The Best You Never Heard: Beyonce, Brandy, Whitney Houston, & Mariah Carey

After a brief rest on the bench, our Best You Never Heard feature returns this week with little known gems by Beyonce, Brandy, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

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Beyonce – Forever to Bleed

For all Beyonce’s success, critiques pertaining to the type of music she releases remain steadfast. Indeed, for as revered as the likes of ‘Check On It’, ‘Get Me Bodied’, and ‘Video Phone’ may be in the here and now, such songs beg the question of whether they can or should be performed years from now. For many, the answer is an emphatic ‘No’. Hence, arising, are valid questions surrounding whether Beyonce is truly putting her best foot forward creatively.

While yours truly continues to negotiate my own stance on the matter, I argue ‘Forever to Bleed’ to be a great step in the right direction for the superstar. Recorded in 2008 during the ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’ sessions, the haunting ballad unfortunately never made the final cut. However, with its rich lyrical content and compellingly raw delivery, the song boasts a sincerity and authenticity too often lacking from the singer’s otherwise solid back-catalogue of hits. More of this please, Ms. Knowles. More of this.

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Brandy – A Capella (Something’s Missing)

Despite her claims to the contrary, Brandy’s ‘Human’ did include some of her best work. This is exemplified by the spine-tingling vocal performance of ‘A Capella (Something’s Missing)’.

Produced by Soundz, the track features the full extent of Brandy’s astounding contralto range as she descends to unbelievable lows, even outperforming the capabilities of the added bass guitar.

There is no question that Brandy can execute some of the most fluid and well-timed vocal runs in the game but it is with this song that her abilities can be classed in the league of legendary singers such as the great Chaka Khan.  

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Whitney Houston – For The Lovers

Lifted from Whitney Houston’s Platinum selling comeback ‘I Look To You’ (2009), ‘For The Lovers’ serves as one of the LP’s strongest offerings. Primarily a home-run due to to its effortless encapsulation of the contemporary and the traditional, the Danja produced banger sits right in the thick of what’s hot in 2010, while also giving a retrospective nod to Houston’s 80’s hits such as ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’. What’s more, the track is one of the rare instances on an otherwise (good, yet) restrained album where we’re reminded of that ‘voice’ we grew to know, love, and for some, emulate. Indeed, present during the latter half are the trademark vocal runs, trinklets and isms which make a Whitney Houston track a…Whitney Houston track.

Why this was overlooked as a single is beyond me, as yours truly believes it posses an instant likability lacking from the grower that was ‘I Look To You’s lead rekease ‘Million Dollar Bill’. Still, single treatment or otherwise, the song goes hard! 

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Mariah Carey– Slipping Away

Mariah Carey has long been regarded as one of the industry’s best singer/songwriters and there is no better example of her musical prowess than ‘Slipping Away’.

Released as a B-Side to her enormously successful ‘Always Be My Baby’ from her diamond-certified ‘Daydream’ album, the record features the songbird combining the various colours of her incredible vocal range with the sound of classic 90’s R&B.

Lyrically impressive and melodically astute, this track is one of the many gems in Carey’s catalogue that display her true skill as an artist. Her voice has been glorified but her genius is gravely underrated.  

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