Ced Says...
Bump These: "Migrate", "Cruise Control", "Love Story", and "Bye Bye"
Last Word: "E= MC2= G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time)"
As I sit and listen to Mariah Carey’s new album, E=MC2, I am reminded why Mariah is the biggest selling female artist of all time having sold over 160 albums over her 18 yr-old career. It’s fitting, then, that the forthcoming disc’s lead single, “Touch My Body” , is Mariah’s 18th number one, which surpasses Elvis Presley’s 17 1’s making Mariah the solo artist with the most chart-toppers of Billboard’s singles chart's history.
In 2005, Mariah released The Emancipation of Mimi to rave review from critics and ecstatic fans who hailed the album release as “the return of the voice”. Indeed, Emancipation was a superior album with new Mariah classics like “Shake It Off”, “Don’t Forget About Us”, and the career defining, “We Belong Together”. More of my review of Mariah's new album after the jump!
Prior to Carey’s 2005 release, many thought that Carey’s career was over after several disappointing albums (Glitter, Charmbracelet), a nervous break-down, and a changing musical climate that gave way to the Beyonce’s, Rihanna’s, and Ciara’s of the day. Despite many counting Mariah out, she returned with an album that proved that she could not only be relevant, but also prominent.
Like the Emancipation, E=MC2 proves that Mariah Carey’s voice is just as impressive as ever, and her songwriting has kept up with the times but still manages to stay distinctively Mariah. This album is a lot like its predecessor, but better. The songs sound fresh, and the production is much more diverse.
Carey gets things started with opener-“Migrate” featuring hit-maker T-Pain. This is one hell of an album opener. I can see why they were nervous to make it the first single for fear of jumping on the T-Pain bandwagon, but this track screams radio-hit. Next on the line up is the album’s first single which sounds out of place after “Migrate” but, nevertheless, the song is pop genius.
Mariah is a lot more diverse, lyrically, on this album as well. I think the point with Mariah is: once in love always in love as she points out on the song “I Stay in Love”. She repeats this idea on excellent tracks such as “For the Record”, “Love Story”, and “I’ll Be Loving You Long Time”. However, if she should have to let you go, she wants you to know that she’ll be suffering “Side Effects” a song about the pains of a relationship gone wrong. This song is assisted by Young Jeezy who compliments this rock-tinged track appropriately.
Another side of Mariah is that she is inspirational as she shows on songs like “Bye, Bye” and “I Wish You Well”. On “Bye, Bye”, Mariah sings [“... and you never got a chance to see how good I done, and you never got a chance to see me back at number one…”] about missing her father, Alfred Carey, who died 2002. The song is meant to be universal for anyone who is ever lost a loved one. “I Wish You Well” is a track written by Carey and longtime friend and collaborator James Poyser. Here Mariah speaks about wishing an ex-lover well even after a bitter break-up citing bible verses and offering stellar vocals.
There is also the side of the album, where Mariah clearly wants to take us back to her Fantasy days. Sometimes she hits as on, “That Chick” a disco inspired r&b track, and sometimes Mariah misses as on, “O.O.C” which could have been left of the album entirely. However, Mariah has earned the right to indulge in her past because she provides R&B with such a great history and a promising future.
Overall, this album solidifies Mariah as one of the greatest artist of all time. Each track sounds like hit. Some are better than others i.e. the Swizz Beatz- produced “O.O.C”. Minus that track, this album is strong effort and will keep us listening to MC for the rest of 2008 which with material like this, I couldn’t be happier about.
