By Fawn Renee
Some artists get better with time. There are others whose shine slowly dwindles with each album, and then there are those timeless artists that are born to be stars (clap for em). Mariah Carey straddles the line of the latter two, though her album sales and accolades would have one thinking otherwise. Under the guidance of Columbia Records executive, and then husband, Tommy Mottola, Carey made her recording debut in 1990 with the release of her self-titled album Mariah Carey. That day marked the beginning of what would be the best decade of her career. Beauty, congeniality, sex appeal were all on her side, but it was her voice that would be her crowning glory.
Fast forward to the new millennium, Carey hit a new plateau in 2005 with the release of the Grammy Award winning album The Emancipation of Mimi, which became the best-selling album of that year, and Carey’s best since the 1995 release of Daydream, thanks largely in part, to its heavy Hip-Hop influence. Numbers don’t lie, but sometimes studio electronics can. While Carey may have topped the charts, her -at one point- incomparable talent had been muted for album sales. It would appear Carey had traded in vocal coaching for glitter, spandex and a new “hood card.”
For those longing for the days when Mariah Carey’s name was synonymous with unending talent and power, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel offers a semi trip back to those halcyon days. The album’s first single, “Obsessed,” tells the tale of a desperate man fabricating stories of she and him, due to his obsession with her. Despite her denials to the contrary, it is widely believed that the subject of the song is rapper Eminem.
The two have been verbally sparring for a few years now and the track comes across as a discrete diss record as the R&B diva explains “You a mom and pop; I’m corporation. I’m the press conference; you a conversation.” Despite its commercial success, thanks to a feature by Gucci Mane, Carey opened up a can of worms with the song’s release causing a lethal retaliation by Eminem. On his song “The Warning,” Em states warns the singer, “Bitch, shut the f**k up before I put all them phone calls out you made to my house when you was wild n out, before Nick.”
The album, almost entirely produced by writer/producer/artist Terius The-Dream Nash and his counterpart Tricky Stewart, is saturated with melodic, infectious love songs with the duo’s signature stamp on it. “Ribbon,” “Inseparable” and “Standing O” are all head-nodding tracks, inclusive of The-Dream’s production foundation of heavy synthesizers, throbbing 808s, ephemeral bass lines and vacillating hi-hats.
“Up Out My Face” is a radio-friendly hit with its ballsy lyrics and in-the–pocket groove. On the fun-loving track, Carey playfully exclaims, “If we were two Lego blocks, not even the Harvard University graduating class of 3010 couldn’t put us back together again!” The reprise, which features a live marching band playing over the track, brings the integrity of the song down considerably.
On “More Than Just Friends,” Dream and Stewart play with the Notorious B.I.G. sample from “One More Chance” effortlessly, while Carey flirtatiously engages her crush with promising glimpses of their future. While not a song of representative of her full vocal aptitude, it does its job to add to the fluidity of the album.
The ballads, while superior for today’s standards, are a far cry from the ballads present on Music Box or Daydream. “Angels Cry” is a heart-wrenching track about losing love. It’s undoubtedly the album’s big ballad, where Carey boldly reclaims her title as a vocal powerhouse and showcases the authenticity that fans first encountered in 1990. Similarly, Carey’s graceful cover of rock band, Foreigner’s, 1985 hit “I Want To Know What Love Is,” resurrects Carey’s churchy vocals, complete with her blaring whistle register riffs.
Despite some flaws, such as the simplistic lyrics and one-dimensional production style, the album is sure to be another hit for Carey, giving old and new fans something to look forward to. Makes one wonder how much better the album could have been if the songs she worked on with producers Timbaland and Jermaine Dupri had made the final track listing. Even still, void of the cornrows, skimpy dresses and rap hall of fame, this album provides an introspective look at Carey’s growth as a person and an artist. Yes the angel is imperfect, but she still has wings.
Out Of 5
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