Mariah Carey: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Mariah Carey: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Thursday, 19, Nov 2009 11:04
Mercury, out November 16th.
What's it all about?
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is the 12th album by R 'n B diva Mariah Carey. The name of the album was chosen to reflect her personal and intimate dedication to her fans. Mariah worked alongside singer-songwriter The Dream and producer Tricky Stewart to create some "big ballads" as she personally describes. This album features much the same kind of smooth R 'n' B grooves that she is well known for but with a slightly more mature tone which brings us back to when she was at the prime of her game in the 1990s.
As an example...
"You're delusional, you're delusional/Boy you're losing your mind/It's confusing, yo, you're confused you know/Why you wasting your time?/Got you all fired up, with your Napoleon complex/Seein' right through, like you're bathing in Windex." - Obsessed
What the others say
"Carey's most sonically and tonally coherent release, a mix of love ballads (Inseparabl") and sassy breakup anthems (Standing O) that might have been her best album had it been several songs shorter." - Jody Rosen, Rolling Stone
"Memoirs. is a luxurious, chocolate box confection of slow R 'n' B hip-hop jams, all soft, fluttery, mellifluous, multi-tracked vocals, from a husky contralto to her trademark high-pitched whistle almost beyond human hearing." - Neil McCormick, Telegraph
So is it any good?
The first half of the album is a reminder of why we all fell in love with Mariah in the first place; unfortunately, the latter half of the album slips with songs such as Impossible and a cover of Foreigner's I Want To Know What Love Is, the album's second single release. You get halfway through the album and start to wonder if you have already heard the current track, although there are minor variations. Most of the songs have the same or similar vocals, tempos and beats. The lead single from this album, Obsessed, is the exception to the repetitive sound of the album. In my opinion, this is by far, the best song on the album.
If you are a fan of Mariah's well known ballads about love and heartbreak, then this is definitely the album for you. On a whole, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is a decent album by most melodic standards but it is not likely to set Mariah's career off again. I think it's fair to say we may have already seen the best of her.
5/10
Rachael Okesola