OK ........ The DIVA And The VOICE AKA My Review of Mariah's MEMOIRS!
HAYYYYY!! OK ........ Ooooops! A week since my last post. I will have to make up for lost time in the next few days. Anyway, although Mariah's latest work, MEMOIRS OF AN IMPERFECT ANGEL, has been out for over three weeks, I know that yall just had to know what THE DIVA thought of THE VOICE.
Honeybees and others who do not belong to Miss Carey's fan club, this disc took a while and repeated plays on the pod to grow on me. I don't think it is as good as Miss Houston's I LOOK TO YOU, but then again, ol' Whitney had 7 plus years to put something on the shelves.
Here are loves, dislikes, and what was THE VOICE thinking?
1. Favorite songs are the "kiss off" cuts like "Betcha Gon' Know" [one of M's best breathy whisper deliveries], "Obsessed," "Standing O" [Had to grow on me, but now I LOVE], and "Up Out Of My Face." These songs all have a harder beat, and were produced by The Dream ["Umbrella" "Me Against The Music"] and Tricky.
2. Mariah's last two works, EMANCIPATION OF MIMI and E-MC2, both contained cuts and "introductions" by Jermaine Dupri. In my opinion he is really missing from MEMOIRS. Besides bringing some hard bass, Jermaine also brought humor to M's over the top sentimentality. What happened Ms. Carey? Janet catch you with her man? Too bad Jermaine could not work the same Mariah magic ["It's Like That," "Shake It Off"] with Ms. Jackson's DISCIPLINE.
3. M is known for covering hit ballads from other artists. But "I Want To Know What Love Is?" I can listen to the song right up until the choir enters. Was this a last minute choice Mariah?
4. Mariah Carey .. VOICE, you bet, .. SHOWMAN, working on it, LYRICIST .. oh boy!
"This is for real, for real, for real; Oprah Winfrey, whole segment, for real ........"
"With a whole lotta; gel and acrylic can fix this; when I break I break; If we were two lego blocks ........"
Baby, stick with what you do best. I know that you go on and on about writing your own songs, but M you are making Madonna look like Truman Capote. Just write a line here and there, get your name on the publishing rights and leave the rest to the experts. Like Britney.
5. Along with the interludes and reprises [there are FOUR!], MEMOIRS has 17 songs. M should have just released numbers 1 - 10. Cuts 11 through 17 should have been called the "I love Nick Cannon, but will he help me breathe underwater, then constantly tell me I am angel who cries love like Duncan Hines cake mix" album. These songs slowly become one LOOOOOOONG ballad [and you know THE DIVA, I can only take so many ballads]. Mariah, we get the point. You love Nick, Nick helps you breathe, Nick is so wonderful, Nick will make you cakes with the Dincan Hines mix between his gigs as the host of America's Got Talent.
FINAL THOUGHT: Mariah go back to the dancefloor [at least her singles are remixed], call up Jermaine, and keep being THE VOICE.
Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice ........