Reviews (page 5 of 8)
I thought I would simply have no interest in this and I was correct. 2 stars or D.
blugh
So many ballads. Like every song. She has a nice voice, but uses too many gimmicks too often. Honey is pretty good. But the slow jams get repetitive.
Bryjaði svakalega leiðinlega fannst mér en svo vann þetta töluvert á. Röddin er misskemmtileg en oft flott. Beautiful ones útgáfan er flott karaoke, hin lögin eru oft þægilega soulkennd og ekki leiðinleg þegar betur er að gáð. Jájá, þristur simpatico.
Boring, repetitive mush that left very little impression
It was ok but doesn't have any of her banngers on it which was a shame
Pop by numbers
Kind of like eating an entire bowl of sugar
Solid album. Nostalgic. The Roof is a great song.
Its an OK album. Good production all songs are sinilar but all good as her voice is absolutely pristine. Too popish for me find it a bit repetitive. Still great to hear her sing. Great love songs
I’m not usually into this sort of virtuosic singing style, but the vocals combined with the great mixing and production make this one not terrible. Favorite Track: Breakdown
One of the most talented voices in pop music history, with albums full of songs that don’t really shift dynamic from one to the next.
2.5 In a better world Mariah would be Balkan
Yea I kinda agree with the other reviews on this one. Mariah has an undeniably incredible voice but she doesn't really have many interesting songs to utilize it. Anyways this is a solid pop album. Favorite track: Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)
Hmmmmm. Ok, but dated and so American.
Ver ver ver ver buiten mijn comfortzone. Ik dacht zelfs dat Mariah Carey een soort van one christmashit wonder was ofzo, maar blijkbaar heeft ze dus ook andere muziek. Is het mijn ding? Nee. Heb ik het kunnen uitluisteren? Ja, met wat moeite. 2.1
Great voice, not that inspiring or doing much for me. Good example of something I wouldn't go out of the way to hear but represents part of where music goes. Makes sense to be on the list but don't need a lot of this.
Undeniably has a unique voice. The music on this album is so mediocre that her voice alone cannot carry it. Very repetitive.
3.5/5
Other than the title track, every other song on this album sounds the same. Her singing is so incredible, I can't give it a one star. Favorite Track: "Butterfly".
Believe it or not, there was a time where Mariah Carey was known for more than that one Christmas Song and busting out of an ice cube in Fortnite. I remember her being really well known before that, and yet I was surprised to not recognise anything from this album. I’ll be completely honest in saying that this was never really my scene, so it doesn’t exactly come with any nostalgia. as a pop album, I can definitely appreciate that Mariah has a great singing voice, but I personally don’t really find anything else interesting here. After thinking, “Her voice is pretty rad!” then you’ve pretty much got nothing else to find exciting on the album. It ended up being a bit of a bore towards the end for me.
Very good but not my thing
Aika perus rnb poppia. Herkkää ja tunteellista. Meinas kyllä käydä vähän pitkästyttäväksi. Onko The Roof kappaleessa sama piano sample kuin Mobb Deepin Shock Onessa? Itseasiassa kappale taitaakin samplata Shock Onesia kun kuulen sen synan kanssa. Parhaat: The Roof ainoa hyvä, muuten niin tasapaksua
Extraordinary voice, ordinary R&B songs. I feel that her debut album would have been more appropriate to be on this 1001 list than "Butterfly." I didn't dislike it, but after about 25 minutes, I was wondering when this was going to be over. An hour of Mariah Carey who wanted to release an quasi-Hip-Hop album isn't what I signed on for, yet here I am, listening to 57 minute album that's just OK.
This was ok. As always, she has a fantastic voice, but the music became less and less interesting after the 20min mark.
To preface, I love Mariah Carey. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is one of my favorite songs and yes I heard it a million times working retail. Yes Mariah often over sings, to the point of bringing the song down, but I still love it. Each song here is gold and even the Prince cover is not bad, but makes me wish I was just listening to the original. The Butterfly reprise is amazing, and the album as a whole is perfectly produced. It sounds great
Whingy, whiny, scrawny bloody voice
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Finally. Mariah is my all-time favorite singer. If I could give this album 100 stars, I would. I would certainly appreciate more of the artists like Mariah I actually listen to, and way less garbage that you've been showing. I don't listen to garbage at all. I am extremely picky about my music.
I will never understand the appeal of music like this. I was incredibly bored.
There's no doubt that she has a great voice, but I really just cannot stand her music. LOL
It's fine?
Gehauche ist unerträglich
I love an occasional Mariah song and I have a huge respect for her abilities as a vocalist, but I can't think of anything more exhausting than listening to her moaning and whining for almost an hour. It certainly doesn't help that the album sounds extremely dated (like the worst stuff that came out of the 90s) and the songs are just... boring. You can't save a track with an endless amount of vocal runs, it just doesn't work like that. The only thing I genuinely liked in there was My all. 2 stars simply because I can't give the lowest score to such an incredible vocalist.
All popular music from this time period sounds like shit. It’s the production and instrumentation. It just sounds dated and awful. Voice is generally nice
спасибо нет (рнб + голос её неприятный + п дидди продакшнз представляет)
I really don't like the vocal style. Hit a note, for pity's sake, don't wobble all around it. The first track is soporific. Second track... more wobbling. Is this her trademark sound? Track 2 also makes me inclined to nod off. Sounds very like Michael Jackson; only he had a better voice. Track 3... ugh... more of the same. This is turning into a "cure for insomnia" album and I've only just woken up. Need coffee. Track 4. I have coffee. It isn't helping. Music to snooze to. 1/5.
3.5 my gut says that Carey abandoned more creative song writing in exchange for hip-hop production beats. And yes, rap can be incredibly creative (Thank you Dr. Octagon) But when you give Puffy the reins, you're getting production, not words. Honey- love this song, even with Puffy acting the fool in the background Butterfly- standard Ballad about letting something go and hoping it returns My All The Roof (Back in Time)-Mariah's amazing voice over a dark hip hop beat Fourth of July Breakdown Baby doll- Carey is almost like a jazz artist- even if you don't know the words, her voice is a beautiful instrument Close My Eyes Whenever You Call- the intro is wildly unnecessary, it Mars a pretty good song. Fly Away The Beautiful Ones- Dru Hill still sucks, but the Prince feel on this song is incredible Outside Honey (Radio Mix) Honey (Def Club Mix) Mi Todo
I was not looking forward to this at all and yet the first track has my attention. This may be enjoyable after all. I’m enjoy the performances in the record. Sound wise it’s so 90s. And that not bad. I feel like this sound set a blueprint. Unfortunately that blueprint was left outside for birds to poop on and no one can read it now. But the production here is great.
It's Mariah Carey, of course I'm giving it two stars. I find virtually no enjoyment in her yodelling.
what a voice to waste on mediocrity whistle tones be banging tho
Booooorrrrringggg. There is only so much a 5 octave voice can do with mediocre songs.
One can find the cooing pretty sexy without thinking too much of this overall – which is just too much – oversung, overproduced and overlayered, which collectively would point to her massive overexposure. Some of the singing is more like vocalese filligree anyway than actual singing. To paraphrase the editors, "the excessive warbling very much puts one off." There are some moments of songbird-y sweetness – the opener is good, and "Fourth of July" sneaks up softly and to pretty pleasant effect. The Prince cover does little to elevate an underrated song. At least it's mostly mellow and on the quieter side. Interesting to listen to the presaging of hip-hop's taking over of everything – this would be an early example and seems almost a template for how rap has infiltrated even country music in recent years.
Peak 90s R&B album produced by rap producers era. Some Q-Tip, Mobb Deep, Bad Boy, etc. Production is good, lots of hits. Features by Bone, Thugs. Despite all this, I can sometimes stomach Mariah, but just like honey, a spoonful is usually easier to take than a whole jar. A full Mariah album is the jar. Aside from the fact that I would never listen to these kind of diva balladeer albums, the problem for is that while there are a few decent upbeat dance tracks that most would recognize, most of the rest of the album is vein-cutting whiney schlock. It's just not consistent. But then again, who am I. I'm clearly not the market for this stuff.
Good for Mariah, taking charge of her music. And she has an amazing voice. But most of the songs are forgettable.
I love boring 57 minute albums.
🤡 1.5
It's not easy to sing like Mariah Carey does, but damn—I don't like it! Too much melisma attached to the breathiest whine I've ever heard. The best thing about this album is the unexpected Prince cover.
It sounds really good, but these songs really just do nothing for me. Really homogeneous listen. Not for me at all.
Totally and completely acceptable R&B/pop. Some of the disco influences on these songs were really fun.
Hated.
This album is well produced, and Mariah Carey has a very impressive voice. But the genre just does nothing for me. I was so bored listening to this album. I honestly barely remember anything about it because almost every track sounded the exact same, and all of them felt very dull, very quickly.
I understand that Mariah Carey is on the list, but I don’t understand why they didn’t include the Ken Lee-album, which is far superior. This was a horrible listen
no thank you mariah if thats even your real name
Utterly awful. Not a single redeeming feature.
wtf this isnt christmas music
Great voice but I can't get into her music. Just not for me
Muy aburrido, la verdad. Es decir ella puede cantar, eso esta claro.
It´s like opening a fancy gift and only to find a pair of socks.
No sé puede dudar que tiene una grandiosa voz, pero para mí, escuchas una canción y parece que ya oíste todo su repertorio. Voz y música, fabulosa, pero, sigue siendo lo mismo
2.5?
I'm annoyed to death by Carey's Christmas song. It feels refreshing to listen to her other work. The songs are lacking in variety. But Carey's singing makes it better. Unfortunately, two songs are produced by P. Diddy. 3 stars for "Butterfly".
Favourite songs: - Honey - Butterfly
Boring and uninspired music combined with boring and ok vocals - not for me
Ooohhhhh-ooooohh eeeeeeee, AAAHHHHHHHH Woooo I- ahhhh Yeah yeaaaaahh ooh ToooooOoOOooOo maany~ vo- aah- ahh- oweeeels Mmmhmmmmm O-oooooooooo AAAAE-A-A-I-A-U-
meh, I dont like this
Not my type of music
Before I start listening .... "oh fuck, not the warbler"! She likes a warble, I wasn't wrong, but this may not be the most 'warbly' she's ever been. Track 1 is decent. After that it gets very repetitive, very quickly. There are a few tracks of hers I like, but sadly, the 9.5 tracks that I made it through on this album weren't any of them. I had to switch off after 9.5 tracks as I was losing the will to live.
This is the Target of Pop albums. It's trying to be classier than Walmart, but only stupid people are getting tricked by the attempt. This was a really hard hour of listening.
where is the album
Har hørt halve førstesangen, kan allerede si med ganske stor sikkerhet at detta ikkje e nåke for meg
Simply not for me. 1/10
Oh boy. I loved this in 9th grade and was afraid it would not hold up. My fears were well-founded. This was rough.
Ugh not my thing but I respected it
Not even the cover could save this album. Wife likes Mariah Carey (or used to) and she said "why did they pick one of her worst albums?" I guess the only redeeming factor was that it was not her Christmas song because we here that way too much.
I only listened to about half and I unfortunately heard enough. I’m so sorry Mariah I wanted to like it so bad but there was absolutely nothing about this album that grabbed me.
Definitely boring. But her voice is great and there are some super fun pop tunes in here and she covers an album cut from Purple Rain so triple dub
I’ll always have a small attachment to 90s R&B, I don’t know why. I think it was just being a kid and hearing this stuff on the radio and being subject to the overt emotionality of it. I still respond to it, even though it’s not anything I really ever seek out. This album was like the last one, didn’t blow me away, but went down smooth.
Ugh.
Listening to Mariah sing is like listening to Steve Vai play guitar for me. I don’t always care for the overall compositions, but I can not stop listening because she’s is so freaking talented. The tone and flexibility across registers is so mesmerizing. She can sing anything and I’d want to listen.
a little repetitive in its overall sound at times, but still moderately enjoyable
Songs aren’t great here
2.8 She's got a beautiful voice but my god aren't these songs dull. Saved down the Shook Ones one, but the rest could have just blended into one. Probably nice played at very low volumes in a waiting room somewhere, but other than that I don't see why anyone would want to hear this before they died.
meh!
Not my favorite style of music but a couple good tunes. More importantly, her voice is absolutely insane. Wish I fit her style more because I love listening to her sing!
The talent is undeniable. Just not my kinda jam.
I know she can sing, but there's a lot of sameness to this album.
She's amazing, an incredibly proficient singer, but I'm just not into it
Kinda repetitive and not my style of music but her voice is one of a kind
ehhhhhhh
I have never been a fan of her music and this album does nothing to change that
Oh Christ, it’s Mariah Carey time. Listen, there are only two things that are relevant to me regarding Mariah Carey; the song “Always Be My Baby” which I think is really neat and her tyrannical rule of the radio airwaves in December. Past that, I don’t really care about her music, so I pretty much went in blind. I think are a few legitimately great songs on this album. I like the title track and Whenever You Call has some serious power. But oh my god, the rest is straight up nothing. Most of the songs don’t stick as she basically makes noises for most of the songs. Like I get it, you’re talented. Apply it to the songs by singing and not flexing. It’s really just a bad mix of r&b and some hip-hop that just ends up making some bland 90’s music. A whole hour of it too. Honestly, this is just a big case of wasted potential. I don’t know if Mariah Carey has anymore albums on this project (whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you), but if there are, I hope they are better than this. Favorite track: Whenever You Call Other hits: Butterfly, Breakdown, Outside
Nope. I’m sorry. I couldn’t get to the end. Nobody should have this inflicted on them.
Great album. Carey has such a great voice. peak mariah carey
I like 2 Mariah carey songs, and neither of them are on this album. It wasn't an offensively bad album, but I found it pretty boring. 2 stars.
I really wanted to think more of this album. I really did, honestly. I mean, we all know her as the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" lady, right? That's basically her entire legacy these days: having this one song get incredibly overplayed starting the day after Halloween. It's a meme, pretty much, how consistently it tops the Hot 100 during the holidays. And I won't lie, I'm among the many, many people who've come to loathe the song for that exact overexposure. I'm not a unique story, I'm aware. But at the same time, y'know, I'm not mean. I ain't no jerk. I wanted to believe that there was more to her music than one Christmas song. There **had** to be, y'know? I'm pretty sure that song might not have become as omnipresent as it had if it wasn't for whatever came before. So, like, if you take **that one song** out of her discography and take a look at some of the other music she used to be famous for, what do you got? What was even her appeal way back when? Looking back on this stuff from 2025... If I may quote ULTIMA IX: ASCENSION: "I'm not entirely sure." I mean, yeah, OK, this is pop R&B, and Mariah has a great voice. At a base level it'd be generally inoffensive enough with enough chops to be a hit with a mainstream audience. In fact, I know it was a hit because its, like, fifth single, "My All", was number one with a bullet on the Hot 100 the week I was born. Given the unearned importance I place around my birthday, that does mean I do have something of a connection with this song... Which really makes me wish a better song had been number one. Let me not beat around the bush: this is a pretty uninteresting listen. Every song seems to go the exact same way: a lightly lush instrumental that Mariah sings over in a high coo. At some point during every song, and it always feels very early on, it seems like they just run out of verses and resort to having the backing vocals endlessly repeat the chorus while Mariah freestyles. Honestly, it feels like the backing vocals sing more actual words than Mariah does. Listening back to "My All", I swear it's mostly comprised of vocal runs of gibberish meant to fill space until they could think up any actual words, but they never did or just forgot to. The whole album just **crawls** along at the same slow tempo — which, sure, probably makes for great wallpaper for cuddling. That's completely valid. But actually tryna listen to it, it all blends together at a certain point. Nothing terribly interesting happens besides the occasional out-of-place record scratch, or whenever a guest artist shows up to provide a different voice to listen to. 'Coz the thing is, I'd think a lot of these songs were very pretty if this album otherwise had any damn **variety**. By the time "Fly Away" comes around with its thumping dance beat, it's kind of too late in my eyes, and there's still two songs left after it, including a seven minute Prince cover. (Speaking of different voices, by the way, it's frustrating that fuckin' Diddy was a producer on this album. I really thought I wouldn't hafta think about him again after Biggie's album. But at the same time, it's kind of funny to hear him on the first track pull the same shit he did all over Biggie's: mumbling ad libs all over the song so he can claim that he was there. Is that just his trademark? Goodness.) And let me briefly talk about that Prince cover, by the way. Seven minutes? Seven minutes. For what? A cover that feels just a hair too slower than the original, that ends up missing all of the intensity that the original had? It just sounds so standard — like, ah, that's what this song would've sounded like if Prince didn't wanna add any pathos. Seriously, you do not understand how much this song misses when you don't forcefully deliver "DO YOU HIM? OR DO YOU WANT ME? 'COZ I WANT YOU" or just start screaming at the end. And I get, too, that comparing a cover of a Prince song to the original is a losing battle — nothing compares 2 him, after all — but... Gawd, it just makes me wish my group could have gotten PURPLE RAIN, so we could have gotten some actually interesting R&B mixed in with some actual **variety**. Honestly, I'm disappointed I didn't end up liking this album too much. As I keep emphasizing, Mariah's got the vocal chops, and, I mean, I **do** wanna like her. I feel like I've heard enough individual songs from her that I should (shout out to the one that randomly has Ol' Dirty Bastard; that one's great). And maybe that's just the problem here. Maybe if I took a handful of these songs in isolation, I'd've liked them a lot more. Like, that synth line on the closer is such my shit, you don't even know. I should have loved the song for that synth alone. But in context of the whole album, nearly an **hour** of music — well, I still did like that song, but I found it so much harder to care than I would have otherwise. So, believe me, it pains me to give this album a 2. When I saw this album pop up, I was actually pretty excited for it. "It's her magnum opus, after all! It's gonna be great to kick back with all this beautiful R&B." But... Eh, I can't be anything but honest about my opinions. It was generally just too dull for me to get much out of it. Well, I suppose it's back to not thinking about Mariah 'til she defrosts on November 1st. And it's not like I'll be actively trying to listen then...
This is booooring. 2.5 bumped down to 2.
I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4, but I was definitely at a 5 for a while, and it could easily go back up someday. A while back, I looked at the list – I imagine most people tend to, especially when they’re almost 400 albums in & pretty deeply entrenched & committed to finishing the list. I did a little CTRL+F, and I looked for Mariah Carey, because I kinda figured she’d have to have one, and I fully expected it to be Daydream. Instead, it was this album, and that’s stuck with me – Daydream is the one with Fantasy, One Sweet Day, Always Be My Baby, and some of the other massive hits, and it’s the one that I would think of when noting her presence as one of the biggest artists of the 1990s. Mariah herself has apparently called THIS album her magnum opus, which surprises me. The only track I knew off of this album was the title track, Butterfly, which is a seminal 90s ballad as far as I’m concerned. Past that, though… nobody really talks about the other singles (or tracks) on this album. They don’t really come up in “best of” conversations, and even now, after listening, I’m still a bit baffled about why Daydream wasn’t the pick here. Granted, I’m only baffled because I’m a sucker for pure pop, and this is not quite pure pop – this is pop with far more of an R&B/hip-hop blend, and when it hits, it REALLY fucking hits. There are some great tracks on this album, and I can’t say I ever really disliked any of them. It hits 12 for 12 in terms of like, enjoyability & easy listening, which is what I would expect from a Mariah Carey album. On that count, this album was probably always bound to get at least a 4 from me. However, I do think this suffers from not feeling as timeless as it could be – this production is heavily stuck in 1997, and while it might work for something seminal like Jagged Little Pill, it doesn’t quite work as well here when Mariah just has other songs that actively ARE timeless. That lack of “timelessness” links up to her vocals as well – besides Butterfly (which is again, all-timer as far as I’m concerned) and a few other tracks, I find her to be a bit… “breathy” on this album. Granted, who the fuck am I to critique Mariah Carey’s vocals, but I only say she’s “breathy” in the sense that so many of the choruses & bridges, which have great lyrics, tend to be buried by the production, instrumentals, and her own backing vocals – just enough to make her main vocals, normally a bit more potent & present in the mix on her biggest hits, feel a little lost in the shuffle, and it stops them from having the same impact that they could. The other thing knocking this album down for me is in how many of the tracks here are indeed big bombastic 4 to 5 minute long Celine Dion-esque ballads – Walter Afanasieff, one of the producers of this album, may as well be the Jack Antonoff of the 80s & 90s. Just look at the guy’s work. He is immensely prolific for Mariah’s career, and some of my favorite songs ever by her are steeped in his production. However, I do think Walter sort of stumbles here – I think he let Mariah get a bit self-indulgent around the middle of the album, where so, so many of the songs settle into a “first or second minute is the whole track” sort of phase that slowly becomes a bit tiring to listen to, no matter how great Mariah’s vocals are on those tracks. The same thing rings true with the Prince cover – it’s a great cover, but it’s an absolute momentum stopper on the album for me, because it’s just so tonally different from what surrounds it, and at 7 minutes, it really sucks the air out of the room, and stops “Outside” from truly hitting as the great album closer that it is. All of that said, it’s still Mariah Carey in the 90s, and I’m still a sucker for a lot of this album’s quirks, which is why I’m still at a 4.5 bumped down to a 4 – for as much as I ripped into this album hitting a “most of the tracks feel kinda similar” point, there’s something about them in the moment, where you’re just absolutely stuck in a zen state, mesmerized for a while about how someone can sound THIS goddamn good, with some pretty strong lyrics, where none of those complaints I had truly matter. It’s only when this album escapes that zen state (usually mid-track) where it starts to fall apart a bit, but I was in the zen state for most of the tracks for a long, long while there. I can hear every other female pop star of the mid to late 90s throughout this album, but there’s a few obvious influences in particular – “Fourth of July” feels a lot like a Janet Jackson track, and “Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)” is remarkably similar to “Together Again”, even though Janet’s album came out after this one. There’s a bit of Celine Dion, obviously, but I’m surprised at how much of this album feels like Whitney Houston’s late 90s / early 2000s stuff; “Breakdown”, “Baby Doll” & “Close My Eyes” in particular struck me as very Whitney-esque, which makes it even more criminal she doesn’t have a damn album on this list. Truly insane to me. Realistically, I’ve almost talked myself back up into a 5, but trust me; I can understand why people might give this a 3, a 2, or even a 1. It’s a bit self-indulgent at times, Mariah’s not as captivating as she could be, and its production, for as good as I think it is, feels remarkably dated 28 years later, which sticks out compared to her bigger hits. Honestly, though, there’s not a single bad individual track here as far as I’m concerned, just an album experience that collapses a bit under its own weight and ambition. It is a style & and a time period that I’m just an absolute sucker for – this is directly right at that 4.5 line for me, but this does have enough little flaws that build up over time to the point where I have to bump it down to a 4 on a first listen, but if it ever clicks better on another day, I’m shooting straight up to a 5. I totally recommend it regardless -- it is unabashedly my style, and I won't apologize for that. It still probably should’ve been Daydream, though. (P.S., shoutout to the Mobb Deep sample on "The Roof". Sick, sick sample flip.)
Mariah as expected sounds great, she has a phenomenal voice but unfortunately most of this album is pretty bland. There’s nothing exceptional about it except her voice which is being wasted on these tracks that all sound the same.
Yeah, I don't know. I like some of the Mariah songs, but this album is not what I had hoped for. It's an average job of trying to convey some actual personality and emotion. I believe Mariah is an incredibly talented vocalist and makes some great music - but this album isn't some of her best, I have to say. It's try hard and only get worse and it goes on. And yet - I found myself bopping my head up and down every so often. Damn you Mariah, damn you R&B.
When Mariah sings, and I mean sings, then she has a beautiful voice...when she moans (which she does a lot on this album) it's a kind of singing that I don't like..album has some good songs, but too much soft R&B/Pop which was popular in the late 90's...for me a bit dated...but liked the album better than my expectations were...
Honey is a banger but nothing else quite did it for me.
A masterclass in 90s R&B with 90s hip hop influence. She even got Dru Hill and Krayzie Bone to feature on this record - so dope. It's interesting hearing the vocal harmonies she used and how closely they resemble those of other R&B artist's harmonies of this era, namely Boyz II Men comes to mind. Of course, her voice is absolutely beautiful and is forever timeless, especially thanks to the abhorrent holiday that is Christmas.
No thanks, this kind of vocal style where she's throwing it all over the place isn't impressive to me, it's just annoying. The songs are slow and uninteresting too. Won't give it a 1 because it's not offensively bad or anything, just boring as hell.
I hate this kind of music.
An obviously talented singer, just not my cup of tea music style. Feels a bit dated now.
My favorite part of mariahs singing is in her mid range where there's some real power in her voice. There's not a whole lot of it here. I understand she's stretching her style range here but i feel like you have jimi Hendrix on guitar and he's playing rhythm. She stays in the higher head voice throughout most of this and it gets a little grating, but there is no denying her talent. Singer and songwriter.
I love Mariah Carey. I am biased. This is not a perfect album though a few songs are a miss but overall still great
It was fine. I jammed to a few songs. I would have enjoyed more variety between the songs.
Wow this is a 90s RnB time capsule. Really transports you to 97. The track 'The Roof' heavily uses a sample from Mobb Deeps Shook Ones, which I find interesting, but I guess Mariah has always been rap adjacent.
Decent album
Wouldn’t listen to again all the way through, but would always listen to the bangers; nostalgic but not Mariah’s best; favorites: honey, butterfly, breakdown might be my favorite Mariah song of all time
4!
I never have really listened to mariah carey but her music is really beautiful. Good R&B/ hip hop / pop blends. Her voice is impeccable. Christmas will always be both better/ruined because of her one song but she's a solid artist otherwise.
Never been much of a fan of vocalists warbling non-stop arpeggios, as opposed to enhancing the song tastefully… unfortunately Mariah is one of the poster children of these show-off singers. The songs themselves blended together with no standouts, album was altogether too long without enough variety. Not unlistenable, but not very pleasurable listening for me
I really don't want to listen to this. It was what I thought: syrupy 1990s R&B-tinged pop music. There are a couple decent songs, but it's so overproduced it's hard to listen to. constant layered vocals, or someone who sounds like Diddy mumbling about something, or something that sounds like birds twittering for some godforsaken reason.
Always loved Mariah Carey. She has some real hits over the years but other than Honey this fell flat for me.
I liked Butterfly. She has a beautiful voice. She doesn't move me the way Dion Warwick or Whitney Houston does.
Nope.
I do not understand why anyone wants to make music like this. I won't call it bad. I've no doubt that everyone involved is extremely talented. And I suppose they made a bunch of money so perhaps that's enough. But neither the music nor the lyrics have anything interesting to say and the listening experience is the very definition of "meh".
Not my cup of tea
Was going to give this a 4/5 based on the first half (despite not being thrilled to listen to it when it came up. Mariah is very much not in my wheelhouse as far as artists go, and I'm not too well versed in R&B to be able to accurately rate it), but the second half hit, and while not bad, the songs tended to drag a bit and could have used some cutting down. No reason for The Beautiful Ones to be 7 mins long. Lots of stuff getting close to 5 mins too. The more hip-hop, darker vibe songs (The Roof) are the better tracks. The more stereotypical, 90's slow ballad R&B songs are the more forgettable ones IMO. Honey also, despite doing everything in its power to be as repetitive and annoying as possible also managed to be a standout. Definitely grew on me. Very much a song that sounds ahead of its time and not trapped in the 90's like a lot of the rest of the album. Surprising album to me. Better than I was expecting.
Not a Mariah fan. She has a few good songs but a little of her goes a long way. I find her voice very high and off putting.
в целом - норм. но такой жанр мне не очень нравится.
What a diva. Her voice will always be remembered with Christmas. Nevertheless, I would not listen to it again for fun.
nahhhhh
speaking as someone who loves pop, i think that even more so than other genres what you like is going to be heavily colored by the time you grew up in, and unfortunately i was 3 when this came out so i just hear it as some passable pop r&b
Very 90s and the production is sick. In did vibe to it even though it wasn't my think. This album is a 3 for me but a light 4 for it's mixing and sounding quality.
First listen. Ok I guess.
Two songs in and the mix sounds muddled. I increased the volume and solved that. The vocal theatrics are almost too much. IDK nothing's memorable. It's like muzak and Butterfly reprise is the best of it.
wat een zeemzoeterig gejank was me dat... hoe is dat in deze lijst geslopen? gelukkig genoeg emmers in buurt, want het was braken en schijten op hetzelfde moment
I came into this with an open mind, and did not enjoy it at all.
She really should stick to Christmas songs.
I never thought I'd be listening to something by Mariah, but like most of the 1001 albums challenge it really is making me consider music I never thought too hard about. This album plays into a lot of what I expect out of most R&B and pop stuff but I'm kinda glad it goes for more than just that, the way the album starts had me thinking it would be more typical to radio pop stuff but once The Roof hits it just shifts everything into such a cool sound, the way the album starts adding hip hop beats or soul instrumentals just really elevate the songs along with Mariah's obviously wonderful vocals. Something like the trip hop beats in The Roof or the chorus to Breakdown are absolutely killer, Fly Away is like the most ideal 90s house song the beat is absolutely fantastic I wish I was more down with the production and sound for Honey or Butterfly because this album would otherwise be my kind of 90s pop. Certainly a great time
Why sing one note when you can sing fifteen?
Mariah has pipes but an entire album is just a no go. The album is boring but I'm giving a 3 because she can sing
Mariah is a great vocalist, but there are so many unnecessary vocal runs in every song. Just very basic run of the mill R&B backing tracks as well.
The thing that strikes me the most about this album is how floaty and soft the vocals are. She has an incredible voice, but she’s not belting it out at a hundred decibels – it’s all kind of soft and breathy. Also, that she bloody loves a trill! Half of this album is “Oooo…oooOH…ooOOOooOOooOH!” It’s quite pleasant as a general background listen for about half an hour. As a piece of art it feels boring and empty. I don’t feel like I’m getting anything at all out of this. It’s not doing anything exciting or saying anything interesting. There’s a time and place for it, sure, and no doubt many people love this kind of thing, but it’s not for me.
It's not that bad, there just isn't much variation between the tracks. 2.5 rounded up
Oh boy another pop album of the CD era that is 20 minutes too long, just because they could. I strongly believe no pop album should be over 45 minutes unless you have an artistic point to make, or these are the strongest pop songs ever written. These are not the strongest pop songs ever written. I swear anytime something is described as "adult contemporary" what they really mean is "this is the most boring album ever and we have no other way of describing it that makes it sound good". Wow Mariah, you sure practiced your scales, now try to stick to one note and then write a memorable melody that will stick with the listener, because ever song sounds the same here. Mild tempo lofi r&b groove and then someone showing off all the scales they know. It doesn't really make for great music. Ok, so this isn't the worst album ever, it is "listenable" but tracks 2-12 are barely songs that never get start. Like for real is there a single chorus or bridge, it felt like every song just looped the verse for 5 minutes. I also started to get a headache by the end. How did you make a Prince song sound boring!!! High 1.
Not my thing at all
Why does the Christmas lady do other music? And why do I feel like I'm trapped in a 2000's mall Sephora?
I was so excited when this album popped up, as soon as Honey started I was elated, even though it wasnt the version with Mase and The Lox, but the album plummets hard after. Even the song with Krazy Bone couldnt grab me! She sounds great but the songs here dont reflect the talent.
Mariah has a nice voice and can hit those awful high notes but this album is overall pretty meh. If you like boring beats, record scratching and vocals so poorly layered you can’t understand any of it… you might love this album!
When this first came out I didn’t like the r and b direction it went in These days it has aged pretty well but is it REALLY one of the 1001 albums i need to hear
pretty shit
Go girl give us ✨️nothing✨️ I'm not a fan of Mariah's apart from her iconic Christmas song. She is undeniably talented but this album was such a snoozefest Someone get this girl some caffeine and belt out them notes like I know she can. Instead she just kinda yuuuuuhhuhuhhhuhh'd all over the place Wasn't as bad as I had expected tbh but it does lose a star due to the fact it was too damn long 2 ⭐️
No.
Hell yeah I am using a private spotify session for this one. Was never a Mariah fan, she has great voice, but not into the music that she is singing over. Looks good on the album cover.
Really not for me.
Carey's vocals rescue what would otherwise be a pretty bland album.
The album has its moments, but it feels a bit bloated. A few tracks truly stand out, like "Breakdown," "My All," and "Butterfly," which are undeniable highlights. If the tracklist were trimmed down, the album could have been exceptional. As it stands, it’s just okay. Also, "The Roof" feels like a missed opportunity; it features an incredible Mobb Deep sample, but the instrumental doesn’t quite live up to its potential.
Not really my type of music at all.
Undoubtedly a talented singer but this can come to the detriment of the songs. The Roof is decent but there aren't any other standout tracks for me. Not bad but not good. Kind of just blends into the background.
Quite lovely
I struggle a bit with these albums that are fine but they I don’t care about.
I almost swerved my fan boat off the side of the bayou when I saw this was the album. Simply can't have bigger whiplash from CCR. I did NOT like Diddy whispering "MC, I like that" the first 30 seconds of the album on "Honey". Good R&B, Hip-Hop track but an indulgent 5 minute song when there's no melodic, rhythmic change. "My All" is the best ballad and "The Roof" is by far the coolest song on the album. I guess it's hard to make something uncool when you use the Shook Ones sample but it's awesome how they fade into it and Mariah just lets it rip. I want to have a hotter take but ultimately...Mariah is a very good singer, a couple of these songs are good, it is well produced but not anything particularly special.
Puffy Daddy said it… “Mariah, you’re on fi-re!” My brain may be rotten from spending a week in Vegas but I genuinely enjoyed this. I’ve always had a strong distaste for MC and the over singing, could be that Christmas song, but I was really taken with her voice and her ability to use it as an instrument here. I can’t say I’ve listened to a lot of music like this, so there may be others like this, but her ability is awesome. The instrumentation sounds cheap and manufactured to me but I think this is the just the style of 90’s R&B. Was very surprised to hear the Mobb Deep Shook Ones sample (who sampled Herbie Hancock for that song) but enjoyed that as well as the other features. The Roof, Breakdown and Fly Away (reprise) stood out. I really wanna go 4 but gonna play it safe. Might get into divas.
Not for me. Nice pic tho
Not the album for me. I did stomach every song though All of my disinterest aside, I did like the bone thugs features. Mariah is undoubtedly a great singer. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe why shes great, but dog gonnit, shes got pipes. Im not super into this kind of r&b
I know Mariah has talent but riffing every note gets old really quickly and it feels like that talent is mostly wasted across her repertoire. She’s like the EVH of R&B vocals - just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I had to take a break after each song to listen to something else more palatable. Throw in a star for Bone Thugs and Sisqo.
There's no reason for Butterfly to be on this list, it has none of the songs she did that anyone likes or cares about, it wastes her voice on some ridiculous notion of reinvention trying to capitalise on the late 90s sounds, it's just so meh. 2.
Why? Saccharine, middle of the road 90s pop music without even the excuse of having a mega hit on it. 2/5.
Can't stand her voice
Poppy and inoffensive, but not interesting. But her ability to sing was a nice change from Sleater-Kinney's caterwauling.
song with bone thugs rules tho
Been a while since I’ve quoted my wife’s reactions here, so I’ll throw in a review-in-progress from the car: “This sounds like H&M music. Who would go to see this in concert?” I would buy a reasonably-priced T-shirt to this album. Clearly a painstakingly-machined exemplar of its genre, I applaud Carey’s vocal aerobatics while finding the music vapid.
Once again, review deleted.. Something something waa-aaa-ah-ey-eyey-eye-aa-lll paper music to me but pleasant enough. Who chooses to listen to this?
Sensual feeling, with her amazing voice jumping all around
Just another one of the many artists who I would have never guessed would one day make an appearance. Interestingly enough, Mariah Carey has managed to cement herself as a one-hit wonder in maybe the best way possible that is most beneficial to her career. She makes millions off of her iconic Christmas song, but I couldn’t name one other hit from her by name without hearing it first. So she’s been around a while. But her relevance also relies on the existence and seasonal popularity of one song. Like I said, have never heard anything else, and never would have sought it out on my own until today. Before we get into the general positives, I’d like to get my one gripe with this. And it’s more so a gripe with the era as a whole. Why was the R&B trend of the late 90s and into 2000s for every artist to release an album that’s nearly an hour long. I have a hard time getting into records that long, even from my favorite artists. And I wouldn’t say that Mariah does enough from song to song to justify that length. Now, as everyone knows, the woman has a wonderful voice. And I was genuinely surprised at how much influence there is on here from hip-hop. This seems to mark the transitional phase in her career where hip-hop took more of a precedence in the music and her celebrity persona began to shift. I mean, you’ve got production from Puff Daddy and Q-Tip on the opening song, two members of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on another, and they even sample Shook Ones, Pt. II for the The Roof. That sample is maybe a little more on the nose than I’m generally a fan of, but it’s not terrible. There are a select few highlights here and there, but this just isn’t the kind of music I listen to a lot, so much of it sounds very stale to my ears. Rating: 6/10
Boring
With this album, Mariah Carey, cointinued her move away from Pop into R&B / Hip-Hop. Well produced, but perhaps overproduced? Uninspiring.
Voice warbling comparable to guitar noodling wankery. Carey has a great voice, but the songs need to be good to carry it
Just makes me think of Junior High. Not something I ever listened to on my own, but ended up hearing it plenty somehow. Still no interest in it now.
The voice is timeless, but some of the songs and sound effects are a bit dated. The Bone Thugs feature is a great change up.
Does she have a great voice? Yes. Some fun songs? For sure. My cup of tea? Not really. Rating low, not out of hate, but because it's not my style (and too long)
A former guilty pleasure of mine. Not as good as Daydream. Even in the '90s I disliked Puff Daddy and his mumbles and grunts add nothing to Honey.
I really did try to go into this with an open mind, and seperate Mariah from the one song we all know and hate her for. But my God I still couldn't stand every minute of this. One of the most pointlessly long and boring albums I have ever listened to.
Astonishing Voice but this album is just to safe. Not risking anything only one little hip hop sample and the same on one of the expanded edition songs. Lyrics, themes and everything felt too safe and not really interesting on album length. still few great songs. 3.0/5.0
Why do modern vocalists never hold the tune, they always seem to feel they need "twiddly bits" in their voice and I don't like it. Only track I liked was 'Close My Eyes', all the rest were either too hip-hop for me, had too many production tweaks, had too much voice twiddles, or bits of all 3! No doubt she has a fine voice but let it reflect the music and stop all this showing off.
Really annoying vocal style. Does she have to hold notes lite that every time.. She rips the souls out of the songs. Expensive sounding production. A struggle to get though. Not good.
Too sweet, did love the use of the Shook Ones sample. Great voice though, just not for me.
1. Mariah Carey is s gifted and skilled singer and absolutely deserves to be famous. 2. I will never listen to this album again.
I mean, it's Mariah. It been in the public space for so long it makes me feel like I'm wandering a mall listening. That isn't exactly a bad thing.
Meh. Of course she has a great voice but...
Nope! Not even going to listen. Wish I could give this one less star
Sorry Kevin. It's just forgettable pop music to me.
Inoffensive, but almost offensively so.
I once told a good friend, when she gave me a Carey CD for Christmas, “I hate this bitch”. Enough said.
Musically a good album, she has a great voice. Not my kind of music but still good.
Her voice is obviously great, but this album wasn’t for me. Too slow, which is her style, just not my favorite. 2/5 Won’t listen again
Iconic but apparently very forgettable. I didn’t recognise either of the two lead singles then quickly lost interest. Too jiggy for me.
Offensively bland with no redeeming features. I did not need to hear this before I died.
Boring
I took me listening to this album start to finish to realise how much I actually hate Mariah Carey as an artiste, and how basically every song sounds the same. Probably because she treats every song as a way to flex her vocal range by just doing needless runs and whistling notes. Gave me a migraine. 2/5
It's a little more mellow than I prefer my Mariah, but it's hard not to involuntarily fall into the laid back groove.
Not unpleasant, and I can see how some R&B fans might like this, but it's not for me. Every track sounds exactly the same. Mariah doesn't really sing songs so much as just moan scales. 2⭐️
A pretty good album with a very talented vocalist at the helm. However, I'm glad we've moved on from the style of "slow ballad with twinkly piano and a synthesizer in the background while a female vocalist wanders around their vocal range occasionally saying words" that you hear a lot of on this album and others of the same era. I would have liked to hear a little more flexing from Mariah Carey on this album. As is, I was most impressed by the Butterfly track.
Truly awful. Enough to put me off listening to music ever again.
I am not going to turn this review into a TED talk about the music industry. However, it is remarkable to me that Mariah Carey is obscured by so many other "pop" singers now-a-days who frankly can't reach her range. I don't know sometimes what happens to musicians and bands that are truly outstanding and fade into the distance. The collaborations on this album and the diversity of genre is refreshing. Well, at least it fits as a great example of an album that SHOULD be on a list of must hear albums.
The album is good, I miss that 90s sound of the beats and rhythm. What was not good was the cover of Prince’s The Beautiful Ones. Like if you’re going to do it, do it right? Otherwise why bother. Lacking emotion especially during the pivotal part.
Sounds very dated now
I always looked forward to seeing the Honey video on TRL
A lot of non-word mouth noises.
Sorry Mariah but this wasn’t for me
Didn’t hit like Rainbow. Made me want to go see if that album held up but B2B Mariah listens would be wild.
We get it, you can SING
Right out of the gate this is insipid pop industry garbage. Canned beats, fake instrumentation, and Mariah's signature melismatic singing style that she forces into every fucking song, just to hide the fact that she's actually NOT that talented. This is the epitome of everything I hate in music.
I tried to approach it objectively, fully knowing that this isn't the kind of music that I enjoy. But I just can't. Her vocal acrobatics got on my nerves after 1 minute, and it all sounds so samey. The ballads were especially excruciating. I don't want to hear another Mariah Carey album ever again.
She truly have a great voice, but the rest just falls flat. The album is also too long for what it has to offer.
Lame and superficial music made to hurt nobody that would dare to listen to a commercial radio station.
Overproduced and boring.
Look, I tried. I'm 3 songs in and I think that'll do. For someone with such an amazing voice, she somehow manages to convey no emotion. Weird.
Try To Listen To A Non-Christmas Album Without Thinking Of Christmas: Impossible Edition. It's got chimes. It's got Mariah Carey. It's got P Diddy. It sucks.
I was expecting not to care for this - but I was expecting Mariah Carey to at least deliver some impressive vocal performances. I don’t even think she delivers on that. It’s a horrible addition to this list.
More proof hat technical skill is possibly the least important component of great music
Never has a great voice done so little
Mariah has one of the great voices of her generation, but wow, this music is terrible. This came out around my senior year in high school. Everyone had a copy of this - it was mandatory listening then. I didn't like it then and it somehow got worse with time. Too bad Mariah never really had a crack at music that would have fit her vocal talent.
There is no Whitney Houston in this book, which is absolutely unforgiveable, as her debut album should be on the list. So, that's strike 1 against Butterfly. So if they insist on including an album by Mariah Carey in this book (which I am not opposed to) then I think maybe Daydream or Music Box would be the choice. That's strike 2. This album may best represent Mariah Carey but I disagree this is the peak of her career and a lot of it is very slow-paced. A lot of ballads and nothing on here is interesting enough to justify inclusion. That's strike 3. I would add another Mariah Carey album to the list over this one. The most upbeat songs on this album are essentially the same song, with one being a reprise of "Butterfly." It's not bad but there is a 7 minute song with Dru Hill. I have my limits.
Mariah's voice is undeniable, I don't think anyone would argue, but holy shit this material is enough to put a caffeinated toddler to sleep.
The album's sometimes somnolent production occasionally holds things down, but Mariah's generational voice lifts it all up, adding a grace that elevates the overall experience.
I'm loving the nostalgia this album has. I never really listened to MC other than what they played on the radio, but she's got such a beautiful voice omg!! I really loved My All holy shit! That went right into my Liked songs. gonna re listen to it right now actually. Man so beautiful!
Smooth and sexy album. Really like the Prince cover and of course Mariah taking any opportunity to pop off on some vocal runs. Not a repeat listener for me, but I’d put it on every once in a while.
Somehow, I don't see her appeal.
Lays it on lush, lavish and way too thick. There are plenty of pleasing bits and sweetnesses, but they are buried under an avalanche of glissando, melissima and vibrato. Phil Spector was better with much less advanced studio tech. Sinead O’s title as top Prince interpreter remains unchallenged.
So Mariah is an undeniably great vocalist but this 90s pop/R&B production is not doing her any favors. I wish they’d been a bit less maximal with the backing vocals and all the other fluff because Mariah Fucking Carey’s vocals are the thing that’s worth listening to! Anyway, this album ended up being very of its time, right down to the “dangerous” rappers throwing a verse here and there on the “innocent lil white girl’s” pop record. I can practically smell the teenage brother listening to Korn in the next room.
Honey is the only song I can sort of tolerate. She has a good voice but these songs stink and she's prone to doing those weird theatrical things that just hurt the already bad songs. Mariah has some good songs in her catalog but I tend to prefer stuff that came before this album and even then I'm not really a fan.
I think I'm going to have to come back and relisten to this and try to seep myself in the lyrics and background, but whilst having a walk very little out of this captured my attention - I did quite like Breakdown, Whenever You Call, Fly Away and Outside
Diddy jumpscare track one 7/10 love rnb
I am not a pop fan. But this album with Mariah incredible voice is one of a kind.
3.5
I truly, deeply, and intensely hate Mariah Carey. I know it's wrong to evaluate this record based on something that isn't on it, but "All I Want For Christmas Is You" can go to hell. And she can join it. There's also an overly cheesy sound to some 90s pop that I just can't stand.
Let's just get straight to the conclusion here. There's one great song off this album. It's not her song and she phugged it up pretty good. Not a fan of her voice and really, it was just one boring song after another. Beautiful Ones is a great song. It shouldn't be performed by her. She shouldn't do any Prince song.
2.5 The Queen of Christmas herself. For as overplayed as that one song is, I’d still honestly put it in the upper tier of holiday music - it’s just a fun, festive, catchy track. However, it never really occurred to me until this listening that I don’t think I’ve ever actually listened to Mariah Carey outside of that… aaaaand I don’t really feel like I was missing much. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure this hit pretty hard in 1997, but as someone born that year listening now, this just feels like a culmination of the R&B I remember hearing on the radio growing up - but not in a greatest hits kind of way, more in an amorphous, neutral blob sort of sense. This album sounds fine, but it just doesn’t feel particularly distinct in any way, and as a result, I really couldn’t tell one song apart from another if I tried. I have no complaints to lodge, and I have no praise to give - I don’t even have anything to say about the Prince cover (though I’m sure my dad does). This is truly the most vanilla slice of the era I could imagine, and I say that with a heavy emphasis on “era” - with the limited knowledge I have of this album or Mariah for that matter, I could have easily pointed to the late ‘90s as to when this came out. I know there was quite a bit of this sound going on in the early ‘00s as well, so maybe MC deserves some credit for being ahead of the curve, but either way, this just feels like a dated style of music and production that came and went pretty quickly. No disrespect meant towards R&B - tbh, I wish we heard more of it on the radio today (The Weeknd is solid but monopolizing the market), so it really feels like we’re overdue for some innovation with the genre. I don’t know if I can confidently argue that this shouldn’t be here, but I don’t think it’s held up quite as well as a lot of other albums on the list, and I certainly wouldn’t consider it to be a genre essential myself.
Pas vraiment fan de Mariah 5/10
Not bad
I'm certainly no stranger to Mariah Carey. I mean, she's only been a mainstay in pop/R&B for the better part of 30 years (without aging somehow) and those who live under a rock certainly at least know her for her Christmas song covers. This album has seemingly escaped me though. I come into this having listened to Carey's previous album "Daydream" a ton back in the day and I'd consider that among my personal favorite R&B albums. "Butterfly" seems to pale in comparison in a way unfortunately. It's almost entirely slow ballads with some hip-hop features mixed in. I don't feel like Carey really showcased her impressive vocal range here like she did in her previous albums. There just isn't a smash hit here, it's all too safe and by the book. I guess this is an OK R&B record on its own, but I personally feel that there are better album representatives for Mariah Carey the vocalist.
Honey has a cool squelchy synth beat which I dig, although there's no real vocal hook. The title track is a bit too middle school dance for me but it's not bad. My All is another slow one. Mariah has the pipes, obviously, but I need more. The Roof samples Shook Ones Pt II which is cool. Whenever You Call was another standout, albeit a ballad again. Fly Away has a bit of edge to it with good bass - better! The production is very tight and it sounds good but I'll leave these songs in the 90s. Why is the album so long too?
I understand why this was added, but Rainbow is a WAY better album. This album feels like a 57min long, LONG song, whereas Rainbow has more diversity, and reflects more of the pop-R&B thing tearing up the charts in the late 90s. Wait, did I just accidentally channel NSYNC? This album is incredibly repetitive and really started to wear me down about 15-20 min. I was glad when it ended.
Good I guess, idk
Aina perus rnb-tausta ja fraseerausta imelien sanojen sekaan. Honey-biisissä on persoonallisemmat koukut, mutta se kerkeää levyn mittaan unohtua. Laulu on kyllä todella hienoa. Butterfly-nimi on jotenkin todella suloinen. Tunnelmasta yksi tähti.
Ei tämä hirveää ole, mutten myöskään jaksanut kuunnella yhtään levyn virtuoosimaisista (kai) suorituksista loppuun saakka. Erityismaininta mieleenpainuvasta kosketinfillistä ekassa biisissä. 1+
Run a bubble bath, grab a glass of wine, relax and stick this on for an hour and you'll probably give it five stars. The definition of easy listening. It's pleasant enough, but it's just too similar and honestly a bit dull. I really don't like the slow, breathy tunes of 90's R'n'B. The better tracks are the ones that are more pop, or where Mariah actually shows off her fantastic vocals and belts it out like on 'Whenever You Call'. 'Honey' has a funky beat and 'Breakdown' is somewhat catchy. You know at the end of 90's kids films when they have a slow R'n'B version of a song from the film playing through the credits and you think 'I just wish I was listening to the original'. Imagine that, but for twelve songs. Not for me, and I wouldn't actively pick anything out to listen to again.
Some fun and enjoyable tracks but it all kinda blends together into one uninspiring R&B puddle.
Mejor de lo que esperaba. Soportable. La verdad es que tiene muy buena voz. No sabía que Honey era suya.
Imaging the most boring watered-down-milk closing track from a Disney movie you’ve ever heard and times it by twelve
This is going to be a tough listen. This was not for me at all. 90S pop and R&B at its worst, good voice though!! Favourite song: honey was an ok pop song. Least favourite: The rest of the album. Album artwork: Hot!!!
such an amazing voice but wouldn’t really revisit many of the songs
It's well put together, and better than I thought, but that style of singing grates on me - it has infected every talent show singer
Insidiously insipid
One very bland song repeated a dozen times, she has such a strong voice and yet it was barely shown here
Yeah she’s a great singer, but my god these songs are dull, though that’s probably my view of most 90’s RnB
Great album showcasing some of the best 90's R&B had to offer. I feel like you don't hear the singles off this album as much as the singles off her previous album, which makes it feel less timeless than Daydream but it's still a great album.
When someone claiming to collect the greatest artwork of the 20th century throws in the equivalent of a digital print taken from the wall of a Courtyard by Marriott you know you're being trolled.
Not my kind of music
Das ist das erste komplette Album von Mariah Carey. Ich kannte bisher nur die Hits. Das Album ist sauber, penibel produziert und ich stellte mir oft die Frage: ist das Gesang oder Gesäusel? Beides ist vorhanden. Und der Gesang ist dann hervorragend. Aber es bleibt dabei: bis auf zwei, drei, vier gute Nummern, brauche ich kein ganzes Album.
Not our vibe. Felt like it lasted forever and we were a bit bored of it.
Modern day Queen of easy listening. She’s got a nice voice. I could sleep to it.
Mariah Carey is a genuinely gifted singer. Unfortunately the songs she has chosen to sing are very boring.
Cool
I wanted to "Fly Away" from this album
Awful, breathy boring singing
Actually enjoyed that more than I expected! Sort of felt like I was in a waiting room and I doubt I'll ever seek it out again, but it was pleasant! 2.5 stars
Not... My vibe. Breathy, curious 90s mixing and production decisions. Sometimes it felt like someone took the keyboard bass from Seinfeld and ran it through a ring modulator.
Definitely appreciate a number of MC tracks, I wouldn’t dare deny her vocal range and ability. I also love the whole glamorous, uncompromising, self aware, tongue-in-cheek-or-is-it diva persona she has cultivated. But this album I struggled to get thru and will likely not listen to again. The sound is dated, late 90s r’n’b that to me lacks some of the charm or listenability of contemporaries. I’m gonna go groove the morning away to The Velvet Rope now.
Adult contemporary and alikes make me so unhappy. This stuff was everywhere when I was growing up. It made me think I didn't like music. It seemed like you were supposed to relate your feelings to this stuff, and like there were hardly alternatives, and that was such a lonely feeling. I think this is covertly spirit-draining and not life-affirming to the people that find something in it too. It's bad enough to listen to people oversinging national anthems, you don't need that stuff on records. NO STARS. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
When I listen to guitar guy music around non guitar guys, is this what they hear? If so I have a lot of apologizing to do. An entire album of Mariah Carey songs is an insane experience. You hear her pack 12 notes into 1 note once and go “wow she has good vocal control” and then she does it for another 48:57.
you guys are misereable this is a good album it is such a night time vibe
Officer, arrest this artist. This is everything wrong with music - right here. If Hershey's made a Cadbury Creme Egg in musical form then this would be it. Sickly sweet, mass produced, and utterly without nutritional value. An insult to proper chocolate. Yes, she can sing, and has inspired a generation of similarly talented women to appear on tv talent shows around the world. None of them worth a second of my time.
Alright in small doses i.e. singles, not albums.
Is this album one that I will ever listen to again by choice? Nope. Mariah Carey has a beautiful voice and the songs are very exacting, though.
Mariah unquestionably has an amazing voice. But a lot of this sounds incredibly dated. The album also has the classic 90's bloat problem, although not as bad as some of its contemporaries.
Never will I ever like this album. My lifelong wish to never have to listen to a Carey album has been ripped away by this $&@#%+€ exercise. Her life certainly has had it’s ups and downs, now in a good place, that bumps this up to a 2.
Well, that was .... insipid. Maria does have a pretty good voice, but the never ending warbling, and so-so songs really grates after a while. Two listens are enough for my lifetime.
Impressive voice. But not really my jam. Weak three stars for this. best known: "Honey", "My All"
I think the other reviews have said all I wanted to say. Amazing voice with mediocre songs. They just feel so generic.
So much of modern RnB is just warbling over "sounds". I don't think there's a single recognisable song here.
This butterfly has no real effect. It was a hurricane when it came to sales. But it's an inconsequential draft when it comes to its actual importance within music history at large. Even worse than the hackneyed, cheesefest pop R&B performed on this record, you most especially have all those flat, "dear-diary-you're-my-only-friend" garbage lyrics. They're on the nose, and devoid of any interesting turn of phrase, image or metaphor. And the fact that Carey has written those lyrics herself is somehow even more embarrassing than if she hadn't. The problem here is not merely that Carey writes and performs commercial pop music. No, the real issue is that said pop music is *both* bland and grating somehow. Two wings of the same annoying, ugly-looking butterfly, which should have stayed a caterpillar. I recently gave a 1 to Britney Spears' debut LP. Wish this app could make us select *zero* stars to differentiate the two records. Hit single "Baby One More Time" is fun and memorable at least. Whereas it's just inconceivable for me to enjoy any song on *Butterfly*, even with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. 1/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential" albums. And 5/10 for more general purposes (5 for music competency + 0 for the artistry). Number of albums left to review: 86 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 392 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 229 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 294 (including this one)
2/5. I enjoyed the R&B touch to these pop songs but I don't think it aged super well or was made perfectly. R&B, especially extended vocal passages, can be easy to do but hard to master. I don't think she's got it down yet, but definitely see the potential. No doubt, she can sing and the features are only a plus but overall, the album has some skippable moments. The first and last few songs on the album are definitely the highlights. Best Song: Honey, Butterfly, The Beautiful Ones
Ren pop, god vokal, lyder lidt som det samme hele vejen igennem
Most songs sound the same but I didn’t hate it. Kind of surprised.
The first song got me optimistic but didn’t really vibe with the rest. I can see why some like this but just not my thing. Rating: 2.8
1 star
I preferred Mariah the Belter. You can take away the butterfly.
Other than the first song, doesn’t seem like any strong melodies. Sounds like boilerplate filler after that.
it was fine, just sounded like mariah carey, not really my style
She is a lot closer to hiphop than I ever realized
I was hoping to like this a lot more than I did. I liked "Honey" and "My All" and felt like there were some interesting things going on with the music in "The Beautiful Ones". Otherwise found most of the rest of this pretty boring. She has a beautiful voice, and this very much feels like a nostalgia blast from my childhood. I think for my own personal enjoyment level it's a 2 star, but it probably should be upgraded to a 3 for how much it captures a time. I am pretty sure I read someone else say that a lot of this was used as movie credit music but if not true, it EXACTLY sounds like the type of music you would hear at the end of many movies. While listening to this I would not be surprised to look up at the tv and see some credits rolling. This all to say, worth a listen once to experience that little slice of 90s sound. 3 stars from me for my 100th album.
i'm sure it appeals to many people, but not my thing
I can understand why there should be a Mariah Carey album on this list as her voice is unique and exceptional. I am just not sure this album does her justice. To me all the music, lyrics, harmonies, melodies are jnterchangable, like lego. One exception is the song "Close My Eyes", which I do think stands out.
It's a little bit of a disappointing album because you'd think that for such an incredible voice you'd have better songs. Waited the whole album for something but that never came. Also, gotta deduct for the cover song near the end. 6/10.
She's definitely a great singer. And she knows it. But I don't think that necessarily translates to good music, in the same way that I don't think Joe Satriani's music is a good listen, or why I'd rather watch Cordarelle Patterson run a return than watch Usain Bolt run a 100 m. Bolt is obviously the better sprinter, and one of the greatest athletes ever. But the context matters. The way it works with other elements. And Carey shows off "range" technically, but artistically and conceptually, this is a very limited album. I never wanted to just turn it off, but I never really engaged with it either. It's a high floor, low ceiling work, and I would love to hear her push outside the rhythm & pop genre.
While pulling out my old CD, ended up finding that at some point I had also ended up with a bootleg of it.
Fairly bog standard 90s r&b asides from superfans don't think anyone is still listening to this. Totally inoffensive stuff 2*
One of the best pop singers of the 90s. My All is a great radio hit
4☆/5 07.31.2024
Beautiful voice.
Caveat - R&B is not a genre I usually enjoy. Most of the songs on this album were incredibly similar, and none really stood out to me as memorable. The lyrics were very difficult to hear as well, so maybe if I understood them it would have been more profound.
Awful.
Ah, sweet.
Kinda slay