The Remixes - Carey, Mariah (CD 2003)

For years, I ve been hoping that Mariah Carey would release a remix album . I never thought it would happen because it just didn t seem like something she d release. So leave it to Sony to do it for her. Even though Mariah is behind the release, saying that her fans have been asking for the album for a while now, it is a Sony release (I m not sure how many more albums she s contracted to release under the Sony label).

The Remixes is a 2-disc set which separates 2 different kinds of remixes. Disc 1 is Mariah s Club/Dance Mixes (songs you d hear at a club, obviously). Disc 2 contains Mariah s Hip hop inspired Mixes (songs redone with a rapper). Some of the songs on Disc 2 are the original versions of the songs, but they are included since they have a guest rapper in them. So anyways, I don t believe there s anything more to say to catch you guys up on Mariah so on to the review.

Tracklisting
Disc 1
1 My All (Morales "My" Club Mix)
2 Heartbreaker/"If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior's Heartbreaker Club Mix)
3 Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) (Fly Away Club Mix)
4 Anytime You Need A Friend (C&C Club Version)
5 Fantasy (Def Club Mix)
6 Honey (Classic Mix)
7 Dreamlover (Def Club Mix)
8 Emotions (12" Club Mix)
9 Through The Rain (HQ2 Radio Edit)

Disc 2
1 Fantasy (Feat. O.D.B.)
2 Always Be My Baby (Mr. Dupri Mix featuring Da Brat and Xscape)
3 My All/Stay Awhile (So So Def Remix Featuring Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz)
4 Thank God I Found You (Make It Last Remix)
5 Breakdown (Featuring Krayzie Bone & Wish Bone)
6 Honey (So So Def Mix Featuring Da Brat & JD)
7 Loverboy (Remix)
8 Heartbreaker (Remix)
9 Sweetheart
10 Crybaby
11 Miss You
12 The One (So So Def Remix)
13 I Know What You Want

DISC 1
One thing that most people may not know is that Mariah is known for re-singing her remixes. She is one of the few artists I know who actually has a part in mixing the tracks. So as I mentioned before, Disc 1 has the dance mixes. These are not new mixes, these are remixes that she compiled over the years, so think of it as a Greatest Remixed Hits. My All kicks off the album with one of the best remixes she s done to date. The song is given a fresher sound, but still manages to keep a lot of the feeling. She sings the original in concert and always goes into the remix at the end. She knows it s good, so what a great way to start off the album. Honey and Fantasy remain two of my favorite Mariah mixes. Honey is completely resung and Mariah s vocals are so strong and powerful that you can t help but listen intently. Fantasy is awesome because it breaks down the song and each part of it has it s time to shine (if you don t know what I mean, listen to it because it is unlike any remix I ve ever heard). It goes through so many styles.

Ever since MTV Unplugged, Mariah s live version of Emotions has been one of my all-time favorites. Well, after years of searching, I finally have the studio remixed version of the song. I cannot begin to tell you the joy this mix caused lol. Anytime You Need A Friend leaves me in awe. Her vocals here are so powerful here that she gives this song a whole new life.

The Bad
Disc 1 does have its faults though. Heartbreaker is a wonderful poppy song, yet she makes it dark and gloomy with deeper vocals this song never got the remix it deserved really. The wrong mix for Through The Rain was used because Hex Hector messed up when he remixed this one. I am a fan of his work, but I don t know what he was thinking this is a horrible mix. I personally thought Fly Away was an unfair choice because it s not really a song. The original sounds like a remix as it is.

What was missing?
There are two huge exclusions from Disc 1. I Still Believe/Pure Imagination was left out and many fans are upset because it s one of the most popular Mariah mixes. My personal choice for overlooked remix is Can t Take That Away (Morales Revival Triumphant Mix). This is one of the most creative mixes she s done and it was omitted yet Fly Away was included? Ugh, whatever Sony.

Disc 1 Grade: A- (6 out of 9 songs still makes it a good album)


DISC 2
For those of you who still refuse to think of Mariah as someone who can blend her pop with hip-hop and R&B need to hear this disc. Disc 2 is my favorite of the 2 simply because the songs are wonderful and she changes her sound in so many ways effortlessly. Fantasy featuring O.D.B. is the best summer song of all time (to me anyways). This is a song that could still be blasting on your radio today and sound like it s new. My All was remixed with a great R&B sound to make it into a totally different song. The rapless version is available on the single, but either version is great. Always By My Baby features Da Brat and Xscape. The song is given a nice relaxed and laid back feel to it. Definitely one of the smoothest songs Mariah s ever sung.

I do have a favorite song though. Thank God I Found You is probably my favorite Mariah remix on this disc. Nas and Joe are featured and both add so much to Mariah s beautiful vocals. Nas rap parts are perfectly placed and Joe s vocals compliment Mariah s flawlessly. The song is totally different from the original and 100% better. The One took me a while to like. The original is so sincere that I felt that the So So Def remix stripped it of all that. After countless listens though, you see that this one is just as sincere, if not more, She and JD have a part in which they tell each other how they ve been hurt before it s very creative.

The Regular Versions
Sweetheart, Breakdown, Loverboy Remix and Heartbreaker Remix are on previous Mariah albums so they are just there to show that she can keep up with the best of them. Crybaby is on Rainbow but I thought it deserved special attention because if you download any Mariah song, I think this should be it. She proves in this single song that she can sing hip-hop. Snoop Dogg is featured here and it s one of Mariah s best songs to date. The beat is hot and her voice just flows so smoothly that you can t help but wonder why this wasn t a huge hit. She even jazzes her voice at the end do yourself a favor and listen to it.

The New Songs
Miss You features Jadakiss and she samples I Did It For Love by T. Etling and L. Laurie. The beat is hot and I personally think it would do well on the urban charts. People seem to be hesitant to play or even listen to her hip-hop attempts if they gave her a chance they d see that this chick knows what she s doing. I Know What You Want with Busta Rhymes is also included since it was one of the biggest hits this year. The song sounds like stuff Mariah s done on her own does anyone realize this?

The Bad
I don t like what they do with Honey. The original and dance mixes are good, but this version really messes up the song and makes it all over the place.

What was missing?
One of the best songs on Butterfly is The Roof and the Mobb version is another fan favorite. My main omission I am upset over is If We featuring Ja Rule and Nate Dogg. That song is just wonderful. I guess it wasn t included because it is on the Glitter soundtrack. The album was very good, but I guess she d rather forget about it. There Goes My Heart is a new song that wasn t included I don t know why they cut it, but it s a good song nonetheless.

Disc 2 Grade: A+ I m glad the second disc was included, it really shows off a part of Mariah a lot of people don t seem to notice.

Overall Grade: A
Though I don t think this album will sell too much (it s a 2-disc album of remixes that is getting little to no promotion), I still hope that someone will see just how gifted she is whether she whispers or belts her songs. This isn t a fans only type of CD mainly because of the second disc however, I don t think any non-fanatics will be purchasing it lol.