I Look to You

Today, I did what some Whitney fans said they'd do when they finally receive this highly anticipated album. I shut myself in my room, turned off the lights, and listened, again and again, each time trying to determine the order of my favorites. Since the critics are mentioning it, I'll say it: This is not the same voice we heard singing I Will Always Love You in 1992. Now that that is out of the way...

For me the best song on the album is Nothin' But Love. I love the 80's sound, maybe because I started listening to popular music in the 80's. For the first 37 seconds, it sounds like something she could have done on one of the earlier albums. But then in the 38th second, Whitney does urban like she's never done it before. “For my family that raised me...” And the fiery “for myself for sticking with me” at 2:31.... This song is on fire. Throw some water on me!

Akon and Whitnay: Like I Never Left. Now, I don't particularly care for Akon's electronic voice, and when I heard this song, way back when it leaked, I thought it was crap. At that time, I listened to it only once. So I was quite surprised to find that after listening to the stream on http://www.whitneyhouston.com/, I could not get the chorus out of my head on the 11 hour train ride from Shimla to Delhi. Now after listening to the album several times, I consider this to be the second best song.

I have trouble placing the next four songs. Each time I listen, I put them in a different order. Million Dollar Bill, Worth It, For the Lovers, & Call You Tonight. If they dropped the first 16 seconds of Million Dollar Bill, it would be solidly in third place. Worth It, which is really For the Lovers Part 1, sounds like an R&B song from the 90's, but it is well done. I like the beat of For the Lovers. I could see myself dancing to it, and I can't dance. When she sings “throw your hands up”, I throw my hands up, then feel a little embarrassed. I like the overall sound of Call You Tonight, but the verse and build meanders a little too much on the way to the chorus.

Seventh & eighth places go to Salute & I Look to You. I like the raw sound of Salute and would have placed it higher, but “shit” should not be allowed in a song. I Look to You is the last of the listenable songs. While it is commendable that it lets us hear Whitney's voice as it is, without trying to cover it up, R. Kelly could have done a better production.

The worst song is I Didn't Know My Own Strength. The way Clive Davis was hyping this song, I think he has a different song playing in his 8-track. This is just a bad song. It can't be helped. The second worst is I Got You. It didn't get me at all. Lyrically, it is not bad, but I had to speed it up to 1.5 times to get it moving. I'm not too familiar with previous versions of A Song for You, but I'm sure others will enjoy this one. Me, not really.

How do I rate the album? To me it is better than her Christmas album One Wish, better than Just Whitney, better than the new songs on the Greatest Hits, better than My Love is Your Love, and better than The Preacher's Wife soundtrack. You'd have to go back to Waiting to Exhale to get better than this. That's my opinion. Yours may differ.

Update: October 25, 2009
I finally get I Got You. I really like it now. Although the line "I'll make you fly when you think that you can" might raise a few eyebrows.

I edited I Didn't Know My Own Strength to remove that parts I didn't like. Now the length is 3:11 instead of 3:42, and it flows much better. It is a great song.

India: Images 95

What is this weed, which grows wild in the Parvati valley?

I am not 100% sure that this is what I think it is, because no one has ever pointed to the plant and told me "this is marijuana." But it looks a lot like what I see on t-shirts.

Parvati valley is known for its charas, and no wonder, as this stuff grows everywhere.

Pistils of tetrahydrocannabinol?

These are local Mandi guys. I don't know what they do besides smoke charas, as my Hindi is limited to 'how are you' and 'what's your name.'

India: Images 94

Manikaran is known for its hot spring. The water here is hot enough to cook flesh.

The hot water is mixed with river water for bathing pools.

Another bathing pool. People come here to bathe, not to relax or swim.

All the river has to pass between those two rocks. And that bridge...

I got this close and decided not to cross.

India: Images 93

The slums of Mandi.

A flower in Mandi.

The town of Manikaran.

The view from my room in Manikaran.

A sheep in Manikaran.

India: Images 92

This is the local bus stand. It also the location where public functions are held, like the Independence day function.

This is a one-lane bridge. There is a traffic signal at each end.

And this officer in the Idea box controls the signal.

Hanuman, the god with a face like a monkey.

Donkeys are used for carrying sand for construction. These donkeys were all afraid to be the first one to step in the water.

India: Images 91

This is an interesting feature of Mandi. A sunken garden surrounded by the market. At the top, parking is at street level.

A colorful temple complex.

I later discovered that they burn bodies on the river, just below this temple.

Delicate carvings on an old temple.

Some religious procession. There is one almost everyday.

India: Images 90

A goat on the way to the waterfall in Bagsu. At the time it was but a trickle. Later after lots of rain, it was gushing, but I have no picture.

Food.

Birds in Bagsu.

A panoramic shot of Mandi.

An old temple in Mandi, viewed from a bridge.

India: Images 89

A cold spring bath. I counted more than 100 persons - mostly Punjabis - around the pool.

This road is for 2-way traffic. It get clogged when the Punjabis come up for the weekend.

A bull hanging out in the vegetable market.

This is my friend Ravi. I spent my days hanging out here. There is a little jewelry store on the right. Mustafa, who remembers me from Hampi, works there. Incidentally, I also ran into Vicky, the scam artist in my Trials in Hampi post of last year, as well as a few others I had met in Hampi.

The cricket grounds in Dharamsala

India: Images 88

A photo from the Tsuglagkhang Complex in Mcleod Ganj, where the Dalai Lama lives.

Tibetan monks protesting the Chinese government.

Monks doing laundry in the stream.

Monks relaxing on the side of the road.

A flower seen while I was searching for a nonexistent cave.