14 DAY TRIAL // After much delay, Mariah Carey’s latest studio material, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” was released the other day to an overall positive reception. Given the repeated obstacles the material stumbled upon what with the release date, many believed it was no good, but, luckily, this has proven to be inaccurate, albeit it could have been better.
There is no doubt that “Memoirs” is a vanity work that cries self-consciousness and idealization, critics agree. The same goes for the fact that Mariah and producers have definitely given in to the current tendency noticeable in all pop stars (no matter whether talented or not) where their voice is skillfully covered under layers and layers of studio trickery. Still, the album is great and stands on its own as the best piece Carey has delivered in years, an ode to love delivered in the most amazing vocal acrobatics.
“There’s always a moment on a Mariah Carey album when her voice sounds like a helium balloon suddenly released to drift into the stratosphere. She trills, she wails, she coos, and then somehow she crash-lands back into the melody right on cue with her diva tresses perfectly in place. Her voice, with its many peaks and valleys, has always been her calling card. But ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,’ her 12th album released today on Island Records, presents her as more of an emotive vocalist and not just a singer with an impressive range. Make that Mariah Carey, song stylist.” the Boston Globe writes of the album.
Mesfin Fekadu of The Associated Press is equally generous with praises for Mariah on her latest work, though admitting that there are tracks on it that could have used a little more work – or less, depending on how one sees the overproduction of music. Still, the fact that the diva can carry an entire album on love alone (be it looking for it, finding it or crying over it when it’s over), a theme so tried and old in music, speaks volumes as to her never-fading appeal for the public. And that much is certain: “Memoirs” will be a hit with the fans.
Jim Farber of the New York Daily News, though, is not that convinced of the quality of the album. “Rarely do we hear [her voice] clearly. Nearly every syllable sounds like it’s been tricked up by a war room full of compressors, echo-chambers, filters, audio-tuners, and God knows what other contraptions too much time and money can buy. […] R&B stars like Beyonce and Keisha Cole have lately progressed into something far more sophisticated than this. Coupled with the nervous over-correction of her voice, the result makes Carey seem like the proverbial aging actress who’s trying so hard to cover her perceived flaws, all she does is call more attention to them.” Farber writes in a scathing, one-star review of “Memoirs.”
Then again, as they say, one can never please them all, so perhaps this kind of mixed reaction was to be expected for Mariah Carey’s music as well.