Sam Smith Covers Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know"

I really love Sam

Everybody knows how we feel about Sam Smith over here, right? Right?. We (I mean, I) gave In The Lonely Hour an “A” and almost reviewed it for the third time this morning, concentrating on three songs which seem to take the album to a whole other level. Really, in 2014 Sam is putting his name in the ranks of greatest singer around and this exquisite version “How Will I Know” is one long achey breaky heart.

The problem is, despite the note perfection and still in the lonely hour world, my feeling is if anything he should have let it loose, he should have done an upbeat beauty simply because, as we know from “Latch” and “La La La” prove, there is more to Smith than “Stay With Me”, he can do disco, soul, funk, he is a talented fellow, and this is an upbeat in his kiss song, the original jumps out in freshness and excitement.

The problem is Sam Smith’s version, as beautiful as can be, is too downcast, with just a piano he caresses it morbidly. It works as an adjunct to In The Lonely Hour, but that isn’t what he should be doing and that he wo’t jump on something he should be jumping on is something of a bummer.

I don’t dislike it, indeed I love it, I just wish it was something else.

Grade: B+