The OFFICIAL Mariah Carey thread! [merged]

[SexyKev]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Sun Times Review...



Mariah Carey, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel"

1.5 OUT OF 4 STARS


By Jim DeRogatis

on September 25, 2009 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)


"You a mom and pop; I'm a corporation," Mariah Carey sings on "Obsessed," the groovy ode to a stalker that's been released as the first single from her 12th album. Ostensibly a dis of Eminem, who's been taking shots at her on his last few discs, it's actually an apt statement for her entire career, which is more often lauded in terms of sales--160 million albums sold worldwide, the best-selling female performer of the '90s, recipient of an $80 million mega-deal with Virgin Records that was the biggest record contract ever, etc.--than artistic accomplishments. Now we can add the crass marketing of her new disc, which finds the CD packaged with a 34-page insert crafted with Elle magazine featuring ads from upscale fashion, champagne, jewelry and tourism brands.

"The idea was really simple thinking: 'We sell millions of records, so you should advertise with us,'" said Antonio "L.A." Reid, chairman of Carey's current label, Island/Def Jam. In other words, the star with the infamous five-octave range essentially is a commodity, so why not use her to sell other products besides her recordings?

Carey's boosters in the media (Elle included, of course) and the legions of self-professed "lambs" who comprise her fan base are hailing "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" as a return to her R&B roots and a move away from the transparent and base attempts to score street cred and appeal to the teeny-boppers with a more hip-hop-oriented sound on "The Emancipation of Mimi" (her 2005 comeback after a series of flops and a much-publicized personal meltdown early in the new millennium) and "E=MC2" (her last release in 2008). This is true to a point: Working with producers the Dream and Tricky Stewart, the once again happily married Mrs. Nick Cannon delivers an overall smoother sound this time, much heavier on brash ballads and genteel slow jams than dance-floor groovers, with the first single a notable exception.

But to consider this a great R&B record requires one to think of the likes of her favorites Jodeci as the pinnacle of the genre, because the fussy, soulless, airless vibe that dominates the album doesn't have much to do with true R&B greats from Aretha Franklin to Erykah Badu. Carey's former and present chart rival Whitney Houston actually comes closer to tapping that storied vein on her latest.

Though the 39-year-old Carey boasts of distinguishing herself from other divas by being the driving force behind writing her own songs--unlike Houston--that isn't necessarily something to be proud of, given the predominance of saccharine melodies and clichéd true-romance lyrics. "We would walk in the park every Saturday/Brand new, all in love, kissing time away/You was all up on me, it was plain to see/That I was your girl," she coos in "Candy Bling." Yet even that dreck is better than her choice in covers here: a version of the hoary FM-rock radio staple "I Want to Know What Love Is" that strips away almost everything but piano and vocals but still manages to sound more bombastic, phony and over-produced than the Foreigner original.

Through it all, as usual, Carey over-sings at every opportunity, needlessly trilling up and down the scales as if we needed one more reminder of why she's the favorite virtuoso of the "American Idol" crowd substituting skill for soul. Eminem isn't right about much, but he's spot on when it comes to dismissing this butterfly.

 

[Zachary90]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Sorry buddy, but the New York Times review trumps that one -- and its also read by MANY MANY people...unlike "BlackBookMag" with its 5 visitors. And the NYTimes review is saying the same thing most other reviews have been saying...or along the same lines of it. That the album has a few decent tracks but not many standouts (and would basically be a waste of money).

Really, HenryMorgan! Why post reviews from such tacitly credible publications like The Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, AllMusic.com, The Chicago Tribune and some odd, random magazine called Billboard or something like that when you can have reviews from The Sun Times and the immensely popular soulbounce.com? For shame.


Frankly, if needlessly bashing Mariah would somehow bring much-needed attention to some other singer's fledgling release, say Whitney Houston's for example, I could see the point of coming in a Mariah thread to bash her. Of course, that is not how the world works. What will help Whitney is releasing quality records. I hope she gets back to that. I used to like and respect her talent. But you won't see me superfluously jabbing at her, in my opinion, poor quality album in some desperate attempt to make Mariah 's album look better. Whitney will only look better by releasing something creditable. I hope she does it soon.

 

[elle]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Mariah has never got great reviews...i've had the album for a week & it IS amazing!!!

 

[andyspete]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

I've been listening to Memoirs off and on throughout the day and for the most part, I'm really enjoying it. I love the vibe of the new CD. Love H.A.T.E.U., among others. I feel that Mariah's voice has lost a lot of the power it had in the early '90s when she was virtually unrivaled but I greatly enjoy her music even though her voice pales to her early years. She's a true artist, knowing she can't quite sing those belting notes of her youth. Therefore, she's written her newer songs to compliment the voice she currently has. I like her and love her music. Have listened to and been a fan of hers since she came out in 1990. I wish her nothing but continued success!

 

[thiskidd24]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

I don’t give a **** about these reviews! What do you guys personally think about this album? I feel like there was more hype over e=mc^2, but really I feel like MOAIA is on the same level. The main difference I find is that e=mc^2 is hip hop/dance driven whereas MOAIA is mainly r&b/pop. If this album flops I guess it wouldn’t shock me as hip hop is the new pop, I don’t know if she will ever have another big album (such as Butterfly or TEOM) with today’s trends in music. Her voice isn’t horrible; do you really expect it to remain flawless after belting out songs for almost 2 decades? Name one singer whose voice hasn’t deteriorated after recording for years. You can hear Whitney’s flaws after The Bodyguard, you can already hear Christina’s after 1 decade and you can’t even fairly compare them to Leona, Beyonce, or Rihanna until 2020 (if they are even around). Even with Mariah’s flaws people still want to listen to her because her voice is so unique, most recording artists probably can’t achieve that.

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Funny, the same worthless and unknown "nobody gives a shit" sources that StalkerKev has been using to put a negative light on Mariah, are the same ones who praised Whitney. Shocking. Try a relevant source, like the ones HENRYMORGAN posted. Then again, you haven't been right about anything lately. For someone you hate on so much, you seem to LOVE talking about her. And yet as much as you talk, you still don't know shit.

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

(cuz most of the tracks are filler material. Not many standouts on the album. )

And that basically describes the entire "I Look To You" [STRIKE]crackfest[/STRIKE] snoozefest.

 

[thiskidd24]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Mariah sings on MOAIA. Aside from TEOM, some might argue that she hasn’t been doing that on albums she released this decade: Glitter, Charmbracelet, and e=mc^2. Instead she has been whispering or cooing. This may be one of a few reasons why this album could be compared to her latter 90’s releases. Another is that the majority of the album contains pop and r&b songs. Hip hop driven tracks such as Obsessed and similar are rare. After listening to the album I was kinda surprised that Obsessed was the lead single just because it does not represent the sound of the album.

Overall, this album’s success is unpredictable because of her appeal to fans today. At the same time, she might win back some old school fans with the album sounding a bit more mature. On that note, my biggest complaint with MOAIA is the lyrics! Even though many of the songs are more mature sounding compared to e=mc^2 and TEOM, her lyrics are just not that good (“This is for real, for real, for real Oprah Winfrey whole segment for real, for real 20/20 Barbara Walters for real, for real 60 Minutes for real”—Betcha gon know. “Boy you got me all mixed up like Serato You got me spinnin' round for ya like a lil' model Steady fiendin' for you like them fries at McDonalds I wanna be all on your lips like Gelato Permanently paint me in your picture like Picasso Love me down till I hit the top of my soprano We can pop bottles get me actin' all me llamo Then baby come and flip this thing like a channel”—More than just Friends.) and it seems like she does it to be hip and to sound younger. I don’t know why she does this and if she thinks that it is cool when in reality no one else is doing it. Beyonce, PCD, Rihanna, and other pop acts have lyrics that are more mature than Mariah’s nowadays. She has never been the best writer, but she is decent. I dont know, it may be the other writers that she is working with (her best material was created with Walter Afanasieff). I think that the team she has been working with isn’t doing her any good. She needs a different team of writers and producers. She did have a good run with Jermaine Dupri, but their songs on e=mc^2 weren’t near as good as on TEOM, and after Touch My Body, I think she wanted to continue with Dream and Tricky. This brings me to my only other complaint of the album, repetitive. I’m not completely sure, but I think that most if not all of the album was with Dream and Tricky. Even though the album is pretty standard in length, I feel left wanting more. Even though there are some standout tracks, I felt like there were a lot of similarities between all remaining. Even though some have noted this as a positive, by saying it makes the album sound more cohesive, I think that the downside to having an entire project with the same producer is that everything sounds too similar. On top of that, she doesn’t have any featured artists on the entire album which is refreshing, but at the same time it leaves you feeling like something is missing. However, despite that it does feel lacking at times I really think that MOAIA is complete.

I think that old school Mariah fans would enjoy this album because I find myself comparing a lot of the sounds to Emotions, Butterfly, and TEOM. I am also pleasantly surprised that she brought back the interlude. I remember she always had the best interludes, I always thought that they were good enough to be entire songs. Janet is the only other artist who could compare to having some great interludes in her albums. They just add to the album and make it feel more cohesive.

As for the songs, standouts are: Obsessed, Candy Bling, Inseparable, Up Out My Face, & Angels Cry. My personal favorites would be: H.A.T.E.U., Candy Bling, It’s A Wrap, The Impossible (+ reprise), & Angels Cry (+ prelude). The only songs that I would skip are Betcha Gon’ Know, Standing O, and More Than Just Friends.

 

[SexyKev]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

NY Daily News Review...

Mariah Carey's 'Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel' obscures any chance at vocal perfection


Jim Farber

Tuesday, September 29th 2009, 4:00 AM


Mariah Carey's latest makes every effort to obscure what should be her calling card - her singing.

Mariah Carey couldn't have picked a more ironic title for her latest CD. While the singer dubbed it "Confessions of an Imperfect Angel," much of the disc strives for a perfectionism you'd expect of someone caught in the dark grip of O.C.D.

From the treatment of the vocals, to the strategy of the songwriting, to the use of instrumentation, "Angel" reeks of idealization and self-consciousness.

That's most obvious in the way the producers dealt with Carey's signature feature - her voice. Rarely do we hear it clearly. Nearly every syllable sounds like it's been tricked up by a war room full of compressors, echo-chambers, filters, audio-tuners, and God knows what other contraptions too much time and money can buy.

At the start of the opening cut "Betcha Gon Know," Carey's voice gets flattened into an affectless monotone that makes her sound like Hal from "2001." In "Why Are You" the hooky parts sound as artificially treated as any vocal trick from T-Pain. In places, so much air and echo whooshes around Carey's voice, she seems to hiss.

Isn't this how producers treat stars who can't sing?

Then again, non-singers regularly score big singles these days. So perhaps it was a savvy move for Carey to mimic their style.

Certainly, it's a cynical move, if hardly a new one for the singer. Carey's last CD, "E=MC2" also applied a heavy layer of gauze to her voice, though a less gloppy one than this time. Likewise, her last CD pushed her further into hip-hop's most melodically spare palette. The more years that pass following Carey's time with Tommy Motolla, the more she shuns her broad and tuneful ballads in favor of something melodically bare and rhythmically slovenly.

This time, Carey takes that m.o. to the extreme. Like some female equivalent to R.Kelly, most of the new songs feature no more than 3 notes a piece, repeated in a sing-songy drone. As sheer craft, it's so depressing, even something like Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is" (which Carey covers at the CD's close) sounds like The Beatles by comparison.

To camouflage the bare tunes, Carey over-indulges her most mocked features: those rococo melismas and that shrieking tea-kettle whistle. One track, "Angel (The Prelude)" consists of nothing but the latter.

The instrumentation proves just as eagerly artificial. If there's a non-synthezed instrument here, it's keeping itself well hidden. Carey even carries over the impersonal nature of the CD to her lyrics. Despite the "Memoir" moniker, there isn't a single telling disclosure. Or so we have reason to presume. Though this is her first CD since she married Nick Cannon, only two tracks treat love as anything but an act of betrayal or a spur to longing.

The result may mean to mirror the youthful frustrations of hip-hop-inflected R&B but it's an antique version of it. R&B stars like Beyonce and Keisha Cole have lately progressed into something far more sophisticated than this. Coupled with the nervous over-correction of her voice, the result makes Carey seem like the proverbial aging actress who's trying so hard to cover her perceived flaws, all she does is call more attention to them.


http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...vocal_perfection_behind_fl.html#ixzz0SUL9khS1




Ouuuuch!

 

[Zachary90]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

I really don't give a shit if 99 out of 100 reviews were negative...I am still going to be the first bitch in line to get this album. Mariah is the shit, always has been and to me, always will be. If she doesn't use her voice like she did in 1990...WTF!! who cares?? It's almost 2010, who the hell else is still getting Billboard Hot 100 #1's??!!?? Last I checked not Madonna, Whitney, Celion...I mean give the woman her credit, even if you don't like her, she's FULL of talent. So is Madonna, Whitney, Celion...They all are still around after 20, 30 years...Still selling music, not a lot of people are. They all deserve credit. My favorite is Mariah, has been for YEARS. I have listened to most songs on her myspace page and they grow on you, some are better than others but that's the way it always is. People need to stop hating...Goddamn bitches...Jeez...

Cosign. So well put.

 

[Davenavarrolover]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

the album is shit! nothing more to say..

and oh yeah: for the lambs:

Let's not forget that all mariah did was copy Whitney so the white girls would have an icon too. Her single sales are manipulated, that's why she has all those number ones, she practically giving the singles away.

And Whitney is a legend, the industry calls her a legend and she will always be. There will be someone ( maybe Whitney) outselling Mariah but Whitney will always be in the history books for her 7 number ones in a row and that she was the FIRST woman to debut at one and she was the FIRST in a lot of things. And no matter how many are coming after her, the first will always be remembered!

Mariah needs to retire and strip for her husband cause she has nothing that i haven't seen before, get some class, learn how to work the stage and make a decent album, then we'll talk..



No way this album will debut at one in 18 countries!

 

[MCsNo1Fn]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

I like how STALKERKEV picks the bad review out of the bunch, and can only find bad reviews from sources that people never read. Not foolin' anyone, girl.

 

[SexyKev]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

the album is shit! nothing more to say..

and oh yeah: for the lambs:

Let's not forget that all mariah did was copy Whitney so the white girls would have an icon too. Her single sales are manipulated, that's why she has all those number ones, she practically giving the singles away.

And Whitney is a legend, the industry calls her a legend and she will always be. There will be someone ( maybe Whitney) outselling Mariah but Whitney will always be in the history books for her 7 number ones in a row and that she was the FIRST woman to debut at one and she was the FIRST in a lot of things. And no matter how many are coming after her, the first will always be remembered!

Mariah needs to retire and strip for her husband cause she has nothing that i haven't seen before, get some class, learn how to work the stage and make a decent album, then we'll talk..



No way this album will debut at one in 18 countries!

LOL right. These crazy lambs are so deluded.

I like how STALKERKEV picks the bad review out of the bunch, and can only find bad reviews from sources that people never read. Not foolin' anyone, girl.

Child please. What alternative world do you live in where people "never read" the New York Times and the New York Daily News???

Don't be mad at them just because they're keepin it real by callin out your lipsynching whispering diva for her shit. Her new music sucks and the MAJORITY of the reviews on the web and opinions on message boards all over the net proves that it does.

 

[elle]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

I do appriciate Whitney's effort & am fully behind it...but vocally here Mariah killed it- just the vocal arrangements alone- puhleeeeze the girl WORKed.

Whitney sings but Mariah builds a song, that is why i love them both.

Memoirs wins though, i am hooked on a few Whitney tracks but this whole Mariah record is on repeat (i have never done that before!!)

 

[thiskidd24]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

the album is shit! nothing more to say..

and oh yeah: for the lambs:

Let's not forget that all mariah did was copy Whitney so the white girls would have an icon too. Her single sales are manipulated, that's why she has all those number ones, she practically giving the singles away.

And Whitney is a legend, the industry calls her a legend and she will always be. There will be someone ( maybe Whitney) outselling Mariah but Whitney will always be in the history books for her 7 number ones in a row and that she was the FIRST woman to debut at one and she was the FIRST in a lot of things. And no matter how many are coming after her, the first will always be remembered!

Mariah needs to retire and strip for her husband cause she has nothing that i haven't seen before, get some class, learn how to work the stage and make a decent album, then we'll talk..



No way this album will debut at one in 18 countries!

LOL I don't even know what your point is, if there even is one, but I don't know what being the "first" for whatever reason has to do with anything. All that shows is that she is older. Look at the present if you're trying to compare anything, even then you can't really compare. What were the "lots of things" that she was first to do? I don't really see what you're trying to say here? What does stripping have to do with anything?lol what a mess

 

[thiskidd24]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Could people please keep the review posts to a minimum (or at least smaller font) unless it is a personal review? You could just post a link and it would be all good

 

[SexyKev]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

LOL I don't even know what your point is, if there even is one, but I don't know what being the "first" for whatever reason has to do with anything. All that shows is that she is older. Look at the present if you're trying to compare anything, even then you can't really compare. What were the "lots of things" that she was first to do? I don't really see what you're trying to say here? What does stripping have to do with anything?lol what a mess

See, this is why EDUCATING YOURSELF is important. If you were properly educated on the facts , you would know that Whitney Houston was the FIRST female artist to debut at #1 (an incredibly huuuuuuge accomplishment!). You would also know that Whitney was the first female artist to have 3 number 1 singles from one album. In addition to that you would know that Whitney Houston was the first female artist to have TWO diamond certified albums. Among other things. But google IS your friend, ya know. Use it.

And the fact that she was "first" for a lot of things simply means that her importance in the music industry is much greater than Mariah Carey's. She broke down walls, changed the game and PAVED the way for people like Mariah to even have that kind of success as a female artist. So her legacy will forever be greater than Mariah's, kiddo. Like Davenavarrolover said, the FIRST will always be remembered...more so than someone who comes along and does the same thing AFTER you, like in the case of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. The "first" person is always more important than the second, third, forth ect person, because the fact that you were the first to be able to achieve that kind of success in the first place and accomplish those things when NO ONE ELSE was at the time -- is something that holds more importance and will be forever remembered and celebrated in history.

Do yourself some good and educate yourself on the facts.

 

[SexyKev]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Discounts For An [STRIKE]Unwanted[/STRIKE] Imperfect Angel!

Mimi just isn't what she used to be!

In a desperate attempt to sell her lackluster new album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, Mariah Carey is offering a MAJOR discount exclusively through Amazon.

You can download the album for the bargain price of $5.99!

Why not just give it away???


Posted: September 28, 2009 at 5:52 pm


http://perezhilton.com/2009-09-28-discounts-for-an-unwanted-imperfect-angel


@ all the comments.

People hating hard on Whisperiah.

_________________________________________________________________________________

And since Mariah fans ONLY understand chart stats, here are some for ya:

-#6 on iTunes
-#6 on Walmart.com (Whitney's new album is #2)
-#10 on Amazon, (Barbara is #1, with Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle and the Beatles above her)
-Nowhere to be found at FYE
-#21 on Tower Records (Whitney's new album is #4)
-#7 at Best Buy (Whitney's new album is #4)
-#35 at Barnes & Noble (Whitney's new album is #8, Barbra is #2)

L.M.A.O!!!!!!

 

[Zachary90]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

The hating is really old and annoying, SexyKev. For real, what is the problem? It's not impressive. It's just immature and uncalled for. You don't see me going on Whitney Houston threads and bash about her first worldwide release, Million Dollar Bill, quickly falling off the Billboard charts after debuting at #100, where it peaked. I could have a field-day with that one, but I am not going to make an ass out of myself and drone on and on and on about it. The majority of people on this thread are Mariah fans. Why can't we talk about her latest project and support her without dealing with you needlessly throwing shade all over this thread?

 

[thiskidd24]

Re: Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel Official Track List Revealed!

Yeah, was just gonna bring that up. You don't see me going to Whitney threads. So you can just go back to your tired whitney thread, but I guess you care more about Mariah since you have so much to say. or maybe its because there's nothing to say about whitney anymore?

knowing chart positions and various records doesn't have anything to do with education. educate yourself & learn some respect and shut the **** up. dont believe everything you see published on the net. & like i said, being the first doesn't really show anything besides age, mariah has many firsts herself that no one can touch. & you keep talking about importance? important to who? that's so subjective.