Houston’s version is faster, with different instrumentation. She also adds in words, such as “yeah” where Winwood didn’t, which could be an element of improvisation taken from the jazz genre.
Another trademark of the R&B genre is the usage of gospel based styles of singing, with lots of harmonization and an emotionally-charged tone quality. That said, the repeated harmonized chorus that comes in singing “Bring me a higher love,” serves as an example of the use of gospel within R&B.
These differences lie in the instruments used, vocal techniques, and new technologies including electronic instruments, music synthesizers, and multi-tracking. These new technologies provided artists with a new sort of creativity and independence.