Note: this is probably going to be a terrible piece of music review. So please stop reading if you adverse to morbid fanatism.
The fact is I am the biggest fan of Mariah 'The Voice' Carey! (probably not the most manly thing I ever admit). And suffice to say, when the lady announced that she would be releasing her new record a couple months back, I was super excited…pretty much like a fat kid in a candy store.
So my “opinion” may not be matter much to my detractors. Still, I am going to review the album for you anyway – I promise, only a 'few' paragraphs, no more – as I listen to it for the first time…or a thousand times later!
Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel – Mariah Carey *****
I Love the CD. This, probably her best CD yet since the biggest selling, "Music Box". It’s a return to form in the sense that all the music here are all about Mariah's biggest asset (her vocal, perv!) on the syrupy sweet R&B pop and ballads of her past. Songs like 'Languising', 'Angels Cry' and her second single 'I Want To Know What Love Is', probably won't be rocking the current Billboard chart but enough to make the 'old-Mariah's fan' like yours truly happy like a swine in a mud.
However, Mariah has grown wiser this time. From the opener - the best opening track ever! - "Betcha Gon' Know", you can instantly hear that, lyrically, this album is slightly less "girly" and too "rainbow-ish". This is an edgier Mariah, speaking to the darker sides of life and love. I must say all the tracks convey remarkably the hurt and anguish lost love can bring, and it is my opinion that when Mariah connects with the raw emotions involved with common life-circumstances, that is where she is dynamite for me.
Other gems I think have a huge potential for being standout singles are "H.A.T.E.U.", "Standing O", "Ribbon", "It's a Wrap", and "Up Out My Face". One little "complaint" from me is that there is hardly really fast or uptempo songs in this album, except all the remixes version of 'Obsessed' but then I guess hence the title!
In conclusion, the best bit about the album is that this time Mariah really "sings". No more distraction from her annoying rappers/guest appearances. I hope Mariah would continue to focus on what her fans want to hear...her voice. She is still one of today’s most gifted vocalists and she could sing about fried chicken and watermelon and still make grown women and men cry.
Unfortunately the same can't be said to a certain so-called "Diva" who'll be coming to our shore this month. Ooopsie!
