More Than A Woman

The genre of Nu-soul, R&B, hip-pop – call it what you like – has become so formulaic that there are few if any surprises left. Not that there’s anything wrong with being consistent: give them what they want and they’ll come back for more. It’s just that from the moment you slip the CD into the drawer you know you’re in for a seamless blend of superior R&B, catchy dance-pop and soaring soul ballads.

To be fair to Whitney – the über-diva of uber divas – she is the proud possessor of one of the most powerful, polished and soulful voices in pop music. Just Whitney includes the sassy single, ‘Whatchulookinat’, the bass-heavy grooves of ‘Things You Say’ – a Missy Elliot production and a knockout song to boot – and yet another declaration of independence, ‘On My Own’. Hubby Bobby Brown turns up on ‘My Love’ and, with the old chestnut ‘You Light Up My Life’, she attempts to do what she did so successfully with Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ and almost pulls it off.

Sharing not only a label and a producer (Anonia “LA” Reid) but also a broadly similar style, Toni Braxton might not have the vocal range of Whitney but comes across as fresher and more immediate.

That might be down to her slightly more hip-hop approach; More Than A Woman features a slew of catchy numbers including the singles ‘Hit The Freeway’ featuring Loon, ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’ and one song ‘Let Me Show You The Way Out’ which sounds uncannily like Destiny’s Child’s ‘Survivor’.

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