鈥淔ind your strength in love,鈥� sings near the end of a new live album, 鈥淭he Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)." She spends a full minute delivering those five syllables.
The song is 鈥淕reatest Love of All.鈥� At the start of the final line, Houston darts from note to note. On the word 鈥渟trength,鈥� her amazing alto blooms, climbs and adds vibrato. When she reaches the word 鈥渓ove,鈥� she playfully skips through several notes and lets the last one linger, the power of its beauty matching the message.
Houston was some singer, and that鈥檚 reaffirmed by 鈥淭he Concert for a New South Africa (Durban).鈥� Sadly, the album also shows how the pop diva鈥檚 incomparable talent was misspent before she at the age of 48.
The album will be out Friday, of a film commemorating the 30th anniversary of Houston鈥檚 three 1994 concerts in South Africa 鈥� in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town. They celebrated a newly unified nation following apartheid and the election of as president.
This album captures the first, held in Durban on Nov. 8, 1994. It is also Houston's first ever live concert album.
鈥淣ever have I felt so much love,鈥� Houston tells the stadium crowd. Ten of the digital album's 21 songs (there are 24 tracks total, including an intro and three versions of the same song, which include the live track, a previously unreleased studio recording and a remix) feature titles with the word 鈥渓ove鈥� or some variation, and huge hits are sprinkled throughout the set. They include 鈥淚 Will Always Love You,鈥� 鈥淗ow Will I Know鈥� and 鈥淚 Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),鈥� all fun to hear in such a festive setting.
Alas, the scale of the event only amplifies Houston鈥檚 tendency to over-sing. Her delivery seems intended for the top row of the stadium, which is understandable but exhausting when listening through earbuds. Maybe you had to be there.
The vocal theatrics are often a mismatch for inferior material, and Houston wrings lyrics as if to trying to remove the suds. Compounding the excess are her large supporting cast鈥檚 dated, overcooked arrangements, which range from sappy synths to hair-band guitar solos, although there are quality contributions from the horns and backing vocalists.
The second half of the show achieves moments of grace. Houston dials it down on 鈥淟ove Is,鈥� a lovely ballad that also appears on the album in a previously unreleased studio recording from 1990 and a remix. Houston delivers her persuasive reading of 鈥淕reatest Love of All,鈥� and a bouncy 鈥淭ouch the World鈥� meets the occasion.
The best stretch comes when Houston takes the audience to megachurch. 鈥淛esus Loves Me鈥� becomes a children鈥檚 song for all ages as she displays an uncharacteristic soulfulness Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and
That鈥檚 followed by 鈥淎mazing Grace,鈥� and when Houston twists the word 鈥渨retch鈥� with violent vulnerability, the lyric sounds as heartfelt as anything she ever sang.
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Steven Wine, The Associated Press
