Rayan said:

Dred said:

I love her because my favorites span her 20 years... She keeps me interested when many artists peak and steadily decline.

Butterfly (1997)

Glitter (2001)

Charmbracelet (2002)

Memoirs (2009)

same here, only I'll also add E=MC2 to that list as I love that record to bits. it's easily my favorite out of the releases from Charmbracelet to Memoirs.

Ok given the fact that me & you are usually on the same groove most of the times, I'm able to let you citing E=Calamity square as a fave from Charm to Memoirs slide

Seriously, I tried listening to that album,,,close minded, open minded, cracked door minded,,,,,nothing

Harlepolis said:

Rayan said:

same here, only I'll also add E=MC2 to that list as I love that record to bits. it's easily my favorite out of the releases from Charmbracelet to Memoirs.

Ok given the fact that me & you are usually on the same groove most of the times, I'm able to let you citing E=Calamity square as a fave from Charm to Memoirs slide

Seriously, I tried listening to that album,,,close minded, open minded, cracked door minded,,,,,nothing

whitesockedfunk said:

I hated her first few albums because they although they contained some good songs, the production on them was sooooo generic and soul-less (Walter Afanasieff sucks), but then "Butterfly" came out and to me the album had the oomph that its predecessors were missing. And she started to collaborate with hip-hop artists a lot which -generally- improved upon the original versions. The 12" remixes weren't bad either... And "Glitter" sucked as a movie, but the CD is probably one of the most underrated ones ever, her collaboration with Rick james is a classic!

Since then to me her albums have been a bit hit and miss, but I still wish her well I've seen her in concert once and was a bit underwhelmed, wish she'd do more unplugged-type shows.

Rayan said:

Harlepolis said:

Those bitches put their foot down.

I was stunned to learn what sounded like a choir on Anytime You Need a Friend was actually those 3 women's vocals being layered over & over!

Btw, Melonie rejoined the group with the new Christmas album while surprisingly Trey contributed nothing to it, although he joins her live still.

OMG! Do you know the remix on Anytime You Need a Friend? That is one of my favorite dance tracks ever.

Two of my personal faves of hers that have always remained under the radar are "Outside", "Baby Doll" and "Melt Away" (with Babyface).

Harlepolis said:

Rayan said:

same here, only I'll also add E=MC2 to that list as I love that record to bits. it's easily my favorite out of the releases from Charmbracelet to Memoirs.

Ok given the fact that me & you are usually on the same groove most of the times, I'm able to let you citing E=Calamity square as a fave from Charm to Memoirs slide

Seriously, I tried listening to that album,,,close minded, open minded, cracked door minded,,,,,nothing

I totally get why you feel so strongly about it btw. it's about her most generic sounding album to date, but that's also exactly why I love it so much, it's just so much fun, light, carefree, campy & with a lot of exceptionally silly lyrics but over some insanely catchy melodies. It's the type of album i'd instantly seek out whenever I'm in a real peppy mood. everything just turns pink & rainbows for me when it's on

728huey said:

OMG! Do you know the remix on Anytime You Need a Friend? That is one of my favorite dance tracks ever.

Gosh Yessssssssss! yes yes yes!!

the scatting near the end of the song is about the best 3 minutes of my life dammit

728huey said:

Rayan said:

I was stunned to learn what sounded like a choir on Anytime You Need a Friend was actually those 3 women's vocals being layered over & over!

Btw, Melonie rejoined the group with the new Christmas album while surprisingly Trey contributed nothing to it, although he joins her live still.

OMG! Do you know the remix on Anytime You Need a Friend? That is one of my favorite dance tracks ever.

Nice.

dag said:

728huey said:

OMG! Do you know the remix on Anytime You Need a Friend? That is one of my favorite dance tracks ever.

Nice.

I usually hate house remixes but this one has always been my favorite Mimi remix. The way she belts this one out and the scatting at the end! Pure bliss!!!

errant said:

more like 8 years in music and 12 years of desperate hanging on

Exactly I was gonna go 10/10 but I think you're right.

Rappers Get rid of them and go back to singing on your own!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

errant said:

more like 8 years in music and 12 years of desperate hanging on

Exactly I was gonna go 10/10 but I think you're right.

Rappers Get rid of them and go back to singing on your own!

Hey lover, she's on her own on Memoirs. Or are you over her all together?

Rayan said:

Harlepolis said:

Ok given the fact that me & you are usually on the same groove most of the times, I'm able to let you citing E=Calamity square as a fave from Charm to Memoirs slide

Seriously, I tried listening to that album,,,close minded, open minded, cracked door minded,,,,,nothing

I totally get why you feel so strongly about it btw. it's about her most generic sounding album to date, but that's also exactly why I love it so much, it's just so much fun, light, carefree, campy & with a lot of exceptionally silly lyrics but over some insanely catchy melodies. It's the type of album i'd instantly seek out whenever I'm in a real peppy mood. everything just turns pink & rainbows for me when it's on

Totally. I had to get it on vinyl!

Dred said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Exactly I was gonna go 10/10 but I think you're right.

Rappers Get rid of them and go back to singing on your own!

Hey lover, she's on her own on Memoirs. Or are you over her all together?

I'm mostly over here. I would love for her to put out a straight pop album. No rappers, no BS. Just SING!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Dred said:

Hey lover, she's on her own on Memoirs. Or are you over her all together?

I'm mostly over here. I would love for her to put out a straight pop album. No rappers, no BS. Just SING!

That's exactly why her last album was so nice, they didn't have any rappers until she started to make remixes. The remixes stayed shelved, by the way.

Cinnie said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I'm mostly over here. I would love for her to put out a straight pop album. No rappers, no BS. Just SING!

That's exactly why her last album was so nice, they didn't have any rappers until she started to make remixes. The remixes stayed shelved, by the way.

I didn't even think about touching it. Maybe I might. Are you recommending it?

I would love it if she decided to tackle Gershwin or Cole Porter on an one-off jazz project. Something like that would catch her enthusiasts completely off guard.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Cinnie said:

That's exactly why her last album was so nice, they didn't have any rappers until she started to make remixes. The remixes stayed shelved, by the way.

I didn't even think about touching it. Maybe I might. Are you recommending it?

There is no rap on it, but I wouldn't call the production style "straight pop and sing" either.

I loved the second single though:

This is Memoirs' saving grace IMO...

errant said:

Cinnie said:

She just dropped the most budget video I've ever seen from her.

you'll notice they did save enough money for the ever-present fan. although maybe not enough for the electricity to power it beyond the "low" setting

Damn, really that is the video? That looks like a student could do that...I'll let it slide she is having 2 babies maybe she wasn't up for it. I want to wash this vid from my mind really..hopefully she make a video for it when she has the babies.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Cinnie said:

That's exactly why her last album was so nice, they didn't have any rappers until she started to make remixes. The remixes stayed shelved, by the way.

I didn't even think about touching it. Maybe I might. Are you recommending it?

I am. Not a pop record though. More reminiscent of the darker Butterfly tracks, imo.

Dred said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I didn't even think about touching it. Maybe I might. Are you recommending it?

I am. Not a pop record though. More reminiscent of the darker Butterfly tracks, imo.

See, I thought this was a best of so I didn't even think twice about getting it. I'm contemplating

kitbradley said:

dag said:

Nice.

I usually hate house remixes but this one has always been my favorite Mimi remix. The way she belts this one out and the scatting at the end! Pure bliss!!!

I also totally hate house and I also hate remixed in general. The beginning is not that great, but the ending is perferct. You´re right.

20 years of the same shit.

I liked MC up until 1999. Her music hasn't been the same since. Plus, her whole image has changed as well...it's like she's regressing. 40 yrs. old going on 12 yrs. old, seriously wth!

I remember exactly where I was when I first heard Vision of Love back in 1990. I was at my cousins house eating KFC and rough housing with her dog. I was 10 years old and we the video came on and everyone seemed to stop and watch. I kinda knew she would blow up after that song, we all knew.

dag said:

728huey said:

OMG! Do you know the remix on Anytime You Need a Friend? That is one of my favorite dance tracks ever.

Nice.

I never heard that before! You're right. The ending is great. I wish she sang like that more often. Those are some pretty amazing ad-libs.. she went high and low with them. Thanks for posting!

Cinnie said:

She just dropped the most budget video I've ever seen from her.

Did anyone watch this being played on NBC when the ball dropped on new years? They kept announcing, "Mariah Carey up next!" And I actually thought for a second that she was making an appearance..... and then they ran this video and I thought...

dreamfactory313 said:

I remember exactly where I was when I first heard Vision of Love back in 1990. I was at my cousins house eating KFC and rough housing with her dog. I was 10 years old and we the video came on and everyone seemed to stop and watch. I kinda knew she would blow up after that song, we all knew.

I remember hearing her on the radio. I must've been around 6 years old and only knew her by voice/name. I didn't have MTV or watched music videos at the time, but I always heard her name and loved her songs. I didn't really know what she looked like until I was 9 or 10 - I remember I was shocked to find out she wasn't black. Sorry, but I really was

Not a fan really, only have her first 2 albums, but love "all in my mind" though, which like "vision of love", was not produced by her main man back then Wally Afanasieff, a guy who studied under Narada Michael Walden, who worked alot with the Mariah of the 80's, Whitney Houson (Wally is often on those records under keyboard/synths).

Walter passed on his skills working with Narada onto Mariah (and also Michael Bolton, with the song "Time love and tenderness" being one of my favourite songs from a production standpoint). Wally also worked with Celine Dion.

Funny how "vision of love" has additional production by Narada? I can think of a few pop albums around this period with "additional production" and I often wonder how different they originally sounded?

Also on "all in your mind", it is produced by obscurity Ben Margulies (who wrote "vision of love" with Mariah, but did not produce it) and then hot shot producer Ric Wake. Seems abit odd they would both share the same bill so maybe some addtional work by Ric is also on that track? Who knows? I love the deeply textured synth bass and drums (or whatever?) on "all in your mind" though. Plus those backing vocals, which include legendary backing vocalist Fonzi Thornton, really add to the track aswell.

On an unrelated note, anyone think Michael Jackson's "keep the faith" sounds like "all in my mind" at least in production? Rhett Lawrence worked on Mariahs first album (produced "vision of love" amongst others) and is also on drums and synths on "Keep the faith". Maybe Rhett used similar sounds for both sessions? Certainly the production and feel of the track reminds me of "all in your mind" somewhat. Maybe Michael and co producer Bruce Swedien told Rhett to use something similar sound wise that he used with Mariah?

[Edited 1/4/11 18:56pm]

Her best song in years: