In the cutthroat world that is the music industry, artists can top the charts one year and be cast aside the next. You’re only as good as your next album.
Which is actually good news for Mariah Carey and her 10th studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi. In an attempt to move beyond the breakdowns of the past, Mariah, or Mimi as her friends call her, delivers a very personal and entertaining release.
The mood of the CD is set with the first single “It’s Like That,” a get-up-and-dance number that had audiences clapping earlier this year. The diva explains in the opening lines, “I came to have a party/Open up the Bacardi” that she just wants to have fun. A bumping bass line intermingled with phrases such as “feeling so hot tamale” and “them chickens is ash and I’m lotion” easily makes this the perfect opener.
Tracks such as “Say Somethin'” and “To the Floor” help continue the club-like ambiance, including guest spots for Snoop Dogg on the former and Nelly on the latter. “Somethin'” offers a great Snoop solo with Mariah’s smooth notes covering the dance-infused beats.
But “Floor” falls short of being the breakout hit many anticipated, even with the added clout of The Neptunes, which produced the song. Sometimes things just don’t work out, and in this case, the song tries to be different for the sole purpose of being different. With Nelly’s un-remarkable rap, this is the one selection that could have been dropped from the CD.
Of all the party-themed songs, “Get Your Number” is the standout. Featuring a chorus with Jermaine Dupri and musical arrangements reminiscent of the ’80s, Mariah breaks free from the curse of retro-style music that she tried to emulate in past albums, a.k.a. Glitter. This time it works, thanks mostly to Mimi’s able voice and those tingling high notes.
The mood of the album changes from hip-hop (“One and Only”) to R&B (“Circles”) encompassing an artist who has clung to both genres at different times. In Emancipation, Mariah freely welcomes the notion that she can do it at the same time. “Only” showcases her singing talent, wrapping her vocal cords around the fast and glossy rhythm that tells the tale of a cheating boyfriend and his fed-up girl. A guest performance from Twista adds to the experience as Mariah has learned that she should never take a backseat and appear as a guest vocalist on her own record.
The presence of the ’70s is more than apparent in “Circles,” complete with backup vocals similar to the Pips, who were one of Gladys Knight’s most powerful weapons. The repetitive line “Running around in circles over you” followed by the woeful stylings of Mimi singing “Oh boy my world has changed/ And I don’t think I can make it without you/ Nothing’s the same.”
Mimi includes other lovesick songs, some about being confused (“Stay the Night”), some about missing exes (“Mine Again”) and some about being intimate with that special someone (“Joyride.”) All feature a refreshed diva who isn’t afraid to belt out the hard notes. It’s in these songs that Mimi is truly emancipated. She refuses to hold back, but instead of sounding like they’re being over-sung, each of these tracks remind audiences that Mariah’s biggest asset, her voice, is still intact and working at 110 percent.
A special note should be paid to “Your Girl,” the CD’s shortest track. The chorus consists of the lyrics: “I’m gonna make you want to/Get with me tonight/I’m gonna put those naughty/Thoughts into your mind/I’m gonna show you clearly/I can rock your world/You’re gonna know for sure/That I should be your girl.”
It’s the delivery of the song that makes this one of Mariah’s best. Instead of using her velvet pipes to bring the chorus together, Mimi enunciates each word, almost as if she were doing articulation exercises. The steady, pumping flow this produces creates an atmosphere of cockiness tinged with an air of desperation that enhances the meaning of the lyrics.
The Emancipation of Mimi does what it promises. It presents Mimi at her best. Perhaps one of the most powerful vocalists of our time, Mariah refuses to hold back on the notes. Instead, she allows The Voice to take over and complement rather than detract from the album’s 14 tracks. Critics have long condemned her for a lack of control of her instrument, but in Emancipation Miss Carey demonstrates authority over her voice ranging from powerhouse crescendos to breathy whispers to glass shattering high notes.
As if in response to her critics, she hits those notes with force. Every time, it feels like she is lifting her middle finger to those who accused her of losing her voice.
Just as her past albums, Emancipation features songs written by Mariah, except this time each song belongs with the exception of “To the Floor.” There’s no filler here, just Mariah doing what she does best-singing her heart out.
This time she doesn’t care what the naysayers think. And it’s in this aspect that Mimi is truly free.
****1/2 of *****