Love Is (Live From South Africa... And More)
Whitney Houston
Love Is (Live From South Africa… And More) is a 12‑inch vinyl EP by Whitney Houston, issued in 2024 as a Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive that spotlights the long‑vaulted song “Love Is” and ties into the broader Concert for a New South Africa (Durban) campaign. Released by RCA/Legacy, it serves as a companion piece to the full Durban live album, giving fans a focused, collectible release built around this newly uncovered Carvin Winans‑penned ballad, which Houston recorded in the early 1990s but never released during her lifetime. The EP presents “Love Is” in its studio form along with alternate or remixed versions, allowing listeners to hear both the original production (co‑produced by Nat Adderley Jr. and Houston) and a contemporary Carvin Winans remix that updates the arrangement while keeping her vocal performance front and center.
True to its title, the record also includes bonus tracks recorded live at Kings Park Stadium in Durban in 1994, drawn from the same historic concert where Houston first performed “Love Is” onstage for a newly liberated South Africa. These performances—selections from a set that featured “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “How Will I Know,” “I Have Nothing,” “Greatest Love of All,” and “I Will Always Love You”—capture her in powerful voice, blending pop hits with gospel‑tinged improvisation and extended vamps that underline the song’s central message about love as an active force. As a package, Love Is (Live From South Africa… And More) functions less as a conventional greatest‑hits sampler and more as a focused mini‑album: a deep‑cut celebration built around one “new” Whitney classic, contextualized by the emotional weight and historical significance of the Durban performances that inspired its long‑delayed release.
Love Is (Live From South Africa... And More)
Whitney Houston
Love Is (Live From South Africa… And More) is a 12‑inch vinyl EP by Whitney Houston, issued in 2024 as a Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive that spotlights the long‑vaulted song “Love Is” and ties into the broader Concert for a New South Africa (Durban) campaign. Released by RCA/Legacy, it serves as a companion piece to the full Durban live album, giving fans a focused, collectible release built around this newly uncovered Carvin Winans‑penned ballad, which Houston recorded in the early 1990s but never released during her lifetime. The EP presents “Love Is” in its studio form along with alternate or remixed versions, allowing listeners to hear both the original production (co‑produced by Nat Adderley Jr. and Houston) and a contemporary Carvin Winans remix that updates the arrangement while keeping her vocal performance front and center.
True to its title, the record also includes bonus tracks recorded live at Kings Park Stadium in Durban in 1994, drawn from the same historic concert where Houston first performed “Love Is” onstage for a newly liberated South Africa. These performances—selections from a set that featured “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “How Will I Know,” “I Have Nothing,” “Greatest Love of All,” and “I Will Always Love You”—capture her in powerful voice, blending pop hits with gospel‑tinged improvisation and extended vamps that underline the song’s central message about love as an active force. As a package, Love Is (Live From South Africa… And More) functions less as a conventional greatest‑hits sampler and more as a focused mini‑album: a deep‑cut celebration built around one “new” Whitney classic, contextualized by the emotional weight and historical significance of the Durban performances that inspired its long‑delayed release.