speeddemon531's Full Review: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel [Digipak] by Mariah ...
Considering the fact that I've reviewed (I think) each of Mariah Carey's 10 prior studio albums, one would figure that I'm running about things to say about the woman. Big voice diva blah, blah, blah. Went from adult contemporary pop princess to hip-hop loving hoochie yada, yada, yada. One thing I've also mentioned in the past is that she's yet to create a definitive work-an album that is an unqualified work of genius. She has a couple of very good albums (I mean, like, literally...a couple. Her self-titled debut, 1995's "Daydream" and maybe it's follow up, "Butterfly"), but nothing completely devoid of fast-forward tunes that can stack up to albums by contemporaries like Madonna and Janet Jackson, much less ladies like Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse, who have created legitimate works of genius in their times. Then again, L-Boogie and Wino jumped on top of the crazy train, so maybe Mariah got the better end of the deal, huh?
Jokes aside, it's been a long time since I've even been impressed by a Mariah Carey album. "The Emancipation of Mimi" was heralded as a return to form, but truthfully speaking, how many people these days want to listen to that album straight through as opposed to just playing "We Belong Together" and shutting the CD player off? Last year's "E=MC2", was a shameless regurgitation of the previous album. I guess Mariah and her people figured lightning could strike twice. It didn't. If "Emancipation" was a mediocre but tolerable listen, "E" was just mediocre.
So here we are, about 18 months later, and Mariah's released another CD, this one titled "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel". First thing I noticed was "damn, what's up with the nutty album titles?". Second thing I noticed was "damn, those titties are like POW on the album cover!". Third thing I noticed (actually, it was probably the first thing I read in an article announcing the album's release, so I lie) is that it was almost entirely written and produced by Mariah in association with production/writing team Tricky Stewart and The-Dream. These guys have had a pretty scattershot history with me-they've worked on songs that are undoubtable earworms, like Rihanna's "Umbrella" and J. Holiday's "Bed". They've also come up with a few steaming piles of sh*t, like Beyonce's "Single Ladies", that Britney and Madonna fiasco and two solo albums of nonsense from The-Dream himself. Their previous work with Mariah hadn't resulted in much-I mean, "Touch My Body" won't make anyone's all-time list of favorite Mariah songs, at least not to those music fans with taste. Was I prepared for a whole album of this?
So, here's the verdict: "Memoirs" is not a bad album. At least, it's not the complete trainwreck that I surmised it was going to be based on reviews and word of mouth from people I trusted. It could certainly be a lot better, although I think that has more to do with the production of the album than it does with the actual songs.
One thing I can't get over is the fact that the album sounds so damn STERILE. It would be nice to hear a live instrument now and then- a guitar, or live drums, something with the potential for a mistake. But this album is totally synthetic and canned, which is one thing if you're Madonna or Janet and you can create bouncy, energetic music out of those canned sounds. However, "Memoirs" never rises out of it's midtempo slumber. There's not much life or "pep" to this album from a production or musical standpoint. It's more or less the same keyboards, the same processed drum sounds at several slight variations on the same speed. That may be what the kids who are listening to Lady GaGa and the Black Eyed Peas are checking for these days, but that's not Mariah's audience. People who have been following M.C. since back in the day are looking for a little meat to their music. The production on this album resembles a burnt piece of bacon more than it resembles a big, tasty steak.
If you read the lyric sheet, Mariah's actually a fairly witty songwriter. She reminds me of my friend Lauren-a smart Long Island girl with a bit of a New York hip-hop attitude. She's definitely got a knack for the kiss-off, whether she's sneering "see right through you like you're bathin' in Windex" on the unnecessarily auto-tuned "Obsessed" (why are perfectly good singers using this??) or cracking that "if we were two Lego blocks/even the Harvard University class of 2010/couldn't put us back together again" on "Up Out My Face"- a song that has probably the album's most inspired moment when a marching band shows up to play out the coda. Hell, what other singer can you think of who would rhyme "Serato" with "model", "McDonald's", "gelato", "Picasso", "soprano" and "me llamo". She's world-class diva, music geek and ghetto chick all wrapped up into one. As much as her lyrics can occasionally sound like entries from a 14-year old girl's diary, she's also more than capable of coming up with a smart lyric when she wants to.
However, the damn lyric sheet was more intriguing than the actual album. In addition to the tempo of the music rarely rising above a crawl, Mariah's voice sounds sleepier than ever. The belt that once pegged her as one of the most powerful singers around has all but disappeared, leaving her floating back and forth between a whispery coo that stopped being cute ten years ago and that inane dog-whistle voice, which she probably uses more here than on any album since her debut. She also uses her lower register more than usual here, especially on the song "H.A.T.E.U.". On this track, the plodding tempo and Mariah's emotionless vocal makes it sound like she's been slipped about 500 sedatives and then pointed to the mic. I don't think she's totally lost that lung power-she still exhibits it in performance from time to time. But it's almost like she's afraid to use it now.
Not to say "Memoirs" doesn't have it's moments. "It's a Wrap" is a fairly sassy slice of throwback soul, while "Angels Cry" is a ballad with a very pretty melody and the most "pop" vibe of the album's original songs. Then there's "The Impossible", a slow jam on which Mariah gets down with her man, a vocoder and some Jodeci and proceeds to make a song which gives off the vibe of some of the best bedroom soul of the past ten or fifteen years while not even being half as raunchy. However, that doesn't make up for the bland anonymity of most of the other material, or the hideous chopped-and-screwed vocal effect that plays throughout "Ribbon". Mariah's got the chops, she's got the talent, and given her life, I'm sure she has something to say. She should probably be following the example of fellow New Yorker Mary J. Blige, who has made two excellent albums of fairly age-appropriate soul music without bowing to overtly trendy production tricks (at least until now, anyway...if the two singles currently circulating are any hint as to what Mary's upcoming album is gonna sound like, then count me O-U-T). It says a lot when the album's best written song is 25 years old (for the record, that would be "I Want to Know What Love Is", Mariah's latest attempt to reclaim a Lite-FM favorite, following her covers of "Without You", "I'll Be There", "Endless Love", "Open Arms" and "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" and "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)")
Mariah hasn't made a better-than-average album since 1997, but I've bought every album she's made since then. Why? I've got better things to do with my money, and I'm not that much of a masochist that I would continually spend my hard-earned ducats on mediocre music. I guess there's a part of me that's waiting for her to get it right, to put all the pieces into place and make the album that I think she's capable of making. She's exhibited flashes of brilliance on damn near every album, but consistently surrounds that brilliance with tons upon tons of humdrum trend-hopping. Whitney Houston (age 46)'s recent "I Look to You" and the aforementioned Mary J. (38) albums have proven that there can be successful compromises when it comes to mature female pop R&B singers that can still make commercially relevant music. Ms. Carey (39), I think it's time to play catch-up.
"Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" by Mariah Carey Released 2009 on Island Records Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Track Listing: Betcha Gon' Know (the Prelude)/Obsessed/H.A.T.E.U./Candy Bling/Ribbon/Inseparable/Standing O/It's a Wrap/Out of My Face/More Than Just Friends/The Impossible/Angels Cry/Languishing (the Interlude)/I Want to Know What Love Is
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is packaged in a beautiful 3-panel softpack. A must-have for all Mariah fans, it will include: The CD A 2nd Enhanced CD ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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