Kygo & Whitney Houston : Higher Love
Details
Genre: Electronica, House, R&BPros:
Glowing, spiritual, and ethereal EDM; shows the glory of Houston's pipes at her greatestCons:
It's a bit shorter than imagined, especially when compared with the original. It drops the bridge. Still, it doesn't lose the finesse of Steve Winwood's classicWhitney doesn’t need a hologram for this gem of a remix to a resurrected vault offering In his relatively young career, Norweigan DJ Kygo has made a name for himself as being a stream king. So far, he holds the record for capturing the fastest billion streams in Spotify history. His mixes on Soundcloud and […]
Whitney doesn’t need a hologram for this gem of a remix to a resurrected vault offering
In his relatively young career, Norweigan DJ Kygo has made a name for himself as being a stream king. So far, he holds the record for capturing the fastest billion streams in Spotify history. His mixes on Soundcloud and Youtube have also garnered millions of streams, including “Firestone” and his sensational remix of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire.”
And it looks like he’s bound to go viral once again, thanks to his ambitious, bold resurrection of Whitney Houston on a cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love.” In his hands, the iconic ’80’s hit is turned into a brilliant toast to yesteryear. When originally released in 1986, “Higher Love” was king on radio – roaring to number one pop. It later nabbed two Grammy awards. A year later, Whitney Houston climbed to her apex with 1987’s Whitney and would continue such success with I’m Your Baby Tonight.
So where did the track originate from? From sources, Houston recorded the vocal during the I’m Your Baby Tonight session literally thirty years ago. Unfortunately, it was thrown in the vault. The choice to stall it was an executive one. “When [producer] Narada Michael Walden sent me ‘Higher Love’ with the Whitney vocal, we didn’t want her being a cover artist at that time,” record producer Clive Davis said. “The only place it was released was as a bonus cut in Japan.”
No disrespect to Clive, but his response doesn’t quite add up with the facts. In both her earlier career and even on I’m Your Baby Tonight – Houston never feared a cover song. “The Greatest Love of All,” found on her debut LP, catapulted her up the adult contemporary charts. Then there was “All the Man That I Need, recorded for I’m Your Baby Tonight and released as a single. It was a lesser known hit on Linda Clifford and was also recorded by Sister Sledge, but still, a cover tune. And the next album, The Bodyguard, came littered with covers, including “I Will Always Love You” (Dolly Parton) and “I’m Every Woman” (Chaka Khan). But, we will let ole Clive spin the narrative he so chooses.
Although she’s most known for torch ballads, Whitney’s been fully embraced in EDM as a dance diva. In the hands of hefty prolific mixers, tracks like “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay,” “Million Dollar Bill,” even “I’m Every Woman” (done by Clivillés and Cole of C+C Music Factory), have turned into mega dancefloor sensations. And the actual plan, according to sources, was to drop the track on a future compilation featuring Houston’s revered and slightly underappreciated 12″ dance classics, but Davis along with estate sole executor Pat Houston felt RCA was the perfect fit for the newer track.
Much like his work on the immaculate mix of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,” Kygo’s delicate treatment on “Higher Love” is smart, effective and transformative. It places organic piano chords in the front, a tropical house beat on top, a soaring choir into the background nearest the end and drops hefty drums into the mix. All of these elements give Houston’s voice the range to soar on a solid product that’s highly reflective of today’s trends. Plus she’s clearly pulling off notes effortlessly, taking us back to legendary Whitney.
And like “I’m Every Woman,” Houston’s “Higher Love” is also a sweet nudge at one of her musical influences, Chaka Khan, who collaborated with Winwood on the original by offering her mesmeric backing vocals. Who could ask for anything more? Well, if you’re looking forward to seeing Houston on her controversial hologram tour, you just might be looking for more.
