Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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229 of 262 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vocally astonishing and perfectly balanced, April 12, 2005
Whatever Mariah did to prepare for this cd was ingenious. The choices are catchy - club conscious and youthfully contemporary (check out "To the Floor" with Nelly to hear what I mean) but not so urban it disenfranchises her very earliest fans.
My favorite track is "It's Like That" but the choices are incredible so it doesn't feel as if a single track is just filler material. I love how much vocal flare she uses to her fullest possible potential on this cd. She never wavers or cracks and it's wonderful to hear her in top form again.
"Mine Again" is for her fans from the beginning as is "Circles," a genuine love song that proves she-has-no-rival-as-a-pop-diva. I absolutely love her gospel sound in "Fly Like a Bird."
She has some of the most contemporary brilliance behind her like Twista, and Jermaine Dupri but she managed to hold onto what makes her who she is. She incorporated the best in current R&B and balances all the best of her own vocal league into a fantastic cd. VERY highly recommended.
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198 of 238 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Freedom for Mimi!, April 12, 2005
Mariah Carey returns strong, proud and super confident with her brand new release The Emancipation of Mimi! Mariah considers Mimi to be another name symbolizing her true inner self-so even the title of the CD proudly and forcefully announces that she is trying new, fresh things on this CD. Mariah explains it herself in the liner notes for her new CD: her "emancipation" is "to free from restraint, control, oppression, or the power of another" or "to free from any controlling influence" or "to free somebody from restrictions or conventions." You know what? Mariah is a strong creative force and we all are better off for it! The Emancipation of Mimi really highlights how well Mariah can write and co-produce with other incredible talents such as the Neptunes, Kanye West, and R. Kelly. Mariah's new CD is full of songs featuring very personal lyrics-she is brave enough to share her real emotions with us here! The CD also proves even once again that Mariah's dazzling voice has not diminished with time! The album overflows with super creative lyrics and her exceptionally versatile voice makes it very special and a great addition to your collection!
The CD starts off strong with the song entitled "It's Like That." Not only is this a beautiful song, the musical arrangement is strong, aggressive and awesome! Mariah simply sounds great; her voice is perfect here! Then comes the song "We Belong Together"--thoughtful, beautiful, with a great beat! With "We Belong Together" Mariah sings about a love that is no longer.
Mariah also stays in the hip hop scene with songs like "Shake It Off" and the street jam "One and Only." And, if you like THAT, try also the Neptunes-produced "Say Somethin'" which she performs with Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams. Excellent! Mariah also does "Mine Again" with James Poyser on keyboards and "Fly Like A Bird" really shows off what Mariah can do!
Mariah works well with the other greats that I mentioned above; but there are even more talents on this awesome CD! Another Island Def Jam artist who you just might have heard of once or twice-a guy called Kanye West-collaborates with Mariah on "Stay the Night." What's more, three of the "Emancipation" songs are both co-written and co-produced by Mariah and James "Big Jim" Wright: "I Wish You Knew," "Circles," and "Fly Like a Bird." Trey Lorenz, Fatman Scoop, and Jermaine Dupri also provide vocals on this CD. The track "To The Floor" features Nelly.
One critic from Vibe magazine wrote that "Mariah gets back to her winning formula with Mimi." This almost seems like an understatement; the CD is really that good! Do yourself a major favor and get this-enjoy it today!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Emancipation of Mimi... and her fans!!, August 19, 2005
Okay, for all you Mariah fans that have been waiting for a hot, full-force comeback, this is it! I have been a Mariah fan for well over a decade now, and I've been waiting for her to re-emerge as the phenominal artist she was back in the 90's. With power-house vocals on ballads like "Hero," "Vision of Love," and "My All" as well as catchy urban dance numbers like "Fantasy," "Honey," and "Heartbreaker," Mariah dominated the charts throughout the 1990's. She has set record after record, both for female vocalists and just plain vocalists.
However, it has been evident that Mariah has struggled to find her place with her fans, critics, and commercial success since the late 90's. 'Butterfly,' lyrically poingiant and emotionally personal, still remains in my opinion, and the opinion of many others, her best album to date. 'Rainbow,' a rollercoaster of variety was also a solid effort, lyrically showcasing Mariah's depth as an artist. The album is pure ear candy. However, where most of her other albums have produced 3-4 good hits, both of these albums only produced 2 real hits, mostly due to lack of good campaigning for the songs and poor releasing.
Mariah went on to attempt acting in a severely underrated, but nowhere near good, movie and accompanying soundtrack. Mariah put her heart and soul into the lousy script of the "Glitter" movie. Her powerhouse vocals were no match for the lack of emotional depth and feeling and the poor production of the "Glitter" album. The critics tore the movie apart, and the tragedy of September 11, 2001-- the day the album was released--played a crucial role in the sale of the CD. The record spun out one hit, the un-interesting single "Loverboy," which made it to #2 on the charts only after Virgin records sliced the price of the single down to about 40-something cents. Mariah suffered a pretty serious emotional breakdown after the tragedy that was "Glitter" (hell, I would have too!) and it was becoming clear that this could very well be the end of the superstar.
However, Mariah did some serious soul-searching in one final attempt to replace herself in the spotlight. The lyrically excellent "Charmbracelet" put out a few mild hits, especially "Through the Rain" (remnicient of her former ballads) in hopes that they would re-connect Mariah with her fans. Indeed, "Charmbracelet" DID give Mariah some of her success back, but the response was iffy. The CD was far better than "Glitter," especially lyrically, but was musically lacking in what makes a singer a star.
After some time off, some more serious soul-searching, and an excellent musical production team, Mariah has put forth a CD that very well could be the album of the decade! The widespread reception of the first single "It's Like That" and the immediate and intense success of both the album itself and its second and third singles have all shown us that Mariah is back. With her old fans, with her new fans, with the critics, with the radio, with everyone!
'The Emancipation of Mimi' is by far her best effort in years. It is a hot, R&B and club-laced disc that you can spin in your CD player on your way to work or school, on the way to the beach, on the way to the club on the weekends, pretty much any time! The first and third singles, "It's Like That," and "Shake it Off" show us that Mariah is back with a new, bass-thumping groove. Both of these songs fit in well with any club playlist. Others that you'll have to add to your club CD mix are "Say Somethin'" with Snoop Dogg and "Get Your Number" with JD. The immensely successful second single "We Belong Together" is a typical R&B ballad enhanced by Mariah's vocals and excellent musical execution. Another hip hop ballad, "One and Only" spins a mile-a-minute rap verse with a guest appearance by Twista. All these songs are excellent: comercially, lyrically, AND musically.
But for the true and long-time Mariah fans, the tracks where Mariah truly shines are on the jazzy, night-club-like ballads such as "Mine Again," "Circles," the exceptional "I Wish You Knew," and the gospel closer "Fly Like A Bird." These are the tracks that truly show us that Mariah is an artist who has withstood the test of time and is here to stay for good.
The Songs...
1. "It's Like That" 9/10: A thumping, R&B party song with guest appearances by JD and Fatman Scoop. An excellent club song that kicks the CD off and shows us where Mariah is headed.
2. "We Belong Together" 10/10: Beautiful, bittersweet R&B ballad featuring a powerhouse conclusion by Mariah, a catchy beat, and smart lyrics
3. "Shake It Off" 10/10: Musically remnicient of Usher's "Confessions Part II," except with a bigger beat, this is another pure R&B thumper that would fit on any club or hip hop playlist
4. "Mine Again" 10/10: Probably the best vocals Mariah pulls off on the CD. An excellent, jazzy, powerhouse ballad complete with horns and a jazz organ. Kelly Clarkson, we're glad you didn't attempt this one on 'American Idol'!!
5. "Say Somethin'" 8/10: Good dance song with a mild and melodic breakdown verse with guest rapper Snoop Dogg. Nothing really powerhouse here, just good beat and conservative vocals. Fits well between #'s 4 and 6
6. "Stay The Night" 9/10: Another powerhouse R&B song by Mariah. Compare it musically to Ashanti's "Rain on Me" and you'll find some similarities. Only the instrumentation here is more authentic
7. "Get Your Number" 9/10: Hot club track complete with strong vocals by JD on the chorus and a smart and catchy breakdown bridge by Mariah on both verses. Turn the volume up on this one and blare it all the way to the club!
8. "One and Only" 10/10: Excellent mid-tempo hip hop ballad about a painful relationship. Mariah conservatively shows her mad side on this track, throwing obvious but censored profanities on both verses and raw emotion in the song's vocals. This song is a real treat to hear Twista's whirlwind breakdown during the bridge.
9. "Circles" 10/10: Wonderful jazzy ballad about the follow-up to a painful breakup. A little more up-tempo than "Mine Again," this track again showcases the vocals that have made Mariah into the success that she is today.
10. "Your Girl" 8/10: Brief, straightforward pop number that possibly reflects Mariah's earlier days of "Honey," "Fantasy," and "Heartbreaker." Complete with come-and-get-me vocals and lyrics, this should be a short treat for fans
11. "I Wish You Knew" 11/10: I rate this song above the normal rating, because it is superior to all the rest on the track. Mariah's vocals, lyrics, musical production, and everything else is just out the roof on this song. This is by far the best song on the CD. Made complete with a cool, fake live audience in the background, this jazzy ballad is ear-candy, heart-candy, everything-candy. I can't stop hitting the repeat button on this! True Mariah fans should enjoy the spoken word by Mariah in the bridge and the hot high note she hits towards the end. This song is worth the price of the CD alone! Exceptional songwriting and musical execution! Way to go Mariah!!
12. "To The Floor" 5/10: Definitely the album's biggest disappointment. When I saw Mariah was doing a song with Nelly, my heart raced a million miles a minute. I thought, "Mariah and Nelly paired together are gonna make a really hot track! This is gonna be one of the album highlights." I was wrong. What you really get from this is trite and boring lyrics, a bland melody, with a pretty good beat. This is a collaboration that could have been excellent with a better song. Still, it's a good one to dance to...
13. "Joy Ride" 10/10: Probably my second favorite on the album, this is a sweet pop/R&B ballad complete with excellent vocals by Mariah that range from really low to really high, and build from girlishly soft at the beginning to a powerhouse climax towards the end, and the best song conclusion on the disc.
14. "Fly Like a Bird" 9/10: A jazzy gospel closer that deserves a place on the Sunday morning bulletin. It is a little drawn out towards the end, a radio edit type of thing would make this better, but is a huge conclusion vocally and musically by Mariah. I have a hard time comparing it to the rest of the CD, because it's one of a kind on here, and the overtly religious lyrics seem a little out of place alongside the racier lyrics that appear on a few of the album's tracks. Nonetheless, it's another one of Mariah's gems that makes the album shine so much.
15. "Secret Love" 10/10: Although it doesn't appear on on the 'Mimi' CD, I got this one free for buying the CD from Wal-Mart. I liked it so much that I had to review it. An excellent, thumping dance number that should have been included as a bonus or hidden track on the US version of 'Mimi.'
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A
platinum edition of
The Emancipation of Mimi is also available.
album The Emancipation of Mimi 
