Glitter - Carey, Mariah (CD 2001)

The Main Idea:
After her movie of the same title bombed, Mariah Carey released the overproduced soundtrack, Glitter, to less than stellar reviews and record sales in September of 2001, and it's easy to see why. Though Glitter is an excellent concept album and a great way to honor the 80's, Mariah really isn't the right artist to sing most of its songs. The ballads are good, what you would usually expect from her, but her feeble attempts at hip-hop and disco come off as sounding completely contrived and out of place. As a devoted Mariah Carey fan, I honestly don't think this album was as bad as it was played out to be, but it certainly isn't up to the standards I've come to expect from her. This was obviously just an experiment in Mariah's career, and a very bad one.

Song-By-Song Breakdown:
1. LOVERBOY REMIX - This confusing hip-hop remix is probably the worst song Mariah's ever done, in my opinion. It features Da Brat, Ludacris, Shawnna, and Twenty II, and that is just too many collaborators for one song. It's really cheesy, and Mariah's usual dolphin-like vocals don't suit it at all. I love Mariah, but I really wanna know what the hell she was thinking when she recorded this song. It's jumbled and mixed up and just plain sucks - 0/5

2. LEAD THE WAY - The album gets back on track with this ballad, which features some excellent piano and keyboard synths and the usual heartfelt, if somewhat corny, lyrics: "Who would ve believed/That you and me would fall/And land together/And who could ve foreseen/In you I d find the place/I ve belonged forever." It sounds a lot like some early Mariah work with its simple, easygoing production and and phenomenal vocals. Some of the vocals can get a bit annoying, though, especially when you have to hear Mariah hit "that note" in every song - 4/5

3. IF WE - At first listen, I hated this song, but its cartoonish production and softspoken vocals eventually got to me, and now it's one of my favorites. Produced by Damizza and faeturing Ja Rule and Nate Dogg, the song actually flows really well and is one of this record's better attempts at hip-hop. It's actually a fairly simple song that's very catchy and infectious, if somewhat boring, and the two guest spots are well-chosen; Ja's and Nate's voices mesh well with Mariah's - 4/5

4. DIDN'T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON - This is a horribly dated remake that features a pretty good electric guitar part, but is all but ruined by the way-too-many synthesizers. It's a throwback to the 70's that doesn't work at all and, once again, has far too many bells and whistles going on in the background. I was just waiting for this song to end, but it seems to get even more overproduced as the song goes on! Mariah doesn't deliver the song very convincingly at all. Poorly written, poorly produced, and poorly performed - 1/5

5. DON'T STOP (FUNKIN' 4 JAMAICA) - A commendable little horn section introduces this completely ignored third single, then introduces the track's guest rapper, Mystikal. The song is catchy - "Don't stop baby/It's ecstasy/Turn me up a little higher/Baby light my fire/Tell me every little thing you wanna do/Baby I'm into you" - and showcases the whole of Mariah's awesome vocal range. This tune is funky and danceable and is also a little old-school and has a Jamaican vibe, courtesy of the well-chosen sample - 3/5

6. ALL MY LIFE - This funky 80's-era dance hit was written and produced by Rick James, and you can tell. The instrumentals, particularly the percussion and nice little flute section, are excellent, and, despite being dated, I actually don't mind this song that much. The hook, though catchy, doesn't suit the melody, and some of the production is a bit much and overshadows the fabulous background vocals. This would have been my favorite song on the album if it didn't have quite so much going on. Grooving and sexy nonetheless - 4/5

7. REFLECTIONS (CARE ENOUGH) - This is yet another piano-accompanied ballad that is just heartwrenching. In the lyrics, Mariah's character from the movie, Billie, tells off her mother for abandoning her and asks: "Don t you even care/Just the slightest bit for me/'Cause I really need to feel you cared/Even once upon a time for me." I nearly cried the first time I heard it, as it's rather sad, but I've gotten over it, and now it just sounds like another Mariah ballad. There's nothing particularly remarkable about it, thought the operatic production is nice - 3/5

8. LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE - This is another cover tune, and a horrible one. It features Fabolous (his constant rhymes of "it's f-a,b-o,l-o,u-s" are really starting to annoy me), Busta Rhymes, and the song's producer, DJ Clue, and his usual "DJ Clue! Desert Storm!" crap. I can't stand this song. It's got some guitar playing and nice, if somewhat weak, bassline, but, other than that, it sucks. There's no real hook, and the vocal arrangements are terrible; they're all whispery and repetitive. A bad attempt at a hip-hop/dance song - 1/5

9. WANT YOU - Mariah's co-star from the movie, Eric Benet, sings on this track, and it's a shame that it's so overproduced and contrived because they're both such good vocalists. The background vocals on this track are what really spoil it; they're so screechy and annoying. Mariah gets a little crazy towards the end of the track and loses control of her voice. The lyrics are cheesy, and the production is mediocre at best. A little catchy and danceable, but rather irritating - 2/5

10. NEVER TOO FAR - Another piano-accented ballad with some dramatic production that fits the mood of the song quite well. The lyrics are heartfelt - "Never too far away/I won t let time erase/One bit of yesterday/'Cause I have learned that/Nobody can take your place/Though we can never be/I ll keep you close to me/When I remember" - and, for the first time on this album, everything about the song compliments each other well. My only issue is that Mariah does oversing a tiny bit, though it's not to the point where it's annoying - 4/5

11. TWISTER - This tear-jerking tribute to a stylist who committed suicide isn't anything special, but, in the lyrics, you can tell that Mariah really means what she's saying. The random high note in the middle of this ballad sounds a bit out of place, as it seems like Mariah is using a tribute song to show off her talent, which is extremely tacky, but oh well. The wind chimes make it sound very dreamy and far away. Overall, this tune is very touching, if a bit dull - 3/5

12. LOVERBOY - This original version is the same as the remix, except, instead of all those stupid rappers, it features the equally annoying vocals of Cameo, whose hit "Candy" is the basis for this track. The vocals and production are still confusing, the lyrics still sound like they were written by a second grader, and the song still sucks. But I'm giving it a one because at least she tried and at least she had the common sense to get rid of all those horrible rappers - 1/5

The Big Picture:
After reading the reviews, I wasn't expecting much of Glitter, but I was still disappointed. Concept albums just don't work nowadays, especially when they're recorded by an artist like Mariah who needs those catchy pop hooks and simple production to be successful. I'll always be a Mariah fan, even after this travesty of an album, but even I can admit that, when her records are good, they're really good, but when they're bad, they're really bad. I don't know what Mariah was thinking, and, quite frankly, I don't wanna know. I understand that this record is meant to be a soundtrack for the movie Glitter, which is set in the 80's, so the music was designed and recorded to fit the vibe of that movie. But then why was this album marketed solely as a Mariah Carey album? Why didn't it say "Various Artists" as most soundtracks do? I'm more than a little confused. All I know is that, whether it's a Mariah Carey record or just a soundtrack, I don't like it.

Glitter is Mariah's worst album to date, and that goes without saying. The disco-ish 80's tunes are put together rather poorly with mediocre vocals and spacey production, the hip-hop tracks are pretty good production-wise, but feature some questionable guest stars, and even the ballads, though they are this album's obvious strong points, aren't nearly as good as most of Mariah's earlier work. I'm really beginning to think Mariah has lost her touch. Lyrically, her songs are starting to sound bland, repetitive, and bubblegum. Vocally, she's really past her prime, and those once astonishing high notes that Mariah built her career on are starting to sound really obnoxious and irritating, even for me. Overall, I think Glitter is a very immature album. Other than TWISTER, REFLECTIONS, and maybe NEVER TOO FAR, there's no real depth or honesty. If you're considering buying this record, please believe the hype for once. To be as cheesy and clich as this album is, all that Glitters is not gold.

Final Notes:
Average Song Rating: 2.583
Best Song(s): "Never Too Far," "If We," and "All My Life"
Worst Song(s): "Loverboy Remix"

How Would I Rate This Record's...
Vocals? 3 stars
Lyrics? 2 1/2 stars
Production? 2 1/2 stars
Timelessness? 0 stars
Artistry? 1 star

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