Customer Reviews

Glitter

5 star:		(229)
4 star:		(98)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

On September 11, 2001, a very strange feeling was with me when I purchased GLITTER. I couldn't help but feel completely guilty about my excitement of getting the new Mariah Carey record when so many people had died brutally just hours before. I'm guessing this album will always somewhat remind me of the tragedy. As I opened the CD booklet, I saw something that was very ironic and a little creepy: Mariah is wearing a "I LOVE NY" shirt.

Anyway, GLITTER is Mariah's tenth round for the record-buying public, and it seems she's basically playing the same cards she's been playing since 1997. A little rap, some fun pop, various R&B, and a whole lotta soul. On "Loverboy," she cuts it up with a cameo from Cameo and ends up with one of my favorite Carey songs. (Which kind of scares me since so many people despise this track.) In this fashion, she finds herself rummaging through songs like "Didn't Mean To Turn You On" (killer beginning) and "Want You." Her signature ballads are here, but they seem to have a relaxed diva structure to them. And...what's this? Do I hear songs that don't require a lyric sheet for me to follow while listening? Wow, Mariah stops whispering and actually punctuates in a way that a listener can...understand. "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" is without a doubt one of my favorites, especially the lines: "There's not a problem that I can't fix/Cause I can do it in the mix/And if your man gives you trouble/Just you move out on the double/And you don't let it trouble your brain." Highlights also include the savvy "Reflections (Care Enough)" and "Never Too Far." Although "If We" doesn't bother me per say, I agree with the reviewer who asked who the "featured" artist really is. Come on, Mariah, don't joke with us. On "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)," Mariah lets a chorus out that's so irresistible, I find myself humming it all day: "Don't stop, baby/It's ecstasy/Turn me up a little higher/Baby, I'm on fire/Tell me every little thing you wanna do/Baby, I'm into you."

Altogether, this record is fun, sexy, and...kind of glittery. Call me crazy, but I don't think "Loverboy" sounds like "Heartbreaker," "Sweetheart," "Honey," "Fantasy," or "Dreamlover" as many reviewers have claimed. In fact, I don't think any of them, minus the blaring similarity between "Heartbreaker" and "Fantasy," sound alike. For those Mariah fans who miss her early 90's era............why? In my opinion, she didn't have much personality, plenty of her songs were a bore, and she never really looked that great. Don't get me wrong, I've loved her since 1990, but she's just so much more fun now. Frankly, rap doesn't frighten me as it seems to frighten so many Mariah fans. GLITTER is a wonderful statement, a provocative vehicle, and most likely another hit for Mariah Carey. So, if you feel like hearing a record with a lot of style and outstanding vocals, buy GLITTER. And please, if you hate Mariah Carey...don't buy GLITTER and bash it on this board. You obviously won't like her album either.

Mariah Carey has finally gotten back to what made her one of the most adored female artists of the past decade. Singing gorgous powerful ballads that showcase her miraculous voice. Also thrown in a bunch of fun uptempo funky tracks that show Mariah can be just as playful. Most noteably are the 2 remakes Last Night a DJ Saved My Life and Didn't Mean To Turn You On. The production is wonderful and Mariah sounds as if she's having a ball. But of course the standout tracks are the ballads. Lead The Way, Reflections(Care Enough), and Never Too Far are right up there with some of my Mariahs best ballads, and vocally she has never sounded better. Starting off very soft and building to a powerful climax with Mariah belting out one of her signature high notes, each song will leave you in awe of this incredible talent. The reason for the 4 stars is that the album focuses too much on her "guest artist". As I much as I respect artists such as Mystikal, Ja Rule, and Da Brat, I would much rather have only Mariah on these songs. The other artists are only a distractment to the album. But this is still a wonderful album that will continue to prove Mariah as the Diva of the Decade. Mariah-my prayers are with you in your time of need. Get Well Soon...your fans miss you!

Mariah. Try saying her name and see what kinds of reactions you get. The common reaction is that of disapproval.

People are quick to point out what they don't like about her.

"Oh, she turned into a slut" or "She is so fake." The remarks vary from her fashion sense to her personal life. But the last thing people talk about is her talent.

Mariah did evolve from the girl-next-door into a blonde bombshell. Yes, she also happened to be married to music Svengali Tommy Mottola and then went on to date New York Yankee Derek Jeter and then Latin heartthrob Luis Miguel. And she has been scantily clad in most of her recent videos. But does that determine the credibility of the music or the artist?

Regardless of how people try to describe her, one thing is undeniable. She is has satisfied millions with her work - and that is all that matters.

We all know the Cinderella-like story. Little mixed-race New Yorker with a huge voice attends a party as Brenda K. Starr's back-up singer and meets Sony CEO Tommy Mottola and hands him a demo tape. Mottola then looks all over for her and offers her an album deal with Columbia Records.

From there Mariah grew into an icon of our times, breaking all imaginable sales records by Elvis, The Beatles and Michael Jackson. Furthermore, Mariah has 16 No. 1 songs and it is clear that she is not stopping.

Becoming the best selling female artist of the '90s was not easy.

During the mid '90s when pop was not as hip as today, Mariah was one of the only beacons to keep the pop flame alive, along with the likes of Janet Jackson and Toni Braxton.

Her album "Music Box" was bashed by critics but went on to become one of the best selling albums of all time with hits such as "Dreamlover," "Hero" and "Anytime You Need A Friend." The girl must be doing something right.

Her "Merry Christmas" album broke records and her compilation of No. 1 hits titled "#1's" - she got the idea before The Beatles' collection came out - proved that fans keep asking for more.

Both "Butterfly" and "Rainbow" are landmarks in Mariah's history. They were portrayals of Mariah's unrestricted talent, however, her former record label was less then happy with her artistic endeavors.

Fast forward to 2001. Mariah is now under Virgin records and is working on two movies: her feature "Glitter" and "Wise Girls" with Mira Sorvino. She is also releasing an all-Mariah soundtrack for "Glitter" and having to deal with heartache because of the end of her long-term relationship with Miguel.

The combination of stress and emotional anguish catapulted Mariah into mental exhaustion - twice. Moreover, the media is poking fun at her hospitalization. Whoever said being a diva is easy?

The good news is her latest collection of songs is, as always, remarkable.

The summer hit "Loverboy" serves as a poppy opener and also closes with a version guesting Cameo, whose hit "Candy" is sampled in the track.

"Glitter" emanates a heavy '80s sound to comply to the era that the movie takes place in. The '80s theme is captured in its rawest and most honest with post-disco beats and low production that will remind you of Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" days.

Mariah covers two '80s dancefloor fillers: "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" featuring Busta Rhymes, Fabolous and DJ Clue, and the sultry "Didn't Mean To Turn You On."

However, the covers are not the only tracks that remain loyal to the sound of the '80s. "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)" features the loud Mystikal screaming for no apparent reason, but Mariah's octave range remedies his useless ramblings.

Another tune, "All My Life," is authentically crafted to sound like something you'd hear in the days of the Rubik's cube, which then dissolves into the warm "Reflections (Care Enough)."

"Glitter" is reminiscent of a lighter version of Prince's "Purple Rain."

Although the album consists of many stompy numbers, Mariah satisfies her fans by providing some of her signature ballads. "Lead The Way" and her latest release, "Never Too Far," are both high-drama multi-octave contemporary glossy ballads, while "Twister" continues the Mariah tradition of confessionally beautiful slow numbers at the lower end of the tracklisting.

The only downfall to "Glitter" is its overwhelming entourage of rappers who have nothing to say yet keep caterwauling. However, in a Mariah fashion, this album is a definite grower. Moreover, it has enough made-for-radio songs to keep you humming until the next summer.

Leave it to Mariah to release an album that attracts attention, starts the party and then sets the mood for after hours.

It's odd, you take a voice that could sing the phonebook and make a hit out of it, combine that with a career of writing and producing all of your hits and you would think the word "respected" would be a word that follows your name in every print. But alas, we rarely, if never read the respected Mariah Carey releases a soundtrack album that is simply beautiful.

"Glitter" is the accompanying soundtrack to the movie with same name opening Sept. 21. The movie is set in the 80s so naturally the album is set in the 80s. Carey, a child of the 80s, is no fool here. She embarked on Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the basic soundmakers of that era, to co-executive produce this album and suprisingly the sound is replicated, if not mirrored exactly to that time.

Like every Carey album of late, the opening song is a simple tune with multi-layered vocals drafted over a sample. Carey's song this time is "Loverboy" and the sample is Cameo's "Candy." Is the track a landmark in Carey's progression as an artist? No. Is it a good song? I would say it is. Carey's vocals are coy and sly and Cameo's cameo is welcomed, as is Ludacrous and Da Brat's rap vocals in the remix also featured on the album. The song does lack a certain edge we expect from Carey's lead off single, but it is the only misstep from the album.

"Lead the Way" a ballad that is sure to bring back memories of the young, thin girl we saw singing "Vision of Love" live @ the Grammys. She simply sparkles in the song, building up to a marvelous climax that leads the song to become a classic.

From here on "Glitter" becomes a tapestry of both Carey's strong vocals and the sounds of the 80s. "If We" featuring Ja Rule and Nate Dogg is a wonderful mid-tempo song that blends Ja and Mariah's vocals so well that makes the current Ja Rule/Jennifer Lopez duet seems amateurish.

"Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" is a great remake of the classic Indeep song, as is "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", but it is "Want You" that stands out as a genuine "new" 80 classic. Carey's and Eric Benet vocals are so identical that Benet could be labeled the male Mariah.

Will Mariah ever be respected? Well, she is. Her fans adore her and will always adore her. She is, in their eyes, the queen of Rhythm Pop and they are her lambs. Will she ever get the respect she deserves from the media? One would hope so. And for this review we'll pretend she already has it.

This album was released on Sept.11....HELLO! It was pretty much doomed because of that...but truthfully it is a great album....I don't really care for the Loverboy song but the rest of the album is fun and 80's inspired because of the movie. It can't be compared to Mariah's other albums because this is a movie soundtrack, but it is a must have for the true Mariah fan!

Ahhhh, the catastrophe that was known as "Glitter." Where to begin? First off, let me point out, the fact that the movie didn't do too well at the box office is irrelevant from the soundtracks substance. In all honesty, I believe the soundtrack is branded with such bad representation due to the fact that the movie didn't do as well as expected. The reality of the situation is that the soundtrack to "Glitter" is an astounding album filled with funky 80's-esq jams along with powerhouse vocals to back it up. Mariah does some of her best vocal acrobatics on this record, from the ballads "Lead the Way," and "Never Too Far," to the cover version of " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On," Carey shows us exactly why she owns the title of best female vocalist of all time. In between, there are fun, up tempo tracks such as " Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)," and "If We," that sound as if they came straight out of the 80's. Despite the vocal overtones and funky vibe of this album, it wouldn't be a Mariah Carey project if there were no deep, meaningful songs, which is where "Twister," and "Reflections (Care Enough)," come in. This piece of work has songs on it that will never receive the attention they deserve because people wrote off the soundtrack just as they did the movie. I guarantee that if this 80's influenced album was released in the 80's it would've raked in millions and topped the charts multiple times for many weeks, but sadly, the possibility of that happening is non existent. Still, this album is entitled to it's just dues. "Glitter" is an outstanding musical endeavor and Ms.Carey took the chance of doing something different on this soundtrack. People open to new things or individuals who love 80's style music, will adore this album. People who follow the trends and have no appreciation for anything out of the ordinary, will continue to throw stones from glass houses, but it's okay; Ms. Carey will always be number one, and she has the voice, the writing skills, and the bank account to prove it.

Mariah's latest album/ soundtrack titled "GLITTER" is by far her best album to date, along with "BUTTERFLY". It's so amazing how she wrote, sang, and produced this entire album! Here's a quick review of each track:

1. LOVERBOY REMIX - 7/10
Not the best Mariah song but her vocals are beautiful! The rap brings up the score.

2. LEAD THE WAY - 10/10
Beautiful ballad that goes back to her olden days!

3. IF WE - 9/10
Features a lot from Ja Rule & Nate Dogg. Not enough Mariah, but what a great rap/ dance track!!

4. I DIDN'T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON - 10/10
This song is all '80s!!! I love it! Mariah you can sing ANYTHING!

5. DON'T STOP - 9/10
I love this song. It just needs more Mariah. Also, what a great video to give this jazzy selection a boost!

6. ALL MY LIFE - 10/10
The perfect song, written by Rick James. It sounds just like a song that he would have sung back in the '80s!

7. REFLECTIONS (CARE ENOUGH) -10/10
This is a beautiful ballad that EVERY Mariah fan would love. Once again, this brings us back to Mariah's olden days!

8. LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE - 9/10
Mariah's voice is a mellow, subdued voice. But, this is a great dance/ groove track!!

9. WANT YOU - 10/10
This song is amazing! I love the piano part and Mariah and Eric's voices together!!

10. NEVER TOO FAR - 10/10
Once again, the perfect ballad! It brings us back to her old Mariah days!!

11. TWISTER - 8/10
This is an okay song. It's a very different type of ballad style song. Something you wouldn't expect from Mariah. Listen to the words, it's about her ex-hair stylist that passed away.

12. LOVERBOY - 6/10
Not as good as the rap version. But, every other song on the album makes up for it!!

BUY THIS ALBUM ON NOVEMBER 12, 2001!!!!

Glitter, as the soundtrack of the movie, (though not quite obvious based on the album cover!) offers a coherent mix of hip hop, R&B music interspersed with a few power ballads. Played from the start till the end, Glitter is quite unlike conventional soundtracks. Most soundtracks suffer from an incongrous compilation of songs. There are always some tracks that don't relate well to other tracks in terms of genre. (People typically buy soundtracks because they like a few songs on the album) In Glitter, given most songs are hip hop and all done by Mariah Carey, this problem is minimised in a certain way. Compared to her previous albums, this album sounds more like a complete entity on its own, instead of the songs themselves sounding like disparate entities (e.g. in Rainbow). A musical concept is veritably sensed here. Perhaps this could be attributed by the 80's style adopted in most songs.

Vocally, Mariah Carey has never sounded as good as she did in this. Since Daydream, her technique of airy singing has improved noticeably, especially in this particular album. She uses it to good effect, with clearer dictation, often alternating it with her normal vocal tone. This unique style of hers is best savoured in the album's ballads. "Lead The Way", the album's 2nd track is by itself, a touching song but more so when it unravels with a surprisingly unprecedented, heartfelt singing from Mariah Carey. Another song that comes close to "Lead The Way" is "Never Too Far" - a radio-friendly track reminiscent of late 80's ballads. There are 2 other ballads - Reflections (also an emotional rendition) and Twister (sounds like "Petals" in Rainbow except her singing is stronger here)

The rest of the album (7 tracks) are what makes the album so seamless sounding. Hip hop is the main essence of it all, and inescapably, rap commands a sizeable place in a lot of songs, much to the chagrin of some fans. Nevertheless, Mariah Carey does not seem to mind the slightly over-intrusion of rap here. In "Don't Stop", besides the background vocals, she sings only one tiny verse of the whole song although she did made quite an impression (with her characteristic high note) at that juncture anyway. The issue of using rap liberally may have to do with the minimal-sounding (not heavily orchestrated) music in the uptempo songs. In any case, this should not be wholly viewed as a discreditable move, as of late, rap is by itself gathering its influence in the commercial music arena. The marriage of rap with pop might even become a trend in the future.

Her last album, Rainbow, may have been weak and disoriented. But Glitter is different this time. The diva is back with improved vocals and a stronger sense of musical style.

The GLITTER soundtrack features eleven all-new recordings from Mariah Carey, undeniably the most successful female singer of the 1990s. With this collection, Mariah pushes the creative envelope further than she ever has before, highlighting her incredible versatility and depth, not to mention her amazing vocal range. Fans of Carey's earlier work (remember Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, anyone?) will be pleased to hear some signature ballads from Mariah that bring us back to those early days in career, on the sweeping ballads "Lead The Way" and "Never Too Far" which showcase her amazing voice in a nice arrangement. The soundtrack sets the mood for the movie, this being in the 80's, so it's only fitting to have "80s sounding songs", take for example "Didn't Mean To Turn You On", "Want You" (with Eric Benet), or "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life", are all excellent songs that represent the 80's spirit well. In BUTTERFLY we slowly saw her moving into R&B, then on RAINBOW she was going hip hop, and she continues the trend on GLITTER. Lots of guest artists here such as Mystikal on "Don't Stop", Ludacris, Da Brat, Cameo, Twenty II, Shawnna on "Loverboy" (Remix), Ja Rule and Nate Dogg on "If We", Busta Rhymes and Fabulous on "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, DJ Clue on "Don't Stop" and "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" and many others. Overall this is one of her best albums yet, with lots of ballads, uptempo, something for all the fans to enjoy.

The bonus track on this cd, Loverboy (MJ Cole Main Remix Radio Edit), which is not only by far the best track on this cd, it should have been the single version of Loverboy! If that version were sent to DJs & radio stations instead of the lp version, it could have been her 16th #1! The interesting thing about the Japanese edition is on Sony Music Entertainment(Japan) instead of Virgin Records! Also a handwritten note to Japanese fans in the Japanese insert.