在1996年，惠特妮錄製、並和Mervyn Warren共同製作了“天使保鏢 (The Preacher's Wife)：電影原聲帶”，實踐了她長期以來想要錄製福音專輯的願望。其中六首歌和亞特蘭大Greater Rising Star教堂的Georgia Mass唱詩班共同錄製。不同於之前的每一張專輯，惠特妮在15首歌曲中只演唱了14首，另外包括一首和福音音樂的傳奇人物Shirley Caesar合作的歌曲。這張原聲帶在全世界銷售了800萬張，成為有史以來銷量最高的福音專輯，亦使"I Believe in You and Me"和"Step by Step"兩首歌曲大為流行。這張專輯普遍得到正面的評價，像USA Today認為發現到了不同於先前專輯的情感上的深度。
歌詞
I Believe In You and Me
I Believe That we will be
In love eternally
Well as far as I can see
You Will Always be the one
For me (Oh yes’ you will)
And I believe in dreams again
I believe that love will never end
And like the river finds the sea
I was lost’ now I’m free
Cuz I believe In you and me
I will never leave your side
I will never hurt your pride
When all the chips are down’ baby
Then I will always be around
Just to be right where you are
My love’ you know I love you
I will never leave you out
I will always let you in
To places no-one’s ever been’
Deep inside’ can’t you see?
That I believe in you and me
Maybe I’m a fool
To feel the way I do
I will play the fool forever
Just to be with you forever
I believe in miracles
And love is the miracle
And yes’ baby you’re my dreame true
I was lost’ now I’m free’
Oh’ baby cuz i believe’ i do believe’ in you and me
See’ I was lost’ now I’m free
Cuz I believe in you and me.
主流媒體評論
Billboard gave the song a positive review saying, "As she did with Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You,' Houston redefines the composition with a soaring, glass-shattering performance that will leave her legions of fans breathless." 2. J. D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun called the song "the Designated Hit Ballad" and added "[it] is pretty much what we've come to expect from Houston ― a slow, Streisand-esque build-up, a subtle sense of drama and a big, full-voiced payoff in the final chorus." 3. Neil Strauss from The New York Times in his review for The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack, praised the song highly, stating "[it] is among the year's most virtuosic pop ballads." 4. Elysa Gardner of Los Angeles Times wrote that the song "is a cheesy classic in the tradition of 'I Will Always Love You,' with an instantly familiar melody and a poignant, bolero-like arrangement."
排行榜成績
Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles) 59 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 74 Germany (Media Control Charts) 98 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 46 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 16US Billboard Hot 100 4 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 4 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 2 Year-end charts Canadian Adult Contemporary Tracks 29 US Billboard Hot 100 33 US Adult Contemporary Singles 11 US R&B Singles 29 US Soundtrack Singles 5
歌手簡介
惠特妮·休斯頓（Whitney Houston），美國已故著名女歌手，國際樂壇流行天后、好萊塢巨星。她以強而有力的嗓音、一字多轉音的感染力與寬廣的音域，所被譽為美國第一嗓。Whitney是首張專輯銷量最高的女歌手和單張專輯銷量最高的女歌手。她也是Billboard音樂排行榜唯一一位連續締造7首冠軍單曲的女歌手。根據金氏世界紀錄，Whitney是獲獎最多的女歌手（獲獎490次）。在上世紀八十年代，惠特妮是少數能夠在MTV獲得大量的播出機會的黑人藝人之一，而那時是男性為主的搖滾時代。AOL Black Voices 曾說“雖然她的成功如同避雷針 (lightning rod) 一般，但總是能夠從她那優美且有力的聲音中得到證明。”她是唯一在美國擁有兩張最佳銷售前35名的專輯的女性歌手。惠特妮在全世界有超過2億的唱片銷售記錄。
The Preacher's Wife專輯封面
