CD Review: E=MC2 Is An Outstanding Album

Is Mariah Carey just a dizzy moron with a big voice? Is Mariah just a flake with no emotional core or center? If you pay attention to the news articles you would swear there is a tinge of anger mixed with jealousy after Mariah shattered Elvis Presley’s record. Thank goodness Mariah surpassed Elvis. I am a bit sick of Elvis Presley to be honest I just don’t think he’s as talented as the media claims. Mariah Carey is much more talented then Elvis. It is wonderful that Mariah Carey a woman of colour shattered Elvis record this is an incredible achievement. Mariah Carey is here to stay and if people don’t recognize they better wake up now and get with the program.

What is so special about Elvis Presley anyway? Elvis wasn’t that great a singer he had a couple good songs but that’s it. Why are some music critics so bitter? The negativity towards Mariah Carey is pathetic and immature. Mariah has surpassed Elvis with the most number one hit singles for a solo artist she currently has eighteen number one hits. Mariah is currently in second place behind the Beatles they have twenty number one hit songs. The Beatles were huge long before my time I just can’t relate to them. I think in terms of cultural resonance and importance the Beatles are superior to Elvis. Elvis is supposed to be considered a huge legend. I view Elvis a bit differently he was at the right place at the right time.

Part of Elvis popularity is the fact he appropriated African American rhythm and blues sounds to make it palatable to a mainstream audience. Justin Timberlake’s popularity is similar to Elvis he’s a white male singer that had some soul. Elvis was attractive and indeed talented. So why the scorn against Mariah Carey? The fact is many music critics are also middle aged male snobs. The hypocrisy is some of these male music critics have a problem with Mariah Carey because she is a very beautiful and very talented woman. Mariah isn’t just a pretty face she knows the music industry she has worked very hard for her success. In fact, Mariah has also survived numerous lawsuits by frivolous people attempting to discredit her songwriting skills. Mariah Carey has the skills she knows how to write radio friendly hit songs.

Mariah has gone through an evolution some fans complain about Mariah working with hip hop artists. Where have these people been? Mariah has been working with rap artists since 1995! Mariah is a shrewd business woman she knows hip hop is the music that young people gravitate towards she’s not messing with a winning formula. On E=MC2 Mariah mixes the ballads, with the club bangers and mid tempo songs. In the early days of Mariah’s career she was considered adult contemporary pop music but that wasn’t the real Mariah Carey she loves hip hop. I will admit when I was younger I wasn’t a Mariah Carey fan I just wasn’t interested in the elevator music she used to sing in the early 1990s.

Mariah Carey can actually sing really sing she has a multi octave range. When Mariah started her music career in the early 1990s she was criticized for being a technically proficient singer without the emotional core. It is true in the beginning of Mariah career she she simply had a huge vocal range and that’s it but Mariah has changed for the better. Now Mariah is a lot smarter she has more restraint on her voice she lowers the range when necessary to convey the lyrics. There is no need to shout a song lyric that’s not good singing that’s just being stupid.

Being a good singer isn’t just about a big vocal range, a singer is an artist that can convey emotions to the audience transcend the lyrics and make the words have meaning. Christina Aguliera and Beyonce Knowles are good technical singers but they haven’t matured and learned how to really sing. A good singer doesn’t just scream a lyric at the top of her lungs to convey emotion to make a point. A talented singer can twist the words make certain lyrics have an emotional core.

For instance, Billie Holiday may not be considered the best technical singer but she was an incredible emotive singer because she had the ability to discern how take turn the lyrics and make them magic. Words are just words they mean nothing if the singer doesn’t provide some “feelings” behind the words. Mariah Carey has progressed in her career she doesn’t feel the need to belt out multi octave songs because she is now concentrating on the emotional aspect of singing.

On the track “side effects” Mariah sings about waking up at night thinking about the “violent times” with her ex husband and she still feels the “side effects”. I was shocked when Mariah sings the line “the private hell we built”. Mariah doesn’t just write songs for herself she writes for her fans letting people know you can get out of a difficult abusive relationship. On the track “I’m That Chick” the song has a disco groove it is just mellifluous and wonderful. The song “Touch My Body” the current number one hit is about Mariah letting her lover know she prefers her love life to be private. The lyrics are playful, sensual, without being trashy.

“For The Record” is a song about wanting to go back in time dreaming, thinking about a lost love and wanting the lover back. Anyone that has ever loved someone but secretly thinks about their former flames can relate to this song. We always told to not talk about “ex lovers” because it is viewed as a sign of weakness.

Mariah Carey has dealt with sexism in the music industry and judging from the reviews I have read the sexism continues. From the beginning of Mariah Carey’s career she has always been a songwriter and she resents the fact she doesn’t get respect for her songwriting skills. Why is it so hard for the public to believe a woman can write incredible songs with Mariah’s remarkable consistency? Mariah always has a number one hit for every single album she released in her career with the exception of her two year slump.

Some people forget the movie Glitter and the soundtrack was released on 9/11 this is not an excuse people simply weren’t interested in watching movies or purchasing CDs that week due to the terrorist attacks on New York City. Mariah has more substance then people give her credit for. Mariah Carey is clearly a romantic she believes in love and she sings about the good side of love and the dark side of love. Love is a recurring theme in Mariah’s music but on this album she also sings about forgiveness, death, resentment, and there is a bit of anger on this album too.

On the track “I Wish You Well” Mariah quotes from the bible this gospel song is about moving on from pain. Another incredible track is “bye bye” it is mainly about Mariah’s deceased father but is also a song for anyone that has lost a loved one.