"I Learned From the Best" was the fifth and final single released from Whitney Houston's critically lauded album My Love Is Your Love. Previous single "Heartbreak Hotel" was an R&B and pop hit with a good dance mix; "It's Not Right But It's Okay"'s dance mix became the hit version of the song, and transformed the singer into a full-fledged club diva. "My Love Is Your Love," the follow-up, fared equally well as a reggae/pop song, and as a revved-up club anthem. So the final single, "I Learned From the Best," originally a dramatic, classic Whitney-styled Diane Warren-penned ballad, was also transformed into a dance song. The dance version topped the dance charts, while the original version barely cracked the pop Top 30. As a result, only the dance mix appears on her Greatest Hits. As a dance song, the groove works better than the actual melody. The vocals weren't re-recorded, so at times they sound a little forced, as though a piece of the puzzle were missing when layered over the new Hi-NRG beats. A couple mixes on this single are good, especially the Jr. Vasquez "Disco Mix," which pits the song against an irresistibly funky beat. But ballad lovers should go with the original, because only the most hardened dance fans will appreciate this rather awkward sounding ballad-turned-disco anthem. This maxi-single, however, contains four distinct mixes -- a dub version, a couple of radio edits, and the original album version -- so it certainly does make for a well-stocked single, resulting in a case of quantity ruling over quality.
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