Joined by Young Jeezy on “Side Effects,” Mariah puts out the most musically-complex track on the album. A string-driven bass bumper with sped-up vocals, it’s a trick-filled jam that should rattle a few speakers.
The pattern for the album is predictable: she starts in the club and winds up on her knees (in church, perverts). Naturally the evolution is palpable from the get-go, but Mariah isn’t known for surprises. “I Wish You Well” finds her accompanied by a piano and ready to save some souls. She reaches her upper registry here superbly, setting just the right tone as it matches with a distant organ.
Overall, E=MC2 is a fitting “sequel” of sorts to her previous album and follows the same pattern through and through. Her voice, overall, is more inhibited and restrained to a smaller scale than some might be used to. It is no less affecting, however, and the album feels a lot less flashy than some of her previous work.
But one almost wishes for more from the 38-year-old bombshell. She’s capable of it, but for now it seems that Mariah’s just doing good being Mimi.
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.
2 - LS
Great review!
RE: Migrate, I think this is the first time Carey has harnessed her whistle register in a way that makes sense with the music; I've long wondered why she never used it as a backing instrument rather than in the foreground. She really is at a point in her career where everyone gets that she can sing -- I don't think it's necessary anymore to put out songs a la "Hero," that musically are completely boring and succeed solely on so-foreground-they're-in-your-face vocals. We have Celine and that silly Leona chick for that now.
"Emancipation" was a turning point, with Carey finally putting out music that started to be as interesting for its sound and structure as it is for her amazing vocals (even if her voice is not quite at the inhuman level of perfection she reached in the 90s, her songs are still so damn hard to sing that you can't help respect her talent). I feel, however, that "Emancipation" is still in that awkward transition phase, and some of the arrangements are bewildering -- "It's Like That" is such a clunky tune, melodically skeletal and scattered with that imbalanced, booming beat overwhelming it. This is where E=MC2 shines: for once the vocals and arrangements seem to match up a bit better, and even though she does use all of her range, she doesn't meticulously build the songs around conquering scales, allowing them to evolve more organically into...well, songs, versus all-you-can-eat octave samplers that happen to have a bit of a backing track.
Love this album...could it be that Carey is finally working towards a semblance of artistry?
3 - michael
Mariah is an amazing singer, with a massive vocal range making her unique. I prefer her earlier work as i feel their was more thought put into her lyrics etc. E=MC2 is a good album but no where near as good as Emancipation in my opinion. Vision of love is her best song as she is always changing it when she performs it, using her range to a fantastic standard. Her 5 octave voice blows me away. Best singer on earth. I hope Leona follows in her footsteps, i'm certain she will.
4 - bliffle
Yeah, she has great lungs.