The U.K. release Love, Whitney isn't meant to be a greatest-hits collection. Instead, as its title implies, it's an assortment of big, swooping Whitney Houston love songs, with no new material, consisting entirely of tracks taken from her previous albums. What it could have been was a companion piece to her Greatest Hits, which left many people dissatisfied, especially since it included inferior, remixed versions of many of her signature songs. However, almost all of the songs on this album are also found on disc one of the greatest-hits collection. To its credit, this disc does include some lovely Whitney nuggets left off the U.K. version of her hits set, such as "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" and "Miracle," and great non-hits such as "For the Love of You."
The double-disc 2011 U.K. collection The Essential Whitney Houston bears some strong similarities to the 2000 U.S. set The Greatest Hits, sharing 22 of its 35 songs. And it’s not just the big hits that overlap: there are a clutch of remixes that carry over, all bunched together on the second disc just like they are on The Greatest Hits. Consequently, 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.
The double-disc 2011 U.K. collection The Essential Whitney Houston bears some strong similarities to the 2000 U.S. set The Greatest Hits, sharing 22 of its 35 songs. And it’s not just the big hits that overlap: there are a clutch of remixes that carry over, all bunched together on the second disc just like they are on The Greatest Hits. Consequently, 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.
A compilation released in various territories outside the U.S., including the U.K., The Ultimate Collection covers Whitney Houston's career through 1998's My Love Is Your Love, containing most of the notable singles she released throughout the '80s and '90s. It's a fairly straightforward set, though there are some alternate mixes in place of original versions (including "I'm Your Baby Tonight"), which is not noted on the outside of the packaging. Some will find fault in the number of notable exclusions, including "Miracle," "You Give Good Love," "I Believe in You and Me," and "All the Man That I Need" – all of which were Top Ten R&B singles in the States. But that is more an issue of space than poor track selection.
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