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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Emancipation of Mimi, January 2, 2006
Mariah Carey regained her crown with this album. She truly does deserve the 8 Grammy Nominations. People need to stop comparing people. I read a review for Mary J. Blige's "The Breakthrough", which is also an amazing album. The reviewer said "use The Emancipation Of Mimi as a coaster and get The Breakthrough". Is it not possible to have more than one amazing album released in one year. Both of these two women are amazing and both of them released amazing albums. Also, I read something about Mariah Carey fans trying to make Madonna's album flop, which is ridiculous. People always have to compare people. But anyways, back to this album. With this album, you can tell Mariah is in a new place and she's finally free. The title fits very well for the album, because it just sounds like she just let go of everything. The music doesn't like it's being controlled, there's just this strong feel of freedom.
The album jumps off with the first single, "It's Like That". This free-spirited party-starter is produced by Jermaine Dupri and Mariah Carey. I love the song, but the first verse is definately very shocking to all the long-term Mariah fans, as she makes drug and alcohol references ("I came to have a party, open up the Bacardi....Purple taking me higher, I'm lifted and I" like it). But regardless, the song is still amazing. The second track on the album is the second single, "We Belong Together", which is also produced by Jermaine Dupri and Mariah Carey. The song is her first number one hit in over five years, and it's an absolutely amazing song. Mariah Carey describes the song as "Anytime You Need A Friend" meets "Breakdown", and Jermaine Dupri describes it as the biggest song of his career. Although I may have heard this song over a million times, since April of 2005, surpringsly, I have never gotten sick of yet. The next track on the album is the third single "Shake It Off", also produced by Jermaine Dupri and Mariah Carey. Jermaine Dupri and Mariah Carey definately make the perfect team. Dupri has been each single released from this album so far. This is one of my favorites on the album, the lyrics are awesome. It's just about move on and putting someone behind you and just "shaking them off". Great lyrics! The fourth song on the album is a beautiful ballad called "Mine Again", produced by James Poyser and Mariah Carey. It's an absolutely amazing song that shows you MARIAH STILL HAS THAT AMAZING VOICE. ALthough this song has not been released as a single, I have heard on the radio in Chicago a few times. The next song on the album is a Neptunes-produced track featuring Snoop Dogg, called "Say Somethin'." Mariah Carey and Snoop Dogg colloborated back in 1999 on the song "Crybaby." This song definately isn't as great as "Crybaby" but it's still a pretty good song. The next song is a track produced by Kanye West and Mariah which is another one of my favorites. I have so many favorites on this album that it's ridiculous, I can't even pic a number one favorite. But this is definately one of my favorites. A great colloboration between Mariah and Kanye. Mariah's voice is amazing on this album and again, it's one of those song that just gives you that FREE feeling. Guess what's next, another favorite. "Get Your Number" is another colloboration with Jermaine Dupri, which was a top ten hit in the U.K. For some odd reason, people keep refering to this as one of the worst tracks on the album, but I think it's one of the best on the album. It has a very early '90's feel to it. It's kind of like, what Mariah Carey would do in the early 1990's if she teamed up with Jermaine Dupri earlier. The next track is a song called "One & Only" which features Twista. I think the song might be better without Twista singing along with the melody several times in the middle of his rap, and just had a short rap, instead of the long verse he has. The next song is a ballad called "Circles" in which she produces with James "Big Jim" Wright. It's just a great song with great lyrics. The next song is a more upbeat song called "Your Girl". I can't think of anything to say about it, but it's just a really good song. The next song is a slower track called "I Wish You Knew", the song has a fake live audience at the beginning of it. The song has an old school R&B ballad feel to it. It's a really nice song. Things change up a bit with the next track. Another track produced by The Neptunes called "To The Floor", featuring Nelly. The song is definately a club joint, but definately has an 80's feel to it. This is another one of my favorites. We already knew Nelly and The Neptunes made a good team due to the success of "Hot In Herre". But I also think Mariah and Nelly sound good together. The next song, "Joy Ride", I think might be my least favorite on the album. I just don't think there's anything all that special about it. The final track on the original pressing of the album is "Fly Like A Bird", which is a wonderful song. I love this song because it's like she's going back to the basics. Towards the end of the song a choir comes in singing the chorus. It reminds you of something she would have done in the early or mid 90's.
The new re-released edition of the album features four new bonus tracks, "Don't Forget About Us", "Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)", "So Lonely (One & Only Part II)" and "We Belong Together Remix". All four tracks are amazing, making the album ten times better. "Don't Forget About Us" is Mariah's latest single, produced by Jermaine Dupri and herself, like her other singles released the album. I love this song, it's reminiscent of "Always Be My Baby", which was also produced by Jermaine Dupri and Mariah, and was the first collobroation between the two. "Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)" is another Jermaine Dupri/Mariah colloboration and is absolutely amazing. It's basically just a very sexy upbeat Hip-Hop flavored track. "So Lonely (One & Only Part II)" is 90 billion times better than the original version. I don't even like the original version all that much (compared to the other tracks on the album), but I think this song might have to be my favorite track on the album. The album closes with the "We Belong Together" remix featuring Jadakiss and Styles P. This remix has been getting airplay ever since the summer of 2005, so it's good to finally get it on an album. I don't think I love it as much as the original version but I still love it, and I'm so glad they put it on here. If you don't have this re-released version, stop complaining and GO GET IT! You can sell the original pressing to a used CD store! The four new tracks alone are definately worth the money.
"The Emancipation Of Mimi" is Mariah Carey's best album since... I don't know, since all of her album's are amazing. But this album is definately way better than "Charmbracelet". Mariah Carey definately deserves these 8 Grammy Nominations. She HAS regained her crown!
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