Glitter - Carey, Mariah (CD 2001)

Every now and then a major artist makes an album that is just caked with criticism as well as poor record sales. Often times they just give up and close up shop but for the truly special artists, its a sign to step up their game. One of the major cases in the last little bit has been 90 s queen Mariah Carey.

Often ridiculed Carey signed with Virgin Records (insert clever comments here) after a decade long relationship with Columbia/ Sony where her now ex-husband, Tommy Mottolla, worked. It was surrounded with controversy because Virgin is where Janet Jackson has resided since the early 1990 s and also because Mariah still had one album on her Columbia deal. Her debut for her second label was going to be the soundtrack to her acting debut (aside from a few parts in movies like 1999 s The Bachelor), Glitter. The buzz around it was amazing. How would the soundtrack sound? Would it go back to her old style or would it be more hip hop influenced? Would the movie even be any good?

While this busty babe was busy promoting her uberly 80 s double whammy of guilty pleasure-dom, she was pushed too far beyond her limits in terms of work load and ending up having to be hospitalized for pure exhaustion. This woman was working 20-plus hour days and rarely got any time to herself. Some of it was the label s fault because Loverboy was all but ignored at radio, which has been a theme for the last 5 or 6 years of her career. After a mindblowing opening 10 years or so, it seems like radio decided Mariah was hip anymore and just quit playing her stuff. But, some of it was the workaholic song bird s fault because she is just such a perfectionist which to me is a double edge sword. She tries her best but you should never put your health at risk at all.

Luckily, after a few days of rest and relaxation Mariah was alright. But even a full strength Carey couldn t repair her dismantled image or save her flailing projects. The movie, set in the 1980 s about a fledgling singer named Billie, was in theatres all of two weeks tops and made less than 5 million dollars at the box office along with atrocious reviews. Why, you can mosey on over to the movies section here at Epinions and read some doozies yourself. The album (released the ill-fated day of 9-11-01) debuted decently at #7 with about 100,000 copies sold but quickly faded and ended up selling 600,000 copies in total.

Before I go into this, I want to clarify some things. *gets soap box and stands on it* This album isn t a representation of Mariah s sound nor of her artistic direction. This is a soundtrack to her movie, and some people seem to let that slip their mind when discussing this. In Mariah Carey by Marc Shapiro (a very good read, by the way), he says that while she was recording in Capri, she and her producers continued to write and complete songs as the movie was evolving. Mariah s contribution expanded from a once thought 6 songs to 12 songs. Once you take all that incoherent babbling into consideration, I think you ll regard this album differently. *steps down from soap box*

Tracklisting:
Loverboy Remix f/Da Brat, Shawna, Twenty II, and Ludacris (** 1/2)
Lead The Way (*****)
If We f/Ja Rule and Nate Dogg (**)
Didn t Mean To Turn You On (**** 1/2)
Don t Stop (Funkin For Jamaica) f/Mystikal (* 1/2)
All My Life (*****)
Reflections (*****)
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life f/DJ Clue, Busta Rhymes and Fabolous (* 1/2)
Want You f/Eric Benet (***)
Never Too Far (*****)
Twister (****)
Loverboy f/Cameo (*** 1/2)

Who would ve believed
That you and me would fall
And land together
And who could ve forgotten
Lead The Way, along with Never Too Far and Reflections, returns to Mariah s big heartfelt ballad past. This song also reunites Carey and longtime producer Walter Afanasieff who has a hand in over half (14 out of 27) of the tracks on her greatest hits album. It has a warm piano into with Miss Carey crooning in her soft register and a blast from the past is immediately felt. The song gradually builds up enough steam to produce a pretty powerful last two minutes, but I ll get to that in a sec. The music for this track is some of the best since her 1995 Daydream album. Its very crisp and although rather saccaharine, its also some of the purest music she s done since she began to explore her hip hop and r&b roots. The song has that Olympic anthem-ish quality with a total sing-a-long hook and power ballad instrumentation. Kudos to James Big Jim Wright for some sterling piano play that was perfect for Mariah s vocals. Songs like these where you get a glimpse into her more soft side are always nice seeing as they re rare nowadays. When she lets down her guard and lets it all out, she can blow with the best of em. By the end of the song, hook conscious Mariah will have sucked you in and you ll definitely be singing along. So says Rainman. :) If you ve seen that movie, you ll know what I m saying. Anyway, Mariah mainly goes toward her softer register on this song but builds strength as the song does and makes a gorgeous Kimberley Locke-esque climax (the note at 2:34 will give you chills). If you don t like her whispery tones, you ll can handle it, I think you ll enjoy this. The lyrics are very reminiscent of first to second album Mariah with a lovey dovey P.O.V. but with the addition of a more experienced perspective, the song has some growth and edge (lyrically, a little bit). The hook is short but sweet and will satisfy those looking for a catchy hook as well as some genuine emotion. If you enjoy love songs of any sort, you ll like this song. Mariah showcases her enormous talent in a way both older and newer fans ll appreciate. Thumbs up.

I ve been waiting for someone to come into my life
Who would bring me joy and give me pleasure
All My Life, written by superfreak Rick James, is the top upbeat song out of the 7 or so here on the record. Opening with a part from the movie (you ll hear a voice saying turn Silk way down and bring Billie all the way up . Silk being a fictional vocalist and Billie being Mariah. You hear him commenting throughout the song), this song has a surprising amount of live elements in it with understated but clearly evident drums by Derek Organ and a sparingly used but pretty cool sounding flute section from Fernando Harkless. The entire song really has a nice, carefree, fun mood thanks in part to the sleek production and sexually charged lyrics penned by the 80 s star. This not too fast, not too slow lite funk song has a great environment for Mariah to let loose on because the music never overpowers her. Instead, it molds with her cheeky vocals to create a very Mariah track. Her vocals on this track are very rollercoaster; she mainly goes for her normal, full strength tones in the verses and choruses but for a few lines she uses the whisper. Her vocals really capture the essence of the song. She brings a lot of life into what could have been a really bad song if handles wrong. The commentary/ joking around/ laughter in the background is almost as entertaining as the song itself. Mariah s laugh is infectious so you can t help but have a good time. Rick James lyrics are very coquette-ish (I ve got some sly and sexy tricks to show you) and are average at best. The chorus tends to repeat a bit much and although its a pretty hot hook, it should have been done a bit less. This is a great song to crank up and jam to.

Reflections of your love
Have come to wither
I thought I d done my best to memorize
Reflections comes at a rather poignant point in the movie. If memory serves me, this is when Mariah s character sits down at the piano and writes a song about the mother who left her and really tells her off, to a point. The lyrics are really moving (at least to me) and something that should be applauded. Mariah really delves deep into her own psyche to pull out this heart-wrenching ballad. She got in touch with her character in a way I have rarely seen from someone who acted as well as sang. I know its not a fantastic compliment but hey, it says how she can actually of both. The entire song just has enough intense emotion and aching, near tears vocals to pull in all the saps. There s a few lyrics that are undescribable (the abortion lines You could have had the decency/ To give me up/ Before you gave me life or A displaced little girl/ Wept years in silence) and pack enough jaw dropping passion to give you a new respect for her. The music is similar, in a way, to Lead The Way in that its a piano ballad. Other than that, they re completely different songs. The music for this song matches the lyrical and vocal tones note for note. It doesn t have that inspirational, anthem-esque quality that Lead The Way does; its crashes and tenderness (check out the first ten seconds for the tender moments) combines for a very raw and delicate track. The piano seems to be the perfect instrument for Mariah s vocal range; she sounds amazing next to the perfectly played piano that has the lightest of jazz elements in it but has a pure soul vibe to it. Mariah hits a place in her voice she should more often. It s a lot more honest and bare than a lot of her material and has that kind of on the edge of tears kind of feel then it that is astonishing. After hearing about 5 or 6 years of hip hop tracks, songs like these are just so refreshing. She strips way all gloss (lyrically, vocally, and production wise) and just sings her butt off. No back-up, no sound effects that are unbearable, no bad guest spots. Another keeper for both sets of fans. Mariah s ballads are like heroin, so addictive and you can never get enough of them.

Last night a DJ saved my life
Last night a DJ saved my life from a broken heart
Aside from Loverboy, Last Night A DJ Saved My Life has the most guest appearances at 3; DFX co-host and super producer DJ Clue (who gives Mariah a rock solid track), normally tolerable Busta Rhymes who flat out sucks on this track and name obsessed Brooklyn rapper F-a-b-o-l-o-u-s (ugh, that is incredibly annoying) who is only there for a quick verse. I wanted to like this track, I really did. She picked a great song to cover and has a soulful disco track to do her thing on. Its got a great groove to it and is one of the better beats for the upbeat songs. So what s wrong, you say? First off, why does this chica have two rappers on this track? I can handle her with one because they can do what she and Busta did on I Know What You Want but two always seem to take the spotlight away from the main performer and reduces them to back-up singer. Second, why in heaven s name does it have to be Busta and Fabolous? Seriously. Fabolous verse lasts about :35 and then that boy is gone. I can handle his verse because its one of his better ones (not much to say, though) and flows well with the song. His flow matches the old school vibe of the disco-y beat. Its nothing special but you can clearly look over it. The author of one of the most mainstream misogynistic songs I ve heard (honestly, Can t Let You Go is the epitome of those type of songs) does it a bit early considering the track is 6:41. What goes on? Oh, nothing. Just about 3:00 of dead air, more or less. Busta s purpose on this song is still unknown. He ends up serving the purpose of hype man who NEVER SHUTS UP! This man never lets Fabolous or Mariah do anything without adding a comment or some obnoxious order. I swear to the Epinions gods, if I hear just shake that shhh and bounce around one more time, I am not to be held responsible for my actions. Buats also does his own sound effects (a car crash); he also asked us for that thing steaming over there . This man repeats himself so much that its crazy. He has a total of 6 lines (or what it seems like) and used them all up in the first 1:00 ; now he has to make believe that he s not repeating himself. If he d added a verse or something I would have been happy. But noooo... he had to be Clue s special helper seeing as Mr. Clue makes several appearances as nearly all hip hop producers now do. *calming breaths* Other than the guest appearance, this song is pretty good. Although a certain rapper kind of throws her off toward the end (their interaction isn t bearable at all), Mariah has a solid vocal performance as her vocals warm more and add an edge of soul to the track. She sounds especially good at the hook and her ad libs. The lyrics are perfect for a dance song, light hearted (And in just one breath he said/ You gotta get up/ You gotta get on/ You gotta get down girl) and just fun. If this track was just Mariah, it d be a 4 star track. But alas, it s in the 1 star s section.

Don t stop baby
It s ecstasy
Turn me up a little higher
Baby light my fire
Here s another horrid track, the Mystikal fronted Don t Stop. I ll just cut to the chase, Mystikal sucks. Flat out, no bones about it. This guy is all flash and zero talent. There are so many things wrong with his parts that its hard to fit it all in here. His flow is too abrasive and in your face for this type of track. The hip hop laced bar room piano groove is NOT the place for his gruff, Chris Berman-esque (in terms of volume) flow. After that in terms of horridity (is that a word?) happens to be his lyrics. Instead of doing a big Sally Field style speech *kicks away that darn soap box*, I ll give you some samples.

There ain't nothing you can do with the man
Except for shake yo a** and clap yo hands
Bob your head and move your feet I ain't the type of rapper just to ride the beat
I set the track on fire I take the roof, the house and knock out your tires
It's the funk in here
Let Mystikal move you and Mariah sing
Heads up, look out, it's about to go down,
And what they didn't know about me then,
I bet they know now I'm bout to prove my fame
So just get out the way and let me do the thing
Its on tonight
I'm known to be more vulgar than the garbage truck
You can't stop the train
You ain't got no umbrella so get your a** out the rain
You ain't louder than this I'm like a bowl of gumbo, you ain't hotter than this
I'm what they play in the club
I keep them moving till I leave, that s what they paying me for
You already know what I do
So have my money and my munchies and my cigar too
I'm known for bringing the heat, ain't nobody cutting up but MC now MC
Ok, and imagine this to Mystikal s highly obnoxious tone. See? If you don t get how bad these are, ask any of Epinions hip hop experts. They ll give you a better explanation than I could. I m counting the days until I take my journalism class...in my senior year. *sigh* Once again, Mariah is the highlight of the track, especially for a good :30 at the end of the song where she really lets loose. She goes for the wilder, more unbridled vocals that make me yearn for when she used to sing like that all the time. Its got soul, blues, and funk meshed together into a fantastic piece of music. Overall, a horrid guest appearance that drags down the track.

In conclusion, I honestly tried to like this album much more than I do. I kept repeating it s a soundtrack to myself but it honestly never sunk in. This album, while having its strong points (All My Life, Reflections, Never Too Far) has far too many horrid tracks to really overcome. Mariah s gotten far too much criticism for the album as a whole just because people misconstrued this as a solo project. I suggest you buy this if you have seen the movie just so you don t get confused about the whole thing. She tries to overcomplicate things on this album. Instead of doing a 7:00 track with 3:00 of nothing, how bout doing a 4:00 track? Eh? I just cannot recommend this album.

*grabs tissue and dramatically runs out of the room*

3.54 rounded down to 3