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Sunday, 20-Apr-2008, 3:28AM EDT | Posted by Lynn
E=MC² Review: "Drug Formula" |
Celebrity blogger/music critic Rich Juzwiak on his Four Four blog writes the following review of E=MC². Juzwiak is also a regular contributor to Slant Magazine and VH1. Whatever drugs Mariah Carey's taking are doing wonders for her music. Actually, what am I saying, "whatever drugs"? It's obvious that she's on the pot, or that she wants you to think she is - an inhaled "sssssss" kicks off the best song, "I'm That Chick," on her best album, E=MC². And then: "Ooh wee!" is repeated enough to make this slow-burning disco come off like the shadier cousin of Rick James' "Mary Jane." Weed imagery dominates her boasts ("Boy I got you caught up inside of my haze," "You're fiendin' to blaze up and taste me," "You ain't seeing things or hallucinating," "Pull me in and breathe," "I'm like that uptown haze them real thugs blaze / We'll touch the sky..."), as though delusion is her artistic medium.
And, duh: of course she's high. I can't imagine anything but marijuana driving her to the destination of this album's title, which, in long form stands for Emancipation = Mariah Carey (squared). That sort of nonsense-logic is the thing of tokers and children, and image-wise, Mariah is both. (And seriously, even when you spell it all out, what the f**k does "Emancipation = Mariah Carey (squared)" even mean? Is that, like, a two-second review of The Emancipation of Mimi? Is it her coy way of simultaneously announcing that this album is its sequel and that she doesn't understand exponents? And if so, she so high that she thinks her "2" needs to be up there with her?) Whatever, though, tracks like "Chick" and "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" are sonic euphoria, career-highs that are so clean, you could snort off them.
And then, the paranoia sets in and it clings to this album like patchouli on Like a Prayer. I count no fewer than six rewrites of her relevance-reigniting megahit, "We Belong Together" (in sequential order: "I Stay in Love," "Love Story," "Last Kiss," "Thanx 4 Nothin'," "For the Record" and "Bye Bye"). These tracks, I assume, are intended to be hit insurance and as such, suggest that the memory of Glitter and the ensuing pop gutter hasn't faded a bit. Between its pop hits, Emancipation flirted with a live, full-band feel; E=MC²'s motif, in total contrast, is the plastic boom-tick of the 808-ballad. Not that I'm complaining -- to rewrite "We Belong Together" is to rewrite "Breakdown," a track forward-thinking enough to still bear repeating.
The best of these fast slow jams is the Bryan Michael Cox co-produced "For the Record," which skirts sounding like it's stuck in the past via futuristic chimes, whooshes, thwacks and pseudo-strings. (Incidentally, Cox is also responsible for "I Stay in Love," the most soulless song Mariah's cut since, well, before Glitter. It sports a piano line so deliberate, it'd be laughed off a Broadway original cast album.) The commercial crassness of these retreads is perfectly encapsulated in "Bye Bye," in which Stargate's stock ballad beat fits under the "We Belong Together" template. Meanwhile, Mariah announces this song "is for everybody." Not just all the parents and children of the world -- everybody! Take that, Celine! "Bye Bye" is about death, and only thing more universal than that topic is probably taxes (funnily enough, E=MC² was released on April 15). Initially, the obsequiousness of "Bye Bye" was too revolting even for me, but what keeps me coming back to it is its ultimate silliness. I snort at "This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers" every damn time I hear it, and the chorus litany of "Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins" sounds like the basis of a companion piece to the preschool standard, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." It's supposed to make me cry, but "Bye Bye" makes me howl inside. It's not so much like laughing in church as it is at the crazy lady ranting about abortion on the corner, shaking her plastic fetus.
From what I've gathered, those who hate this album, hate it for the lack of sophistication in its flagrant hit-mongering. But that's like hating a Pollack for being too splattery. People forget that Mariah's function has always been that of hitmaker. She's worked hard for her numbers (18 No. 1's and she has the balloons to prove it). Until her 2001 breakdown, working hard meant averaging an album a year and rerecording virtually every single for various remixes. She's lessened the pace, but the wheels upstairs turn just as rapidly. E=MC² originally was supposed to come out six months ago. Leading up to November, every time she'd make a public appearance and answer the inevitable questions about the album, she'd talk about it as a work in progress, frequently saying that she was "just recording," even into the new year. I love that Mariah has seemingly turned from compulsive releasing to obsessive crafting, as though she can only be pathological about pop music. (I can relate!) And you want to talk obsessive? Seven of these 14 tracks strike within 10 seconds of the three-minute-thirty-second mark, the supposedly magic running time for a pop single. She thumps the Bible on the arresting piano-gospel closer of "I Wish You Well," but everywhere else she thumps The Manual.
"Cruise Control," which cops reggae no more offensively than your average Gwen Stefani track, knits three hooks in a row. It sports a pre-chorus bridge, a chorus and then a mega-chorus. The songwriting craft is astounding. Equally astounding? The idea that it's appropriate to adopt a Jamaican accent for the track's second verse, which hilariously goes: "'Can't nobody can't nobody tell me nuttin' / When he comes into view / 'Cause he's the flyest ting when he be cruisin' on me avenue / When tha door open, de gals pon de block / They be hopin', to rob tha clock me say no man / Step up step up bottle broken think I'm jokin'...?" Ting! She says "ting!"
But then, she's always been interested in passing, from her career-long transition from adult contemporary to hip-hop soul, to now, as she rocks a rasta hat with the fake dreadlocks and elsewhere adopts the ghetto-fab swag of "Migrate" ("'Soon as we walk through the door / Fellas be grabbin' at us like whoa / Tryin' to get us goin' off that Patron / We sippin' Grigio...slow"). I see this as nothing but a further shading in of her frequently childlike identity: she's playing dress-up. In a time when aging divas like Janet Jackson and Madonna are doing everything they can to fade into the (often vivid and nice-looking) wallpaper of their music, Mariah isn't afraid to be her ridiculous self. It's one thing to sing as well as she does (or rather, can, via editing of her increasingly brittle voice), or to have the knack for melody and harmony that's only getting stronger as she grows older. But Mariah's secret formula is that larger-than-life persona that she filtrates so precisely into her work. It's why she can pull off a (dirtily) Southern-fried power-ballad like "Side Effects." It's why this album is better than The Emancipation of Mimi (too tempered in the persona department for my taste). And it's why E=MC² is so damn addictive.
That's the point, but the underlying theme suggests an inverse of it: E=MC²'s engineered infectiousness is a symptom of Mariah's dependence on quantatitve superstardom (via chart success). This isn't an album; it's a collection of hits. As such, it's a perfect reflection of Mariah's pop-artistry and fame addiction. That drug thing? Nothing new at all. |
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Tuesday, 15-Apr-2008, 4:48PM EDT | Posted by Lynn
E=MC² CD Reviews |
Blenderby Jody Rosen May 2008 issue  Don Diva
On her best album, Mimi gives it rough and likes it rougher.
Practically the first thing you hear on Mariah Carey's 11th studio album is the sci-fi chirrup of auto-tune - the warble made ubiquitous by a certain dreadlocked R&B cyborg - a sound that, on first listen, is a bit of a shock. For much of her nearly two-decade career, Carey has been pop's biggest showoff, a vocal athlete on a mission to awe and overwhelm and, around the three-minute mark in most of her songs, to shatter your finest stemware. But Carey's T-Pain impersonation heralds a new ease and irreverence and, yes, modesty: The old Carey would never have dreamed of burying her Hall of Fame voice beneath a robot drone. In 2008, Mimi has definitively been emancipated - from her need to decorate every damn song with more octaves than Maria Callas.
E=MC² is Carey's most-fun album, and her best. Not coincidentally, it's also her most propulsive, with strong contributions from A-list producers including Jermaine Dupri, Swizz Beatz, Stargate and Tricky Stewart. The hardest beat comes courtesy of Timbaland protege Danjahandz - on her starkly funky "Migrate," Carey trades lines with T-Pain himself. It sounds like a surefire hit, but Carey is in an eclectic mood, veering from buoyant neo-disco to mid-tempo ballads to "Last Kiss" - as catchy a piece of pure pop as she's ever recorded. In "Cruise Control," she even goes ragamuffin, crooning over Dupri's skittering reggae track in a Caribbean-tinged patois.
The '90s model Mariah was sickly sentimental - the queen of inspirational MOR - but in recent years she's been indulging her inner thug. Here, she name-checks Biggie and Tupac, threatens to kick ass if her lover posts their homemade porn on YouTube, confsesses a preference for tough guys ("If you're inked-up thuggin', that's what I like") and in general spends much of her time dissing, dismissing and demanding.
This is partly a nod to the zeitgeist: The charts today are packed with hard-edged divas. But the fact is, Carey sounds better and more comfortable spitting out her songs in a state of high dudgeon than she ever did cooing about heroes and butterflies and rainbows. Here's hoping she never gets over her attitude problem.
Download: "Touch My Body," "Migrate," "Last Kiss" |
by Dan Aquilante April 15, 2008 Single Her Out! Mariah's Upbeat and Record-Setting
Mariah Carey gets high - wayyyy high - in a vocal riff on the song "Migrate." The song is on the much anticipated "E=MC2" CD, which drops today.
With that opening display of vocal acrobatics, you brace yourself for a collection peppered with more glass-busting notes. Instead, Carey displays the newfound restraint that served her so well on her career-saving last disc, "The Emancipation of Mimi."
Along with a powerful crew of urban music's top artists and producers including Swizz Beatz, T-Pain, Jermaine Dupri and Young Jeezy, Carey sustains the "Mimi" momentum with a diverse collection. Hip-hop, reggae, R&B balladry and propulsive dance collide in a pleasing mix.
While that might seem like a stylistic scatter, "E=MC2" is the record of the future. These days, the single is king. Sure, the songs are a part of a collection, but each song manages to stand on its own merits.
Besides the monetary advantage of a singles-packed album in today's market, the notion just might push Carey into the record books. The album's current single "Touch My Body," which went to No. 1 on the charts, was Carey's 18th career No. 1 hit - surpassing Elvis Presley's 17 No. 1s. With a collection that has 14 tracks, Carey could well surpass The Beatles' all-time high of 20 No. 1 hits.
On the above-mentioned "Migrate," she lets us tag along on a girl's night out. In "Cruise Control," she falls in love island style, and in "I'm That Chick," she brags about the power in her hips and lips.
With so much upbeat music on this record, it might seem like Carey drops the ball on the last two tunes - one an introspective power ballad called "Bye Bye" and "I Wish You Well," a gospel flavored song about forgiveness.
While neither of these has the punch to be a mainstream hit, there's an appealing moodiness to them.
On a like it, love it or leave it scale, this is a definite "love it" album. |
• New Recordings: E=MC² (Philadelphia Inquirer) • 'E' Equals Mariah Carey's Radio-Friendly Fare (USA Today)  • On 'E=MC2,' Mariah Carey has no equal (Newsday) A• Mariah Carey's latest 'E=MC2' is just short of pure genius (Detroit News) • Mariah Sticks to a Known Equation (Washington Post) • Carey scores with E=MC² (Houston Chronicle) • CD Review: E=MC² (NME) • Mariah Carey's bland ambition patently obvious (NYDN)  • A diva scales things down (Globe and Mail, Canada)  • CD Pick of the Week: E=MC² (Toronto Star, Canada) • A Winning Formula (The Ticket, UK)  • CD Review: E=MC² (Times, UK) |
Source: MariahDailyJournal | Kerry | Ila | Joao | Jorge | Jimmy
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Monday, 14-Apr-2008, 1:59AM EDT | Posted by Lynn
E=MC² Album Reviews |
Boston Globe by Sarah Rodman April 14, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²
Continuing a winning formula
Mariah Carey is probably going to annoy a few people with her new album, "E=MC2," which is out tomorrow. Ex-husband Tommy Mottola, Janet Jackson, and diehard Beatles fans will probably be crossing the best-selling female artist of all time off their Christmas card lists.
For everyone who thought 2005's "The Emancipation of Mimi," Carey's uneven "comeback" album after "Glitter," was the bee's knees, they'll love what amounts to its sequel. (I'm no Einstein, but the title could work with that theory.)
Record mogul Mottola is the clear, though never named, villain of one song. Miss Jackson has to listen to her boo, producer Jermaine Dupri, succeed more readily with her rival's album than her own recent release. And given its designer snap and bounce, "E=MC2" will no doubt ascend the charts at light speed, shooting off singles like meteors. When that happens the New York native will break the Beatles' record for the most No. 1 songs ever on the Billboard singles chart. (The Fab Four have 20; Carey is at 18.)
As sequels go, "E=MC2" is better than most, boasting a higher, and more consistent, quotient of slinky, dance-floor charm and stronger ballads than "Mimi." It retains the basic outline of the original: party, love, hurt, pray. Some familiar characters like Dupri return for continuity's sake and fresh cast members include top-shelf collaborators like Scott Storch and Nate "Danjahandz" Hills.
In the party category, we get "I'm That Chick" and "Migrate." The former, the album's best track, takes some of the melody and the feathery vocal approach of Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall." "Migrate," a frivolous, funky, self-referential jam, charts the flight patterns of your modern, fabulously talented urban diva - from the car to the club to the bar to the VIP lounge to the after-party to the hotel - with computer-processed vocals from the unshakable T-Pain.
Carey opens her heart and her boudoir in different ways. The limp "Touch My Body," the album's first single and current hit, simultaneously offers sensual delights and threatens bodily harm if evidence of the "secret rendezvous" makes its way onto YouTube. But on a feverish "Cruise Control," Carey is driven to distraction by a gruff Damien Marley, her own playful stab at Jamaican patois.
The singer gets her cry on with the connect-the-dots break-up track "I Stay in Love," but she cuts closer to the bone with "Side Effects," another look at her fractious marriage to Mottola. Although the union ended in 1998, Carey is still suffering, including dreams of the "violent times" and "sleeping with the enemy." Interestingly, her vocal approach here is almost emo, as she hits her rock-solid middle register and refuses to be held captive by the demons of her past. (Except, of course, she's still singing about them.)
She concludes as she did on "Mimi" with an inspirational number. In this case, it's "I Wish You Well," a rousing piano waltz that extends forgiveness to those who have wronged her in the past and is pretty much interchangeable with its predecessors.
Throughout the 14 tracks Carey generally flattens whatever melodies peek out with her signature agitated little vocal fillips. This is terrific for fluttering, hand-gesture accompaniment but keeps the tunes from being truly infectious.
"E=MC2" feels like the subtly prettier identical twin of "Emancipation of Mimi," as if for Carey freedom's just another word for doing the same thing again. |
by Lauren Carter April 14, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²
Rating: B+
Mimi is a long way from her "Vision of Love" roots. That's not necessarily a bad thing. An artist must evolve to stay current with the young and the fickle, and Carey successfully does it on her 11th studio album, a combination of club-ready tracks, breathy appeals, amusing Mariahisms and her signature vocal acrobatics.
The evolution of Mariah (and The Emancipation of Mariah Carey to the Second Power) means that the 38-year-old superstar is neither a one-dimensional pop celebrity nor soulful confessionist. Mariah 2K8 creates a mood rather than overwhelming with sheer power; she gets personal without revealing too much.
As on her previous "The Emancipation of Mimi," Mariah relies on pop flavor with an urban slant. T-Pain, Young Jeezy and Damien Marley are onboard, and beats come courtesy of Jermaine Dupri, Danja, Tricky Stewart, Bryan-Michael Cox, Scott Storch, DJ Toomp and Swizz Beatz. Though fans seem to eat up her midtempo ballads, too many of them feel like a variation on the same song. The hip-hop-inspired tracks prove the strongest, offering more sass than pure soul.
Download: "Side Effects."
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by Kevin O'Hare April 13, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²
Carey gets the Formula Right on 'E=MC2'
When "The Emancipation of Mimi" topped the charts and turned into the biggest-selling album of 2005, it marked a stunning comeback from Mariah Carey, who'd gone through the kind of career meltdown that seemed certain to leave her a has-been way before her prime-time had passed.
She overcame the odds, rocketed back to the top of the pops and staged a hugely successful tour.
So now Carey returns with her follow-up to "Emancipation," and it's got a lot of the same charm as the last disc and frankly, a whole lot more structure than when Carey used to seem to just spin hits out like a machine earlier in her career.
Her multi-octave voice has always been rather freaky, with that out-of-this-world top octave which sounded as if it was designed to distract dogs more than actually add substantively to her music. It still shows up from time to time, even this deep into her career, kicking in the thick rhythm of the album opening club collaboration with T-Pain on "Migrate," and coloring the background of the otherwise straight soul ballad "I Wish You Well," that closes the album.
What's refreshing on "E=MC2" however is that Carey has gotten to the point where she uses her pipes to strengthen the songs instead of relying on relatively mediocre material as nothing more than a showcase for her voice. There's a sense here that she realizes that she doesn't have to leave jaws-dropping with every musical phrase and instead she's simply bringing out the best in the songs.
The diva has also gotten away from all the layers of production that used to muddy up everything she recorded. She's working with some big names - of course - including Antonio "LA" Reid, with whom she shares the executive producer role, and also collaborates with guest producers including C. "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream, Will I Am, Bryan Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, DJ Toomp, Stargate, and several others.
She also sings alongside the aforementioned T-Pain, but also with Damien Marley, who's quite prominent in the island-flavored "Cruise Control," and the raspy Young Jeezy, who pairs with Carey on "Side Effects."
The singer's at her best though on some of the more straight-ahead material, including the lusty lead single "Touch My Body," which recently became Carey's 18th No. 1 single, a mark that helped her surpass Elvis Presley in that category. She also shines on the piano-based ballad "I Stay in Love," the breezy and infectious light dance track "I'm That Chick," and the destined for hits-ville "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time."
Occasionally predictable, she falls into a couple of traps like during overly-sentimental cuts like "Last Kiss," and "Bye Bye," the latter the type of song that will have fans swaying with their cellphones held high at her concerts. But those sidesteps aside, this is a genuinely sturdy set, and whether one is a fan or not, it's still tough not to marvel at how Carey is still overcoming the odds and building on a frankly remarkable career. |
• New CD Review: E=MC² (New York Times) • Mariah Carey settles for formula pop (Chicago Tribune) • Mimi hits on right formula (Herald Sun, Australia) • E=MC2 is Carey's album, through and through (Detroit Free Press) • Mariah Carey Stays in Cruise Control on E=MC2 (All Music) |
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Source: George | Will
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Friday, 11-Apr-2008, 4:13PM EDT | Posted by Lynn
Album Reviews From Billboard, L.A. Times |
Billboard by Kerri Mason April 11, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²
She's proclaimed emancipation before, but Mariah Carey's never sounded as free as she does on her 10th album. The usual hummable radio hip-hop and bold ballads are here, in pristine form. ("Bye Bye," a memorial for a lost loved one, is particularly effective.) But so are some coy surprises, like the irresistible "I'm That Chick" (which covertly samples "Off the Wall" for an early Michael Jackson disco bounce) and the Swizz Beatz-produced "O.O.C.," which is catchy enough to make that the vernacular's standard abbreviation for "out of control." Carey even digs deep and pulls up "Side Effects," a Scott Storch-produced, dark hip-hop track that follows a passive woman's descent into domestic abuse ("Sleeping with the enemy/ Aware that he was smothering every last part of me"). Capping it off with Bible-quoting, upright-piano gospel ("I Wish You Well"), Carey's made a pop album with equal parts levity and gravity. |
by Richard Cromelin April 12, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²
What advice do you suppose Mariah Carey will have for the "American Idol" contestants Wednesday when she appears on the show as a mentor, part of the media blitz launching the follow-up to her big comeback album, 2005's "The Emancipation of Mimi"?
One thing she can do is encourage vocal restraint, which would be ironic coming from a singer whose early records contributed to the uncontrolled showiness that afflicts so many "Idol" participants. But it's true: On "Mimi" and even more so on "E=MC2," out Tuesday, Carey is searching for alternatives to the glass-shattering flamboyance of her early '90s youth.
And when it comes to career counsel, the new album carries the operative message: Don't mess with success.
"E=MC2" is nearly a clone of "The Emancipation of Mimi" -- from the exotica-tinged hip-hop hybrid that kicks it off ("It's Like That" there, the T-Pain duet "Migrate" here) to a speaking appearance by her pastor, Clarence Keaton, on the finale. In between is another carefully calculated mix of mainstream R&B in its dance, pop and old-school manifestations.
This is the happily-ever-after part of Carey's fairy tale, which is more "Ugly Duckling" than "Cinderella." Perhaps because she had been so successful in the '90s, her commercial decline and emotional breakdown at the start of this decade came to be seen as a sort of cosmic retribution for her -- and the record industry's, while we're at it -- decadence and excess. She wasn't merely exiled, she was ridiculed, setting up her improbable cycle of transformation and triumph with "Mimi," which sold 6 million copies.
That redemption wasn't guaranteed, but the task of securing and extending it should be easier. It's not as if the new album's cautious nature compromises some kind of bold artistry. Amid the drama of her comeback and the hoopla over her record-breaking chart numbers, it's easy to forget that "Mimi" wasn't exactly a great album.
"E=MC2" is a little better -- the songwriting is more consistent, the feel a bit more natural -- but it too lacks a ruling temperament or artistic vision. Without that, it's a savvy sampler of mainstream commercial craft, plush aural lounges designed and furnished by such producers and writers as Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland associate Nate "Danja" Hills and hip-hop's Swizz Beatz.
That often leaves Carey sounding like an ersatz Beyonce, and she never approaches the cathartic soulfulness of Mary J. Blige or the auteur credentials of Alicia Keys.
What's most striking about the album is the further toning down of Carey's famously powerful voice. She was always criticized as a technically gifted singer with no interpretive intelligence or instincts, but now that the instrument itself sounds physically diminished, she seems to be groping toward some kind of expressive ground. Those signature high notes pierce the stratosphere a couple of times, but she's even more reticent to wail -- there's no counterpart to "Mimi's" showy "Mine Again" or "Joyride."
Instead, Carey tests registers and dynamics. In "I'll Be Lovin' You Long Time," her singing is so direct, understated and unglamorous it's almost shocking -- like seeing a diva without makeup. The piano ballad "I Stay in Love" is similarly unadorned, and her voice is almost leathery in the lower notes. It's not flattering, but it rings true emotionally.
But this is a process rather than a realization for Carey, whose moments of discovery are random, the products of chance rather than considered choice. Many of the songs on "E=MC2" are lightweight enough that they don't demand much revelation, but the sassy hit "Touch My Body," for one, could use more sensuality. And when lyrics are more demanding, things are hit-and-miss.
Carey captures the theme of self-repression and emotional damage in "Side Effects," a teaming with rapper Young Jeezy, by keeping her vocal taut and reined in. She works up some gospel grit on "I Wish You Well," but the demands of the larger-than-life anthem "Bye Bye," a salute to departed loved ones, are beyond her reach.
Of course, consistency isn't so important when an album is assembled as a series of singles rather than a cohesive work. Fortunately for Carey, the tabloid-tailored real-life back story on one side and the producer's craft on the other matter more than the art of singing in this particular fairy tale. |
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Friday, 11-Apr-2008, 3:40AM EDT | Posted by Lynn
More Album Reviews |
Entertainment Weekly by Margeaux Watson April 18, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC² (Island Def Jam)A-Winning Formula. Mariah Carey's E=MC² adds up to an aural success, offering a smart mix of dance and drama.Daydream. Butterfly. Rainbow. Glitter. No, those aren't the names of Barbie's pet ponies, they're the ridiculously saccharine titles of Mariah Carey's albums from 1995 to 2001. So when she called her 10th studio CD The Emancipation of Mimi three years ago, it was clear that she intended to drop the cutesy shtick, let down her weave, and start getting real. It was a clever move. Emancipation was the lucky strike that updated Carey's sound with bass-heavy flavor and reversed the downward spiral of her sales. Now, with E=MC²--another bold title--she's out to prove that her comeback was no fluke. Of course, it's doubtful that Carey is a secret admirer of Einstein's theory of relativity, but one thing's for sure: The golden-throated diva has discovered a formula that works. Not unlike Emancipation, E=MC² finds Carey stacking the deck with the hottest producers and guest artist in urban music (Jermaine Dupri, StarGate, T-Pain, Damian Marley, Young Jeezy). The result is a largely enjoyable mix of flirtatious club jams, midtempo love songs, and emotional ballads anchored by hip-hop beats that handsomely showcase the singer's powerful vocal chops. Ever the party girl, Carey opens the album with the sleek and seductive "Migrate," where she imagines getting buzzed on pinot grigio during a night out with the ladies. Other dancefloor anthems include "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" and "O.O.C.," which, for all of their pop polish, never lose their soulful spirit. But it's not all about velvet ropes and playful come-ons; notably, Carey suffers from a major love hangover on "Side Effects," a synthy cautionary tale about an abusive relationship. "Wakin' up scared some nights still dreaming 'bout the violent times," she sings with outspoken intensity. And yet Carey remains a romantic at heart. With the ballads "Love Story" and "Last Kiss," she reunites with Dupri to recapture the passionate splendor of 2005's "We Belong Together." It's unfortunate, then, that E=MC² closes with its only missteps, the somber elegy "Bye Bye"--an odd choice for the follow-up single to the cheeky hit "Touch My Body"--and the preachy gospel hymn "I Wish You Well" (this CD's version of Emancipation's "Fly Like a Bird"). Still, for an artist whose career was all but dead four years ago, Carey is wise to play it safe by building on the finest elements of her last CD. Were it not for the final two tracks, she could've gotten away with calling this album Treasure. People Magazine by Chuck Arnold April 21, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²Pop goddess Mariah Carey scaled Oympian heights with her last album 2005's Grammy-winning, 6-million-selling The Emancipation of Mimi. Certainly, E=MC² doesn't equal its predecessor. Still, this is a satisfying follow-up, heavy on hip-hop-flavored midtempo jams (like the irressistible No. 1 hit "Touch My Body") and beat-driven ballads (best is the pretty, piano-laced "I Stay In Love"). The disc occasionally strays from that formula on cuts like the churchy closer "I Wish You Well." But the highlight is "Side Effects," the CD's darkest and most personal track, which seems to allude to Carey's failed marriage to music exec Tommy Mottola: "Sleeping with the enemy/Aware that he was smothering every last part of me." Vaguely menacing, it shows that even pop goddesses have their demons. Us Magazine by Ian Drew April 21, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²With more No. 1 singles than any artist in history, Mariah Carey is a hitmaking machine. And no wonder: Her 11th studio album sticks to her signature blend of smooth R&B and hip-hop hooks. The playful "Touch My Body" has already topped the charts, and the soul-drenched "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" will likely follow. Overall, this material may not be quite as memorable as prior efforts (the diva wastes her high notes on filler such as "Bye Bye") - but there's no arguing that Mimi is back. Miami Herald by Michael Hamersly April 11, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²
After bizarre meltdowns and questionable career choices early in this decade, Mariah Carey came back with a bang in 2005 with her album The Emancipation of Mimi, which gave us the hits Shake It Off, Don't Forget About Us and We Belong Together. Now, the songbird proves her comeback was no fluke with E=MC².
Carey has toned down her five-octave range a bit, but purists need not worry -- her voice has lost none of its power.
The album starts off poorly, with the monotone Migrate offering wannabe hip-hop lines such as "From the car into the club we migrate/From the bar to VIP we migrate/From the party to the afterparty migrate/Afterparty to hotel -- migrate" and a stunted, hesitant rap by T-Pain. But the first single, the slinky slow jam Touch My Body, unleashes Mariah's inner vamp. It's a shameless sex anthem, with talk of Mariah wrapping her legs around a guy's waist and begging for him to "give me what I deserve," but somehow, her angelic voice makes it all sound almost innocent.
On Cruise Control, Mariah teams up with new-school reggae royalty Damian Marley, who contributes a short but rhythmic rap. The song is more than a bit silly -- it spells out C-R-U-I-S-E control, for some reason, and Mariah tries to pull off a Jamaican accent ("He's the flyest ting") -- but it's pleasing and flows nicely. I'm That Chick cops the slick, cool funk of Forget Me Nots -- its cleverly minimalist bassline somehow uses exactly one note, but perfectly anchors the groove. The appealing ballad Last Kiss serves up Mariah's trademark hopeful romance: "This feeling is too good to miss/Ain't no kiss ever gonna be our last kiss," while Love Story aims for the anthemic heft of We Belong Together and doesn't miss by much.
But the album's high point finds Mariah softly and sweetly lamenting the loss of any kind of loved one on the truly touching Bye Bye: "This is for my peoples who just lost somebody/Your best friend, your baby, your man or your lady/Put your hand way up high/We will never say bye."
Thankfully, it looks like we won't be saying "bye" to Mariah for a long time.
Pod Picks: Touch My Body, Last Kiss, Bye Bye. |
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Source: MariahDailyJournal
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Thursday, 10-Apr-2008, 10:33PM EDT | Posted by Lynn
E=MC² Album Reviews |
The Guardian UK by Alex Macpherson Friday, April 11, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC² (Def Jam/Mercury)
It is worth pondering what the title of Mariah Carey's 11th studio album could refer to. Emancipation, maybe, in a nod to her 2005 comeback album, The Emancipation of Mimi; or perhaps the energy of the original equation, a statement that Carey still has what it takes to party all night at the age of 38, even as she describes herself as "eternally 12". Then again, she could just be identifying herself alongside Einstein as a fellow genius. Either way, E=MC2 finds Carey loopier than ever, embracing her own larger-than-life image with gusto: Mariah Carey Squared indeed.
On its cover, Carey is naked but for the world's largest feather boa, an accessory for which flocks of birds have surely given their lives (this image comes hot on the heels of the cover for the single Touch My Body, on which she is naked and hiding behind an enormous hat, and its accompanying video, which features a pet unicorn). The ludicrous, campy excess of the Mariah myth is clearly still in full flight. It has not always been thus: the woman may be "crazy" in a good way these days, but 2001 saw her hospitalised following a nervous breakdown and a rumoured attempted suicide, and suffering the first commercial failures of her career. The triumph of both The Emancipation of Mimi and E=MC2 is the way in which the two sides of her character have been used as launching pads for magnificent pop.
Endearingly ditzy high-camp abounds on E=MC2. The very first notes of the album find Carey swooping around her famed whistle register, revelling in how high her voice can go, before metamorphosing into a synth whistle riff. Over the course of the album, Carey compares herself to ice cream, the lottery, a chandelier, Biggie and 2Pac, weed and her favourite jeans. On the glorious disco bounce of OOC, she breaks into Italian, Spanish and French in the space of one verse for no discernible reason other than that she can (surely the very essence of divadom). There are references to YouTube, a bizarre attempt at Jamaican patois and the lyric "Nah, you ain't seeing things/ Or hallucinating/ I brings that levity."
Brilliantly, the music more than matches Carey's flights of fancy. E=MC2 finds Carey continuing down the hip-hop-inflected path she has pursued for the past decade - but in that time, hip-hop has come back to meet her. The sweet, gliding I'm That Chick hitches itself to R&B's current vogue for 4/4 beats, but takes more cues from pure disco than any other exponent of the trend: it could almost be a track from Carey's own early days. (It is surely no coincidence that E=MC2 shares its title with the Giorgio Moroder classic.) Elsewhere, Migrate is a sinister Danja-produced grind; by contrast, Touch My Body is an ultra-girly luxury cushion of a track, all tactile bass bumps and tinkling music box motifs. "I will hunt you down," she trills, simultaneously sugary and menacing.
Carey's gift, though, is not just that she manages to balance embracing her silliest excesses with sincere displays of emotion, but that the two are inextricably linked. Her trademark high notes, for instance: the album opens with Carey parodying them, but when she rolls them out at the climax of the stunning closer I Wish You Well, backed only by gospel choir and solo piano, their emotional impact is undeniable. Never one to miss an opportunity to gild the lily, Carey also beatifically quotes biblical chapter and verse - not once, but four times. Kissing off an ex-lover has never sounded so divinely ordained.
Carey's voice has been mocked, bizarrely, as being a triumph of technique over soul - an argument that fails to comprehend that technique and soul are intertwined, that technique primarily exists as a means to convey emotion - but she is on fine vocal form throughout E=MC2, whether belting out massive ballads (Thanx 4 Nothin') or layering her voice into a swooning bank of a hundred Mariahs (I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time). There are perhaps fewer dramatic vocal splashes than in her early days, and more nuanced brushstrokes, but that is no bad thing, and the magnificent Side Effects finds Carey at the height of her powers. Over synths as slow as molasses, she intones some of the darkest lyrics of her career, a meditation on the long-term effects of an abusive relationship. Verbose to the point of opulence, she crams syllables into the verses, races against her own emotions and perfectly conveys the song's claustrophobic intensity.
When she sings elsewhere, "Them other regularities, they can't compare with MC," it is hard not to agree.
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by Eric Henderson Thursday, April 10, 2008 Mariah Carey
E=MC²
I've always thought of Mariah Carey as something of a math problem, one that lacks either theorem or proof. To wit, the enjoyment of her music is directly proportional to the gratuitousness of her vocal indulgences (chief among them, her tendency to jump to her upper register without reason or warning), the cheeky self-awareness to her own camp potential, and the unfailing devotion to her own sense of continued legacy as the distilled representation of pop culture. It's actually that last item that shows up most often in the singer's curriculum; there's a reason that, until now, Mariah hasn't changed the font for her CD-cover nameplate since day one. Some scoffed a few years back when Garth Brooks flatly admitted his excitement over the prospect of toppling the Beatles' record for most albums sold, but no one seems to bat an eye when Mariah's PR machine focuses plainly on bookkeeping. Hell, I'm not entirely sure that either "Touch My Body" or, before that, "We Belong Together" didn't sound just a little bit better because of their statistical potency, as opposed to their musical vitality.
But that's the bitch of having a winning formula. Eventually, it's going to boil down to just that: a formula. The irresistibly titled E=MC² stands shoulder, at least according to my TI-85, with The Emancipation of Mimi in that I honestly prefer Mariah in the loopier, more freewheeling territory of Rainbow and Glitter, but I can't deny the dogged efficiency in action. Even if I wasn't exactly sure what the "E" was supposed to mean in the album's title at first (emotion? Ear-splitting melisma? Surely not energy... oh, it stands for "emancipation," duh), there's little doubt that "MC" stands for our own master of ceremonies, and she even threw in a little nod to her own public schizophrenia for good measure. But those hoping for reinvention will, in addition to being radically unfamiliar with Mariah's career trajectory, probably be dismayed that the "2" also stands for "Mimi, Part 2."
Mariah's records have always credited a vocal engineer, but the first sound on E=MC² is that trademark throat howl from behind the all-too-familiar digital curtain of Auto-Tune. "Migrate," a collaboration with T-Pain, kicks off the definitely hip-poppy album, and it sets the tone perfectly. Just as Mariah and Pain bounce from the taxi to the club to the house party to the bar to the hotel, E=MC² doesn't dawdle long enough for you to ever discern just how overly deliberate it is: It's an album composed entirely of radio edits. The only song that doesn't feel just about composed on the spot is "Side Effects," but that's because it's been in the making for a decade. A reasonably salutary tribute to 10 years of leaving Tommy Mottola behind, Mariah sings about how she's still addressing the emotional wreckage. "I was a girl, you was a man/I was too young to understand/I was naive, I just believed/Everything that you told me," she explains while Young Jeezy rattles off the list of symptoms: "Drowsiness, loneliness, how's this?" Frankly, I fought the same set of maladies getting through the song, but if Mariah has spent a decade not letting people get too close, who are we to deny giving her four minutes to emote it out? On the other hand, I guess I would deny her that, especially when, on "For the Record," she expresses the desire to "just press rewind."
There's a big mathematical difference between pop instincts and pop manufacturing, and most of E=MC² demonstrates the latter. "Touch My Body," as it turns out, was just about the only choice for a kickoff single, what with its slow-growing guilty-pleasure quotient, its cheesy-easy-breezy disposability (in the packrat world of pop culture, it always turns out to be the hardest to throw away the throwaway), and its frontloaded Mariah-being-Mariah flourishes. References to YouTube, t-shirts, and favorite jeans are turned kinky against the insistent imagery of her voluptuous thighs. And leave it to Mariah to transmute the sex appeal of teddy bears into the same territory inhabited by leather bears: If yiff culture is going to cross over, it will be through the guiding help of Mimi's plush fantasies. Furthermore, the blatant sexual advances come embedded within a downright rudimentary backing track (I've seen it been called glorified karaoke multiple times) that, were it not for the lyrics, would've been just as appropriate for the Backyardigans or the Wiggles, confirming that the "G" of Mariah's g-spot stands for "general audiences." The disparity between the song's hyper-polished sterility and its almost prepubescent sexuality (as made literal in the song's stupid-brilliant promotional clip) epitomize that elusive pop instinct. With "Touch My Body," Mariah brings sexy back... to the schoolyard.
Elsewhere, there are two and a half uptempo tunes (that's out of 14 on the non-iTunes version). "O.O.C." has a nice, unforced looseness about it, both in Mariah's loopy "s'cusa me" patois and in the flared-out drum pattern, with a surprising emphasis on the open high-hat; maybe not completely "out of control," as advertised, but certainly a welcome deviation from her more uptight jams and even more uptight ballads. "I'm That Chick" is a retro treatsicle in the best, most Glitter-iest sense. It's pinker than Pepto Bismol and just as soothing, and for whatever reason, Mariah's fudged enunciation on the chorus turns "I'm that chick you like" into "I'll have chicken, lite." The triumph of the song is that, when all of our dance-floor divas these days seem to throw one disco-descendant banger on their otherwise hip-hop-hybrid LPs almost out of obligation, "I'm That Chick" doesn't feel even as tokenistic as Janet's "Feedback" (which I like more, but only out of context).
The aforementioned "half" song is the half-uptempo, half-brained, half-cocked "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time." Words fail, but what you get for your $10 here is not only everyting you want (everyting!), but also Mariah simultaneously in ridiculous mode and also pathologically free of irony or self-awareness. Recruiting DJ Toomp for this one was a stroke of genius: "Long Time" sounds like a hyperventilating cross between a graduation anthem and an early-'80s family sitcom theme song. Listening to it, I felt face to face with a couple of silver spoons: one heroin, the other grape jelly. Such are the rewards of an album like E=MC², in which one does reach a solution, but not before Mariah bends over backward to show her work. |
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Friday, 04-Apr-2008, 5:10AM EDT | Posted by Lynn
Rolling Stone Reviews E=MC² |
Mariah Carey
E=MC²RS Rating: Mariah Carey embraces her extremes: She's either grinding out R&B-hop or singing syrupy ballads, talking dirty or cuddling with a Hello Kitty. Her tenth studio album is no different: It starts in a club and ends in a church. Carey tries on reggae with Damian Marley's scorching "Cruise Control" cameo, conjures a text-message title for Swizz Beatz's flute-loopy "O.O.C." ("out of control") and dials cool Seventies soul with "I'm That Chick" (where she compares herself to ice cream, Tupac and a blunt). She sounds the freshest when she fires up her Tommy Mottola resentment on the bumpy, Young Jeezy-assisted "Side Effects" and lives the high life on Danja's hard-hitting head-nodder, "Migrate," which dabs her vocal with Auto-Tune. But nearly every song confines Carey to four-note verses, offering little room for her glorious range, and the six ballads are drenched in yearbook-quote lyrics that never quite work themselves into the froth of The Emancipation of Mimi. Yet 2008's Mimi is also about redemption, and she brings it on the closer, "I Wish You Well," proving all she needs is a piano and a few Bible verses to save somebody - most likely herself. Caryn Ganz |
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Wednesday, 02-Apr-2008, 6:56PM EDT | Posted by Liron
MTV Previews E=MC²: Album Focused On Fun, But Mimi Is At Her Best When She's Keeping It Real |
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MTV News checks out the diva's latest LP before it hits stores April 15.
Mariah Carey's last album, the multiplatinum Emancipation of Mimi, brought her back from a career slump of bad movies, dud albums, marital collapse and emotional meltdowns. It proved she still had the goods. So what is there left to prove with her new record, E=MC²? Answer: Nothing.
Which may be why Jermaine Dupri, the man behind so many of the Emancipation hits, plays a more muted role this time out, providing the occasional "uh-huh," "yeah" and "nope," among other things, on four of the album's 14 tracks. Has he worn out his welcome like the on-again, off-again lover Mariah sings about in the bulk of his tracks?
JD was a delight on Emancipation, acting less like a producer and more like a friend, bolstering Mariah's confidence and giving her someone to riff with ("It's Like That," "Get Your Number" and "Shake It Off"), ultimately helping her get to the point where she could do the breakout track "We Belong Together." But JD and Mariah don't belong together anymore. Now that Mariah's finally free, her producers need to help her spread her wings - otherwise, all we get is redux.
JD comes closest to showing that he still can do something new on "Thanx for Nothin'," which, like the Scott Storch track "Side Effects," finally reveals a side of Mariah we don't see that often - her true self. The Mariah we usually see and hear is a glossy one. Psychologists might say her effect is "off" - meaning her gestures and facial expressions don't match her mood. There's a reason for that, as she explains on "Side Effects," which is the emotional abuse she says she suffered during her marriage to music mogul Tommy Mottola. Mariah, who is usually quite guarded, has alluded to the subject in songs like "Petals," but never has she gone into such detail as she does on "Side Effects," in which she refers to the marriage as a "private hell that we built." Even though it's been 11 years since they split up, she sings in a lower register that she's still "wakin' up scared some nights ... dreaming about the violent times." Her emotional scars left her "a little protective ... a little defensive ... a little depressed," which makes her "fake a smile" as she "deal[s] with the side effects."
While "Side Effects" features Young Jeezy, it sounds like a rock power ballad, as if Mariah had been listening to a lot of Bonnie Tyler and Pat Benatar and decided that to capture her emotions, the music needed to share her pain. This turns out to be a good thing, because when she's not focused on vocal gymnastics, Mariah can really sing - as in, letting us really feel what she feels. Nowhere else on the album does Mariah get quite so emotionally naked, and it makes you wonder: What would Mariah have sounded like if she ventured out of her comfort zones of pop and R&B? (Not withstanding her ill-advised Def Leppard cover, of course.)
While "Side Effects" is about her ex-husband, her second single, "Bye Bye," appears to be about her late father, Alfred Roy, who died of cancer in 2002. Mariah reminisces about the too-little time she shared with her mostly absent father and regrets how as a child, she didn't understand why he failed to show up sometimes to see her after he and her mother divorced when she was 3. But mostly Mariah regrets that he "never got a chance to see how good I've done/ And you never got to see me back at #1." This confessional moment doesn't last long, since she extends this song about death to be for anybody "who just lost somebody."
But for most of E=MC², Mariah doesn't want to feel any pain - she wants to party the night away. So on the club-thumping "Migrate," she hops from "my car into the club ... from the bar to VIP ... from the party to the afterparty ... afterparty to hotel" with T-Pain, who urges her to "bounce, bounce, bounce." Like most MC albums, every guest star seems required to check her name at the door, and this is no exception. "Migrate," which was co-produced by Nate "Danjahandz" Hills, has Mariah in full diva mode as she leaves a club once they start "playing my jam."
Just in case there was a question of which jam that might be, she name-checks them herself in "For the Record," a play on words in which she incorporates past song titles into a verse after she asks her lover, "Give me one reason one we can't just press rewind?"
"I'm That Chick" ups the ego ante, but as she demonstrates with some silly lyrics ("la da da ooowee") and a funky disco beat (benefiting from an "Off the Wall" melody sample), she's not taking any of it seriously. At least we hope she's not serious when she compares herself to Tupac and Biggie, then ice cream and the lottery, as she softly taunts, "You're fiending to blaze up and taste me." As if this weren't already destined for the '80s time-warp roller-disco crowd, she serves up the joyful romp "I'll Be Lovin' You Long Time," which borrows from the chorus of DeBarge's "Stay With Me" (as well as a phrase uttered by a Vietnamese hooker in "Full Metal Jacket" and then sampled by 2 Live Crew and other hip-hop acts). At least on the reggae-inflected "Cruise Control" (featuring Damian Marley), she exhibits a sense of humor, singing in a Jamaican patois during the second verse: "When tha door open, de gals on de block they be hopin' to rob tha clock." She's not joking, or as she puts it, "Tink I'm joking?"
But for all the jokes, silliness and absurdities, Mariah is at her best when she keeps it simple, as she does in the closing track, "I Wish You Well," a piano ballad with gospel overtones (even including Bible verses from the books Proverbs, John, Philippians and Psalms). The song is a turning-of-the-cheek to anyone who mistreated her or doubted her. Older and wiser, she realizes on E=MC², which hits stores April 15, that she needed them all along to make her who she is now, and thanks them for it. Because if she can be square with them, she's truly set free - squared.
--By Jennifer Vineyard |
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Tuesday, 01-Apr-2008, 9:30AM EDT | Posted by Liron
Rap-Up Previews E=MC² |
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Three years ago Mariah Carey made a surprising comeback with The Emancipation of Mimi and had one of the year's biggest hits with "We Belong Together." Mariah even led the Grammys the next year with 8 nominations. The Long Island native left no doubt in anyone's mind that she was back and better than ever.
Now Mariah has returned to take over the airwaves with her eleventh studio album E=MC², a heavily hip-hop influenced record, more so than anything she has ever made. It's off to a promising start with the lead single already a fixture at the top of the charts. The album is her third on Island Def Jam and was executive-produced by MC and L.A. Reid.
Rap-Up.com got to listen to the diva's entire new album. From the looks of it, Mariah is about to release a "stone groove" smash. If you don't know by now, April 15th is the date.
1. "Migrate"
Produced by Danjahandz
A party jam guaranteed to tear the club up. T-Pain isn't even singing the hook; he's a featured rapper doing his own verse where he talks about "ass and your titties coordinat[ing]." Mariah sings, "Once again nothin' jumpin' up in your place / Sick of your Berry buzzin' all in my face." This song contains some of the more playful and offbeat lyrics we've heard from MC. If you like Mariah's hip-hop flavored songs, you'll love this one.
2. "Touch My Body"
Produced by C. "Tricky" Stewart and Tarius "The-Dream" Nash
The love Mariah fans have for this song is proven. It's already No. 1 on iTunes and will soon be the No. 1 song in the country. In typical fashion, Mariah has released two killer remixes featuring The-Dream and Rick Ross.
3. "Cruise Control" featuring Damian Marley
Produced by Jermaine Dupri
Packed with a verse where Mariah sings, "ting," "de gals pon de block," and "me say no man." It's a bit funny. It's catchy. But did she really have to do the whole Jamaican accent? Damian Marley was already on it.
4. "I Stay In Love"
Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox
OK, here we go-a ballad! You finally get to hear Mariah sing. It's reminiscent of a Daydream track with a wistful and airy element. This is a deep cut and this album's "We Belong Together."
5. "Side Effects" featuring Young Jeezy
Produced by Scott Storch
Just when you think she's steering away from the hip-hop beats for a minute, Young Jeezy makes an intro rap. But the message is deep, talking about the side effects of a really bad relationship. There's a lyric that might make many fans ponder: "Wakin' up scared some nights / Still dreaming 'bout the violent times." Hmm... Who in the world could she be talking about?
6. "I'm That Chick"
Produced by Stargate
This is a chill, upbeat song. It sounds very European. Almost sounds like Ne-Yo's "Because of You" except it samples Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall." Mariah's definitely sounding sexy singing, "I'm like that oooweee / You're fiendin' to blaze up." This track is fire.
7. "Love Story"
Produced by Jermaine Dupri
A second ballad, and another appearance by J.D. It's similar to "I Stay In Love." She can really blow, but she isn't doing it on here. Dang.
8. "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time"
Produced by Toomp
A mid-tempo joint. This is a homerun. It's definitely different from anything on The Emancipation and MC's not riding the hip-hop bandwagon on this one. One of the best parts is the strings loop of "Stay With Me" by DeBarge, which the song samples. It gives it an old school feeling. Toomp (T.I.'s "What You Know") doesn't typically work with female artists, but this combination works.
9. "Last Kiss"
Produced by Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri should have a feature credit on this. You hear his voice and ad-libs a little too much. Mariah's singing about the inevitability of hooking up with someone again. The hook is hot.
10. "Thanx 4 Nothin'"
Produced by Jermaine Dupri
A mid-tempo ballad with more of Jermaine's ad-libs. It's going to get all the ladies amped. Mariah sings, "I was living in a lie just a masquerade / Now I only know that I'll never be the same / But you were just playing a game."
11. "O.O.C."
Produced by Swizz Beatz
O.O.C. = Out of control. Swizz Beatz really turned this track out, yet it doesn't even sound like a Swizzy beat. Sample lyric: "Even though I been gone for a minute / It's wrong I admit it / Your love's so addictive that / I get so O.O.C."
12. "For The Record"
Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox
This is the song Mariah used in her perfume commercial. It cites past Mariah records. Mariah sings, "I told you 'Underneath the Stars' that you 'Belong' to me / It's obvious that we just 'Can't Let Go' of us 'Honey'." It's pretty chill and relaxed. Mariah even gets cocky, "The whole entire world can tell / That you love yourself some me." Go head, MC.
13. "Bye Bye"
Produced by Stargate
"This for my people who just lost somebody / Put your hand way up high." A song everyone can relate to because it deals with losing a family member or friend. It will get some listeners teary-eyed. Mariah speaks to her father who passed away in 2002: "You never got a chance / To see how good I've done / And you never got to see me / Back at number one." Looks like this will be the album's second single and probably Mariah's 19th No. 1.
14. "I Wish You Well"
Produced by James Poyser
The token spiritual song on a Mariah album comes by way of "I Wish You Well." The one song you hear live instruments on. It gives you a churchy feeling, even a citation of Psalms 129:2 of the bible. It's very Aretha Franklin.
-Jonathan Reyes in New York |
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Friday, 29-Feb-2008, 5:24PM EST | Posted by Lynn
Rolling Stone Previews E=MC² |
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At a private listening party hosted by L.A. Reid, Rolling Stone recently got a chance to check out Mariah Carey's eleventh studio album, the follow-up to 2005's blockbuster The Emancipation of Mimi. Due April 15th, E=MC² jumps from hip-hop-flavored jams like the Young Jeezy-assisted "Side Effects" to bright, mega-catchy stuff like the disco "That Chick." The album also tosses in a couple of big-voiced ballads ("Bye Bye," a piano-based song about losing someone close to you) and beats from big-name producers like Jermaine Dupri, Will.i.am and Scott Storch. In a notable departure from earlier albums, Carey sings in a lighter, less showy voice than we're used to on a few tracks, including lead single "Touch My Body." A horny jam about a "secret rendezvous," the single was co-written by Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, the team that co-penned Rihanna's "Umbrella."
Nate "Danja" Hills, who produced "Migrate" (which features T-Pain), tells RS that on that track Carey "definitely opens up towards the end of the song and shows what Mariah does. It's a different array of her vocal range on this record, but she keeps it pretty mid-range and then toward the end she lets loose. She was singing in the room, and I was just blown away by how good it sounded without her even trying. It's incredible, I see why she is who she is." |
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Friday, 29-Feb-2008, 10:47AM EST | Posted by Lynn
B96's Erik Bradley on Mariah's New Album |
Erik Bradley, Assistant Program Director/Music Director of CBS Radio's WBBM (B-96)/Chicago, talks about Mariah's new album, E=MC², in the latest issue of FMQB magazine. | On Mariah Carey... Mariah's new CD is LOADED with major, major radio smashes. Historically speaking, this could turn in to a legendary release for her and I predict it will. She's definitely at the very tip-top of her game and as great as she's ever been. The first single, "Touch My Body" is a runaway smash and the toughest part of having this many great songs on a project is trying to figure out what the follow-up single(s) should be. It's a blessing and a darn good problem to have though. I'm sure everyone would like to have that "problem"! As far as scoop, I'm not one to gossip but I'd expect that she'll be touring on this record, it's too good not to - it has to be heard live. |
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Friday, 22-Feb-2008, 3:05PM EST | Posted by Lynn
VH1 Previews E=MC² |
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Yesterday, Island/Def Jam honcho L.A. Reid hosted a few journalists in his office for a special preview of Mariah Carey's upcoming E=MC² album, tentatively due April 15. While Reid looked on, Mariah's A&R man and long-rumored beau Mark Sudack played 12 of the album's cuts from his laptop, often passionately (and adorably!) singing along. On the album, there was drama, there was death, there was disco. What follows is a track-by-track breakdown of our impressions of the album. Note that this isn't the final track sequence, that L.A. ticked off the producers list to us but it is by no means etched in stone and the tracks that we heard weren't always mastered.
One final note: so much of this album is sung in Mariah's chest voice. The vocal gymnastics and whistle notes, while there ('cause, duh, it's Mariah!), take a backseat to clear, purposeful singing, and Mariah sounds better for it. Oh yeah, Mimi's back.
1. "Migrate" (co-produced by Danja) -- After announcing itself with Mariah's patented whistle notes, this club track gets to bangin' and it takes that task really seriously. It's about as meta as a banger gets, with Mariah explaining during the chorus how her night goes: "From the car to the club / We migrate / From the bar to the V.I.P. / We migrate." And so it goes, from the party to the after party, from the after party to the hotel. There's a slight autotune effect on Mariah's voice on the last "migrate" of each chorus, which I assume is to put her on equal ground with the man she shares the mic with here. T-Pain, mercifully shows up for just a guest verse -- this is not a full-blown duet. It's a feisty track, with tough Storch-esque beats that Mariah's bravado attempts to match: "If you're inked up thuggin', that's what I like," she says. See, I always thought she went for the pretty boys. Already we're learning stuff!
2. "Touch My Body" (co-produced with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream) -- There isn't much to say about this ultra-femme track that wasn't said when it leaked. Hard to believe that that was only a little more than week ago -- in the time since, it's become so ubiquitous that it's kind of hard to imagine what radio was like before it. Even L.A. seemed taken aback by how quickly it has caught on -- he described the track's out-of-the-gate success as virtually accidental.
3. "Last Kiss" (co-produced by Jermaine Dupri) -- One of the album's many declarations of eternal love, this one is "We Belong Together, Part 35." It's nice but extremely safe. One thing that's very much in its favor are Mariah's vocals, which are nimble as they are in "We Belong Together" (she changes up her flow more times than I could count) and maybe more robust than they've sounded in over a decade. There's a nice little duet at the end of this one between Mariah's full chest voice and her higher register. Of course, if she didn't show off that stellar natural resource, this wouldn't be a Mariah Carey album.
4. "Lovin' You Long Time" (co-produced by DJ Toomp) -- Pure and utter joy is this one, which is most reminiscent of the lovely Mimi outtake "When I Feel It." Except this one's, like, 10 times better. The chorus of DeBarge's "Stay With Me" is the foundation of this track (as opposed to the verses, which provided the foundation for the single remix of Biggie's "One More Chance" and Ashanti's "Foolish," among tracks). However, the sample sounds more weathered, and overall, the track comes off as a '60s throwback rather than an '80s one. One hundred percent feel-good and packing in a killer breakdown and conclusion that's a wall of Mariah voices, this was the first song that felt like the work of unstoppable pop genius.
5. "Thanx for Nothin'" (co-produced by Jermaine Durpri) -- A mid-tempo ballad that sports a beat rougher than anything Jermaine Dupri has laid down for Mariah and a guitar line not unlike Mimi's "So Lonely" (though this track is more sassy and less dour than that), "Thanx" suggests that Mariah and Jermaine aren't sentenced to live in the shadow of their former glory and can actually make relatively new sounds together. Lyrically, this break-up track is a cross between the self-deprecating "Mine Again" ("I never knew enough about you, babe / And I guess I only have myself to blame") and the streetwise posturing of "Get Your Number" ("Seems like all I do is think about your pseudo-romance / While you're somewhere burnin' diesel in the streets, havin' laughs"). Mariah packs in so many lyrics that she barely has time to sing them, and sort of just growls them. It's not nearly as ridiculous as that description might make it sound.
6. "That Chick" (co-produced by Stargate) -- Instant. Classic. An absolutely brilliant disco track that plays on Mariah's strengths and sexiness without ever crossing the line into indulgence. It's slick, it's chic (and Chic, with its slap-you-on-the-ass bass line), it's silly ("La da da a oooh wee-wee" goes the bit between the chorus and the verses) and it carries a killer middle 8 that's as exhilarating as the one in Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T." (you know, the best part of one of the best songs ever that goes, "Don't you know nowwwww / Is the perfect time..."?). Mariah makes references to 2Pac and Biggie, compares herself to ice cream and the lottery and maybe even references the long-lost track from the Charmbracelet sessions "Touch the Sky." Oh, and also she delivers the most her line of her career, complete with a 10-cent word: "I brings that levity." Maybe one day they'll bottle the essence of Mariah, but until then, we have "That Chick" and I seriously am counting down the days till I can hear this track again. This needs to be a single, like, now, and Mariah needs to dust off those "Heartbreaker" remix roller skates for the video, pronto.
7. "Cruise Control" (co-produced by Jermaine Dupri) -- Another J.D. track that deviates from what could have been a detrimental pattern, this is a reggae-lite extended car metaphor ("I need a caddy wit some cruise control," belts Mariah). The chorus consists of her spelling out, "C-R-U-I-S-E control" and the second verse finds Mariah adopting a Jamaican affect for kicks: "When da door open I de gals pon de block / They be hop-on, to rob the clock / Me say no mam / Step up step up / Bottle broken / Tink I'm jokin'." Seriously, she says that. Damien Marley gets a guest verse, and I have to say, his shtick is a little more convincing.
8. "Side Effects" (co-produced by Scott Storch) -- You know how sometimes Southern rap almost has a heavy metal feel? Mariah and Storch exploit that by turning out a Southern-fried power ballad that's a thinly veiled portrait of her time under Tommy Mottola's reign ("Hell we built, and I dealt with it... Kept my tears inside 'cause I knew if I started, I'd keep cryin' for the rest of my life with you / I finally built up the strength to walk away / Don't regret it..."). For someone as guarded as Mariah is publicly, it's shockingly frank (she alludes to "violent times") and really naked (the titular side effects refer to the toll the relationship has taken on her: she's "still a little depressed inside" and "still a little defensive thinkin' folks be tryin' to run my life"). This is another highlight, and having a rapper so associated with drugs (Jeezy) on a track called "Side Effects" that isn't about drugs at all, only makes things cleverer.
9. "Love Story" (co-produced by Jermaine Dupri) -- Anther ode to endless love ("This ain't no fairy tale or fiction / This is truly ours for eternity"), this ballad is more of the baby-making ilk. It's like Prince-lite with a synthesized beat a la "The Beautiful Ones," but not as effects-laden (i.e. the beat doesn't have the backwards sound). The melody is reminiscent of Mimi's "Joyride," and that should give you an indication of how sweet this track is.
10. "OOC" (co-produced by Swizz Beatz) -- This one has a pummeling thump so pronounced, it's somewhat surprising that it's not the work of Stargate or Tricky. "OOC" stands for "out of control," and while the track isn't exactly wild, it's a fun mix of The-Dream's "Ditch That N..." with a melody like Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style." Besides the hypnotic refrain of "Forever and ever," the track is most notable for including the word motherf***er. As in, "I know y'all motherf***ers feel like we / When you're messin' with the one true lova / That makes you OOC." Hardcore!
11. "Bye Bye" (co-produced by Stargate) -- When Mariah first started promoting Mimi, she described "We Belong Together" as a cross between "Breakdown" and "One Sweet Day." That description is infinitely more appropriate for "Bye Bye," a song about death that's "for my people who just lost somebody," "for my people who lost their grandmothers" and seemingly for Mariah's departed father, Alfred Roy ("You never got to see me back at No. 1"). It's nice that Mariah's on a confessional kick, although a track with the "We Belong Together" sonic template and lyrics tailored appeal to everyone on such a basic level seems like too easy of a combination for someone as established as Mimi. This one's like insurance -- in case nothing else is a hit, here's a sure-shot. But ultimately, it turns out that the album is too good for that.
12. "I Wish You Well" (co-produced by James Poyser) -- We were told that this was hot off the presses and a very rough version of the song, but even in its unpolished state, it was a stunner. A piano ballad that features Mariah, some gospel-tinged backing vocals, a piano and that's it, this track is a throwback to the fan-favorite "Vanishing" from her 1990 debut. Part feisty ("You can't manipulate me like before") and totally spiritual (Mariah name-checks a bible verse in the chorus, although I couldn't catch exactly what it was, and she ends the song repeating, "The Lord is my salvation / I will trust in him"), "I Wish You Well" will have fans wetting themselves. It's gorgeous and in its simplistic way, the type of risk that Mariah should take more often.
The risky moments on the album ("Lovin' You Long Time," "That Chick," "Side Effects" and "I Wish You Well") bode well for the future. Though E=MC² feels extremely safe, there's enough variation to signify some artistic growth. She's cranking out hits and that's fine because that's what she's always done (hitmaking is her medium), but when she goes out of the Top 40 comfort zone, the album truly soars. Over 10 years after she first sang about it, it's only now that Mariah has worked up the courage to really spread her wings. The next question is: how high can they take her? |
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Sunday, 17-Feb-2008, 6:37AM EST | Posted by Liron
The Observer (UK) Reviews Mariah's Album |
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Mariah Carey, e=MC² (Universal)
4 STARS
Buoyed by the career-defining international omnipresence of 2006's The Emancipation Of Mimi, these are fine times to be Mariah Carey. That nervous breakdown seems a very long time ago now. How she must chuckle to herself as she watches every single girl trot herself out in front of Simon, Randy and Paula on American Idol and behave as if they have been incubated on an exclusive musical diet of her peerless voice since day zero.
She's in carefully art-directed but none the less playful mode all over That Chick. The production is glossed to within an inch of its life, the mood is cheerfully upbeat - or 'festive' as Carey might put it herself - and the entire confection rings out with bold, sassy, brutally executed intent. Fans of her dog-whistling ballad mode will strain at the bit to find comfort here outside of the predictaballad 'Love Story' but for those who favour urban Mariah there's a glut of hard-nosed attitude: the almost Teena Marie-ish funk of the title track, a finely honed reggae lilt to 'Cruise Control', the freshly cut sample soul of 'Loving You Too Long' and the ballsy, straight-up hip-pop of 'Migrate'.
Each track is precision-tooled to sound as if it were born to be banging out of a Hummer in Miami on a sunny Saturday. With Mary J on autopilot, Whitney yet to re-appear, Christina locked in domesticity and Alicia gripped by a peculiar brand of faceless worthiness, Mariah is still the pack leader.
--Paul Flynn |
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Friday, 15-Feb-2008, 7:55AM EST | Posted by Liron
Roger Friedman Previews Mariah's New Album |
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Yesterday I spent more than an hour up at Island/DefJam Records previewing the new CDs from Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. Each is highly anticipated, and with good reason. They're pretty damn good.
Carey's CD, called E=MC², is probably the more anticipated if only because her prior release, Emancipation of Mimi, was such a phenomenal success. Buoyed by several hits including "We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About Us," Emancipation spent months on the charts and won a number of Grammys. It re-established Mariah as a superstar after her failed Glitter project and subsequent Charmbracelet.
E=MC² (a play on the previous album's title) should have a pretty big impact when it hits the world on April 15th. Already the single, "Touch My Body," with its refrain "I will hunt you down" has taken off at radio. It doesn't hurt that it bears a resemblance to "We Belong Together." But the new single is catchy in its own right, and has an independent hook designed to be addictive.
I heard eight other tracks yesterday, but since the album isn't sequenced yet I can't tell you where they fall in order. In the order I enjoyed them came first "Bye, Bye" a powerful ballad that should be a single and will probably close the album. It's a natural singalong in concert, too, which could make it not only wildly popular but a possible Grammy contender next year. Look out.
The next most commercial number is "Thanks For Nothing," a witty and rueful tune with another great melody courtesy of Jermaine Dupri and Carey. As on "Bye Bye," Carey's vocals are superb. Her infamous eight octave range has suffered a little wear and tear over the years, but Carey can still flutter from great highs to mellow lows like no one else.
Some other highlights I heard included "Cruise Control," featuring Damian Marley with a driving reggae subtext; "Migrate" with T Pain, which should be a single and perhaps the album's kick off track; "Last Kiss," with Dupri on vocals; a breathy disco dance hit called "I'm That Chick," and an out and out pop song, "Loving You a Long Time," which samples DeBarge's "Stay with Me" and recalls the melodic riff of the "Hill Street Blues" theme music.
The one thing I kept thinking from track to track is that Carey and her crew have put a lot of work into making E=MC² not just a hit, but a sustainable success. There's enough in the package that it will last as long as "Emancipation," spinning off singles, remixes, and videos. |
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