Whitney Houston’s Daring New Move? : <i> Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic). : </i>

** 1/2 WHITNEY HOUSTON “I’m Your Baby Tonight” Arista

Houston has always liked to dance--with somebody who loves her, if we remember correctly--but until now even her most upbeat numbers had more of a light-handed pop touch than a hard-core R&B; jackhammer attack. No more.

For three key selections on her third album, Houston has hired hot producing team L.A. Reid & Babyface to pump up her formerly less-than-formidable dance tracks. Houston’s last album sold so well and produced such a phenomenal string of hit singles that any tampering with the formula has to be considered much more daring than desperate, to the extent that it pushes some of the “adult contemporary” pop aside.

How does it work? With the lead track and first single, “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” just swimmingly. It’s a swooning ballad of complete romantic acquiescence, with the beat magnified to dance-floor level--a memorable song charming enough to click arranged in any number of genres, but especially seductive done up with that energy.

Nothing else on the album quite approaches that immediate peak--not the other Reid & Babyface numbers, and especially not the standard ballads. The irony is that the dance tunes are most exciting, but could just as easily be backing tracks for En Vogue; the ballads show her talent off to greater effect, yet are written with foremost banal anonymity. Star contributions by Stevie Wonder (singing a duet) and Luther Vandross are engaging, if far from classic. The question still remains: Is Houston a great empty vessel?