Mariah Carey – Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel
Score: C+
Well, after many delays and some lackluster singles, Mariah Carey’s new album has dropped. Dropped like a ton of bricks actually.
With sales expected be around the 160K mark and Mariah’s album to NOT debut at #1, it makes one think that the public at large has finally begun to see that the emperor (or empress) is not wearing any clothes. Including her so called “lambs” possibly — many who have gone on the record numerous times saying “they love the album” and “have bought 10 copies.” I guess fewer lambs buying 10 copies doesn’t equate to the massive first week numbers that Mariah is used to.
This album is overproduced, overly long and overdone. From the massive amounts of effects and production used to the sameness of the music and songs, there’s not much to love about this album. Of course, there are a few songs sprinkled throughout the album that are salvagable, but this CD just precipitates the decline of Mariah’s music output into mediocrity.
It’s a sad affair to hear Mariah’s once flawless voice swimming through copious amounts of layering, effect processing, cutting and pasting and all the other vocal tricks that The-Dream and Tricky Stuart had to do to her voice to make it sound reasonable. At times, all that mixed with her “singing” (which is more akin to a very hoarse whisper mixed in with some belts for good measure) and you have songs that are sometimes unintelligible.
The-Dream and Tricky Stuart gave Mariah her last “hit” in the form of “Touch My Body” so it’s no wonder she felt that they could give her an album chock full of hits and that’s why she let them handle the majority of the production and co-writing. Unfortunately, what results is a musical palette that doesn’t extend outside a few musical scales. There’s no real power ballads here though the anemic cover of Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is” tries its hardest; no real radio smashes a la Jermaine Dupri; no blockbuster hip-hop collabs or contributions either. The-Dream and Tricky use the same sounds and tricks that they’ve been using, only less effectively than they’ve used them with other artists lately. What results in the end is a syrupy mess of an album, that leaves Mariah sounding like a new artist struggling for a musical indentity and not a diva and superstar talent that has had a great musical history under her belt.
The lyrics on this album are often so elementary that it pains you to listen. Mariah continues to pander to the common denominator in her songs — even using the word “denominator” at one point. The album has few saving graces though — the poppy “Up Out Of My Face” and it’s “Drumline” channeling reprise is sure to be an ode to husband Nick Cannon, but it’s definitely one of the better tracks, channeling 90′s era Mariah R&B sensibilities. The chopped & screwed palor over “Ribbon” is ripe for a guest appearance by a rapper, but we are still pleased with its hard-driving beat, pre-hook and hook. “Inseperable” is also as close to Butterfly era Mariah we will get, as Mariah’s vocal sound familiar, strong and comfortable on that hook as well.
There’s lots of filler and lots of typical Mariah tricks — whistle notes at the end of every song, lots of half-sung lyrical stinkers (including the flop “Obsessed”), and big airy vocals to cover up the fact that Mariah’s voice isn’t as strong as it is. If you listen, you can hear many cracks and obvious “cut/paste” jobs as some songs sound as if they were recorded in 30 takes or more. Sure, the old Mariah is gone, but one wonders if she shouldn’t have quit while she was ahead and went out on top.
The artistic creativity that could have driven us past the fact that her voice isn’t there anymore is terribly missing on this album. The song selections, the choice of producers and the lack of a real “hit” are serious demerits against the album, and only the most stringent fans will truly appreciate this album. The lambs will buy 10 copies sure, but this is one lamb that won’t be lead willingly to the slaughter.
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October 2, 2009 KBJr.
A few takes on Mariah’s latest:
I always liked “Obsessed”…but I realize I’m in the minority on that one. It’s catchy, not clever or groundbreaking. I treat it as such.
“Candy Bling” is the best cut from the new album. Yes, whispery. But it’s the kind of atmospheric production that compliments that trait of her voice.
I like Mariah’s rendition of the Foreigner classic. I think it could have easily been a track on one of her mid-to-late 90s albums.
This is a weepy album (translation…a tad on the somber side). It reminds me of Mary J Blige’s “Love & Life”…a really uninspired record..can’t love or hate it…you just think “what a waste”. Mariah (and Mary too while I’m on the subject) needs to hang it up for a few years…and come back with a more mature concept album…do something different for a change. It’s not like she’s OBLIGATED to release an album every year or two.
October 2, 2009 twizzle
This one definitely trumps her last album. She’s got 4 solid songs that I REALLY like:
“It’s A Wrap”
“Inseparable”
“Up Out My Face”
“The Impossible”
She’s channeling Jodeci on “The Impossible,” and it really works.
I agree that she didn’t really take any chances here, but I consider it to be a pretty average album. A lot of the songs are in the same key, and that “sing-songy-rap” style popularized by R.Kelly, and now The Dream, is plastered all over the place. I really believe she’s gonna surprise us the next time around, because it’s clear to anyone with an ear that she has driven this style into the ground.
That is, if she can get that mess of a voice of hers to work right again!
October 2, 2009 The IPS
I feel like we were all saying the same thing last album: “I really believe she’s gonna surprise us the next time around….”
For real LOL! How long we gotta waited to be surprised. I think the surprise is that it’s over!
October 3, 2009 twizzle
I know IPS . . . but a man can dream!
October 3, 2009 kelis
I have most of MC’s albums, and always loved her not only for the voice but because she always had meaningful lyrics. Even though her voice had deteriorated some, I LOVED Emancipation. It was just an amazing album to me. E=MC2 was good, but on the decline. And then I buy this latest album and…. I could get past the voice not being A+ if there was some artistry and substance but.. NO! And the production? Some producers aren’t creative/dynamic/interesting enough to handle a whole album, Tricky being one of them. I was also expecting the album to be more introspective; these aren’t memoirs in my book.
But, there are a few tracks I do like:
Betcha Gon’ Know
It’s A Wrap
The Impossible
Languishing
Honestly, I hope that she takes a few years off before doing another album, have a baby, just live. Perhaps then she can ome up with something more timeless.
October 4, 2009 john Anderson
Hmm i think this cd is not as bad as people are making it out to me..i like impossible,hate u,its a wrap, up out my face,all the interludes are fiyah as well. However, the samey-ness of the songs takes away from the individual good songs themselves,so honestly i just skip to my favorites and move on. She has not had a consistent, cohesive, and classic album since Emancipation.
October 4, 2009 Craver
This album…was decent, but you pretty much covered it. The only tracks I can stand to listen to more than once are “Standing O” and “Ribbon”, eventhough the former makes me think of some porno type ish. Mariah is one of the ‘living legends”, imo, that really just can’t live up to their previous performing ability and would really be better off focusing on other things. I think it’d be great if she took a more behind-the-scenes role and maybe helped bring up another young artist and pass on all that knowledge. It’s a little late now, but if she had mentored Leona it’d have been golden, since Leona has the same vocal type Mariah used to.
October 4, 2009 desireechick
You know, I’ve always liked Dream’s singles to the point of wanting to buy his albums. He can make cute R&B pop songs ON HIS OWN. When it comes to other artists, I find it doesn’t always translate well. “Umbrella” can strike gold or even “Touch my body”, but not everyone can sing what I call high school sounding R&B pop. Mariah is a prime example because she is too damn old for it. I have just given up on Mariah for now, she’s not worth my money.
October 5, 2009 Coco Bea
I think the album is pretty solid, the only thing I didn’t care for is some of the wack lyric’s. Like on “The Impossible” Song, she sings “I love you like a freeze pop” really?!?!? Tricky and The Dream: You guys could’ve written something better than that, this is MARIAH you are writing for!! Not Ashanti!!
October 5, 2009 miss_simplicity
I don’t see how people hate or not like her album…Hell its sounds like her other last two albums with a fresh sound to it….Well I like the album and been bumping it….It’ll produce some big hits… If I was her I would release
Candy Bling
Ribbon
The Impossible
Betcha Gon Know
Mariah biggest problem is that she realize she getting older and music is changing…So she just trying to stay young and goofy which makes her music sounds childish…Hey it happens!
December 7, 2009 cuan
Yeah i agree, we all seem to be on the same page, its a fresh Mariah and with an prelude like Betcha Gon Know the cd promises to be a story book but somewhere just gets lost in translation, im a hard core MC Fan but i will be the first to say that when the CD came out i played every song a million times now i just skip to the ones i like. Hmm i think MC does need to realize that she aint getting younger and perhaps needs to sing stuff that has a bit more substance??? As for the voice sure its not there like it use to be thats expected but there is so much more she can do with it…