For You," her first hit and an '80s classic, was turned into a show-stopping, bluesy ballad.  "I'm Every Woman," the Chaka Khan staple, rocked on at times a cappella style. And "I Love the Lord" took her deeply back to her gospel roots.

In fact, once she got on the gospel track, she almost didn't stop. She sang three gospel songs in a row, momentarily straying away from the secular standards mainstream audiences are accustomed to.  At one point she became so raw and passionate that she was drenched in sweat. Unlike most R&B singers who go back and forth with secular and religious music, it was apparent that Houston's appreciation for the genre is genuine.  And because she was already on that track, she smoothly transitioned into what's become her bread and butter since the early '90s: the movie soundtrack. The three soundtracks, "The Bodyguard," "Waiting To Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife," which focused on pop, urban contemporary and gospel respectively, were all explored.

The Arie Crown was suddenly turned into a hushed cabaret hall as she beautifully belted out the  blockbuster hits "I Will Always Love You," "Shoop" and "I Believe in You and Me."