Rainbow

Mariah Carey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: SonyBMG Special Markets
• ASIN: B0014YVCBW
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,584 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Heartbreaker (Featuring Jay-Z)

2. Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)

3. Bliss

4. How Much (Featuring Usher)

5. After Tonight

6. X-Girlfriend

7. Heartbreaker (Remix) (Featuring Da Brat & Missy Elliott)

8. Vulnerability (Interlude)

9. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)

10. Crybaby (Featuring Snoop Dogg)

11. Did I Do That?

12. Petals

13. Rainbow (Interlude)

14. Thank God I Found You (Featuring Joe & 98 Degrees)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars She wanted to get away from Tommy, plain and simple, November 16, 2010

By 

A. L. Kennedy "sugarplum29" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rainbow (Audio CD)

The full story of why this was recorded in only three months appears in the September 2007 issue of "Interview" magazine. In an interview with Ingrid Sischy, she talks about how she wanted to bang out the records after the divorce just to fulfill the rest of her contract. Excerpts can probably be found on one of Mimi's fan sites.

Personally, I find this recording to be cute, lighthearted and "pop". These are "block party" songs to me, and I had plenty of those when I was a kid! What did you expect from our girl? She's eternally 12!

"Bliss" is the most interesting track. The notes are up there, and stay up there. Honestly, some critics may think this sound is bizarre, but if you could sing that high? Wouldn't you? So stop complaining.

It's a fun album. It's not 'Emancipation' or 'E=MC2', but worth a spin. I popped it in my iTunes and sing along when I'm sorting laundry or zipping thru my apartment, cleaning, cooking or puttering. It's gentle background filler that puts me in a good mood. Not every recording has to be emotional glory, salvation, gloom or doom.

I'd give it a B+.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Even the interludes are special...4.5 stars., August 3, 2008

By 

Adrian C. "Zodiac Freak!!" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rainbow (Audio CD)

This definitely isn't her strongest work, but this CD will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first CD of hers that I owned. It was going to go in the trash or something until I took it off of someone's hands and I'm glad I did!

The best songs here are probably:

Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) An excellent cover, IMHO (in my honest opinion)
Crybaby
Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)
Petals
Thank God I Found You

She doesn't overdo it with special guests here. I mean there are 4 but I think that it was still balanced enough to not drag the album down. I wouldn't fully recommend this over some of her other CDs though. Buy the following ones before this one:

Daydream
The Emancipation Of Mimi

Was this helpful? Vote if you thought so!

Cover Art: A
Inside Art: A+
Songwriting: A-
Vocals: B-
Vocal Emotion: B-
Vocal Acrobatics: A-

4.5 stars.

Overall: A

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars She Can Do Better, March 31, 2009

By 

Running in Place (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rainbow (Audio CD)

Mariah has admitted she recorded this album in only three months, and it certainly sounds that way. Most of Rainbow is derivative and contrived: "Heartbreaker" is a weaker version of "Fantasy" with Jay-Z added to freshen the mix; "Can't Take That Away" is powerful, but it's a blatant attempt to recreate "Hero." Similarly, "Thank God I Found You" is an updated "One Sweet Day" without the insightful lyrics. 98 Degrees replaces Boyz II Men here; Mariah was clearly trying to fit in with the dominating teen-pop scene. Worst of all, "Did I Do That?" is simply Silkk The Shocker's already bad "It Ain't My Fault" with new vocals. Most of Rainbow's other tracks likewise fall short. "Bliss," sung almost entirely in Mariah's high-pitched whistle range, can only be described as bizarre. Easily one of the worst songs she has ever recorded, it is virtually unlistenable. "X-Girlfriend," with its juvenile lyrics and skittering beat, was a poor attempt to duplicate the popular Destiny's Child sound. It's a shame Mariah and co-producer/co-writer Walter Afanasieff had a falling out. His absence is sorely felt here. In his place we have Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of Flyte Tyme. Though they are one of the greatest musician and production teams of all time, they simply do not mesh with Mariah's sound. On the flip side, "Against All Odds" (Yes, it's her third `80s cover in as many albums) is excellent, outdoing even Phil Collins' original thanks to Mariah's emotional vocal performance. The haunting "Petals" features the most personal lyrics of her career and easily could have been on the fantastic Butterfly album. "How Much," which samples liberally from 2Pac, works well as a vocal duet with Usher. Mariah has an uncanny ability to switch from adult contemporary pop to urban R&B and Hip-Hop. That is also her undoing. Ultimately, the collaboration-heavy Rainbow is a good album by most standards and includes a few great songs, but it's a lazy effort for Mariah, whose formula was beginning to wear thin. 3 Stars.