Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
The power in those ab-libs!
Whatev's Mariah Carey Top 50!
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The power in those ab-libs!
9
The Beautiful Ones (Featuring Dru Hill)
Butterfly
Here's the first of FIVE Butterfly tracks in my Top 10.
Written by Prince, this 7-minute opus produced with Cory Rooney is the only cover on the album and was the last track to be recorded. I'm not au fait with the original version, but I love the updated twist on the 80s production, which still sounds modern over 20 years later. It's possibly one of Mimi's most natural and soulful vocal performances - she sounds really comfortable and like she's enjoying herself. Every ad lib is perfectly placed, right down to the harmonised whistle notes around 2:40, and I love the way they take their time before they really LET RIP at 3:39. I've got a lot of time for Sisqó and his vocals on this are easily on a par with Mariah's, especially the "DO YOU WANT HIM? OR DO YOU WANT ME?" bits. And that outro... my god.
The Beautiful Ones (Featuring Dru Hill)
Butterfly
Here's the first of FIVE Butterfly tracks in my Top 10.
Written by Prince, this 7-minute opus produced with Cory Rooney is the only cover on the album and was the last track to be recorded. I'm not au fait with the original version, but I love the updated twist on the 80s production, which still sounds modern over 20 years later. It's possibly one of Mimi's most natural and soulful vocal performances - she sounds really comfortable and like she's enjoying herself. Every ad lib is perfectly placed, right down to the harmonised whistle notes around 2:40, and I love the way they take their time before they really LET RIP at 3:39. I've got a lot of time for Sisqó and his vocals on this are easily on a par with Mariah's, especially the "DO YOU WANT HIM? OR DO YOU WANT ME?" bits. And that outro... my god.
8
Everything Fades Away
Music Box
Typical Mariah to write, produce and record an international bonus track that outshines everything on the "proper" album. Most recently, it appeared on the brilliant album The Rarities. In the liner notes, she says:
One of the more personal songs I wrote during this era. This was a B-side on the “Hero” single and never got the attention I feel it deserves. I guess the label didn’t quite know how to categorize it musically at the time, but it’s an early indicator of a place I would end up exploring further down the road.
Another collaboration with Walter Afanasieff, this to me blends the gospel/soul elements of the Emotions era with flashes of the R&B power ballads that would come with Daydream. It's an absolutely stunning song: her lead vocal is totally mesmerising and the backing vocals are NEXT LEVEL. The bassline is fantastic, the melody and production beautifully haunting, and the lyrics totally heart-breaking.
Everything Fades Away
Music Box
Typical Mariah to write, produce and record an international bonus track that outshines everything on the "proper" album. Most recently, it appeared on the brilliant album The Rarities. In the liner notes, she says:
One of the more personal songs I wrote during this era. This was a B-side on the “Hero” single and never got the attention I feel it deserves. I guess the label didn’t quite know how to categorize it musically at the time, but it’s an early indicator of a place I would end up exploring further down the road.
Another collaboration with Walter Afanasieff, this to me blends the gospel/soul elements of the Emotions era with flashes of the R&B power ballads that would come with Daydream. It's an absolutely stunning song: her lead vocal is totally mesmerising and the backing vocals are NEXT LEVEL. The bassline is fantastic, the melody and production beautifully haunting, and the lyrics totally heart-breaking.
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
Well. What can you really say.
The problem with Butterfly as a fan is that it is just so good that it literally fills your entire Top 10. The Beautiful Ones is that girl for those of us who enjoy vocals, dahling. I guess if Janet is your diva of choice, it might feel a bit much, but personally I enjoy how overblown it is.
Everything Fades Away is, of course, sublime. I like that she recognises that it was a sonic blueprint for a lot of her later work. That little acapella video shows how much attention she pays to the BVs and vocal production. For her, they are just as important as the main melody line (and usually much easier to sing with her current voice
)
The problem with Butterfly as a fan is that it is just so good that it literally fills your entire Top 10. The Beautiful Ones is that girl for those of us who enjoy vocals, dahling. I guess if Janet is your diva of choice, it might feel a bit much, but personally I enjoy how overblown it is.
Everything Fades Away is, of course, sublime. I like that she recognises that it was a sonic blueprint for a lot of her later work. That little acapella video shows how much attention she pays to the BVs and vocal production. For her, they are just as important as the main melody line (and usually much easier to sing with her current voice
)7
Crybaby Featuring Snoop Dogg
Rainbow
Written by Mariah and produced with Damizza, this jewel in the Rainbow crown served as the album's fourth single in the US, and was at the centre of a very public controversy with Sony, due to their lack of promotion. Released as a double A-side with Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme), both songs received limited airplay and chart rules at the time meant that only the song with the most airplay was eligible to chart on Hot 100. Eventually, Crybaby was able to peak at #28, making it her first single to miss the Top 20. With Snoop Dogg on board, it should've been a smash, but it was probably ahead of its time. His melodic rap verses fit perfectly with the song's laid back groove, and the lyrics tell the story of what we now know is her obsession with Derek Jeter while living with Tommy. The backing vocals, performed by Mariah and only one other singer, are really amazing; I love the way they build up in waves towards the end of the song, especially on the longer album version. She looks weird in the video but I do like it.
Crybaby Featuring Snoop Dogg
Rainbow
Written by Mariah and produced with Damizza, this jewel in the Rainbow crown served as the album's fourth single in the US, and was at the centre of a very public controversy with Sony, due to their lack of promotion. Released as a double A-side with Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme), both songs received limited airplay and chart rules at the time meant that only the song with the most airplay was eligible to chart on Hot 100. Eventually, Crybaby was able to peak at #28, making it her first single to miss the Top 20. With Snoop Dogg on board, it should've been a smash, but it was probably ahead of its time. His melodic rap verses fit perfectly with the song's laid back groove, and the lyrics tell the story of what we now know is her obsession with Derek Jeter while living with Tommy. The backing vocals, performed by Mariah and only one other singer, are really amazing; I love the way they build up in waves towards the end of the song, especially on the longer album version. She looks weird in the video but I do like it.
6
Butterfly
Butterfly
I remember hearing this on the radio and being blown away by the virtuosity of it all. Lyrically, I think this is her best song. In a magazine interview, she had this to say:
It was '97 and I was leaving my marriage [to Tommy Mottola] which encompassed my life. I was writing the song 'Butterfly' wishing that that's what he would say to me. There's a part that goes, 'I have learned that beauty / has to flourish in the light / wild horses run unbridled / or their spirit dies / you have given me the courage / to be all that I can / and I truly feel ...[sings] and I truly feel your heart will lead you back to me when you're ready to land.' At that point I really believed that I was going to go back to the marriage – I didn't think I was going to leave forever. But then the things that happened to me during that time caused me to not go back. Had it been, 'Go be yourself, you've been with me since you were a kid, let's separate for a while,' I probably would've.
Originally conceived as a house record that went on the become Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) with David Morales, Mariah re-wrote the song with Walter Afanasieff in ballad form, incorporating new lyrics and vocals. Musically, it's R&B-power-ballad Mariah at her peak, arguably her signature sound; although it didn't perform well commercially, it's become a classic.
I love the piano, the pounding beat, the technically exquisite lead vocal and the rich, gospel-choir-esque backing vocals. The male backing vocals on the middle-8 are brilliant too, and those crashing drums into the final orgasma-chorus. Why she's cuddling a pony and crying while wearing a silk nighty and a dreadful, thirsty wig in the video is anyone's guess, but what a fucking great song.
Butterfly
Butterfly
I remember hearing this on the radio and being blown away by the virtuosity of it all. Lyrically, I think this is her best song. In a magazine interview, she had this to say:
It was '97 and I was leaving my marriage [to Tommy Mottola] which encompassed my life. I was writing the song 'Butterfly' wishing that that's what he would say to me. There's a part that goes, 'I have learned that beauty / has to flourish in the light / wild horses run unbridled / or their spirit dies / you have given me the courage / to be all that I can / and I truly feel ...[sings] and I truly feel your heart will lead you back to me when you're ready to land.' At that point I really believed that I was going to go back to the marriage – I didn't think I was going to leave forever. But then the things that happened to me during that time caused me to not go back. Had it been, 'Go be yourself, you've been with me since you were a kid, let's separate for a while,' I probably would've.
Originally conceived as a house record that went on the become Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) with David Morales, Mariah re-wrote the song with Walter Afanasieff in ballad form, incorporating new lyrics and vocals. Musically, it's R&B-power-ballad Mariah at her peak, arguably her signature sound; although it didn't perform well commercially, it's become a classic.
I love the piano, the pounding beat, the technically exquisite lead vocal and the rich, gospel-choir-esque backing vocals. The male backing vocals on the middle-8 are brilliant too, and those crashing drums into the final orgasma-chorus. Why she's cuddling a pony and crying while wearing a silk nighty and a dreadful, thirsty wig in the video is anyone's guess, but what a fucking great song.
Sheena
ROMANCE
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2004
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This top ten is not going well for me.
I am a Prince bore and whilst The Beautiful Ones is good, it’s not a patch on the original and pays for that.
Cry Baby is ok, but top ten? Nah.
Butterfly still annoys me to this day- it’s the weakest link by far on that album, it had no right being a single or ruining the opening streak of that album. NO THANK YOU. And fuck your Butterfly, I’m glad you flopped.
Everything Fades Away, however, saves it all by being magnificent, OBVIOUSLY.
I am a Prince bore and whilst The Beautiful Ones is good, it’s not a patch on the original and pays for that.
Cry Baby is ok, but top ten? Nah.
Butterfly still annoys me to this day- it’s the weakest link by far on that album, it had no right being a single or ruining the opening streak of that album. NO THANK YOU. And fuck your Butterfly, I’m glad you flopped.
Everything Fades Away, however, saves it all by being magnificent, OBVIOUSLY.
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
Butterfly is a vocal wonder. I recorded her Talking Telephone Numbers lip on VHS and wore the tape out in Q4 of 97. I don't understand why it flopped in the UK. It was very much in line with the Daydream ballads, sonically-speaking.
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
It's also one of the first and finest examples of Thesaurus-riah. Fly abandonedly indeed!
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
Crybaby is fine, but not Top 10 material for me. I am a Rainbow apologist, but I'd place both Heartbreakers, Can't Take That Away, Petals, Against All Odds, and Bliss above it.
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
I love the quiet Triumphant (Get 'Em) stanbase. Truly the deepest cut of her career.
Cerro de Casa
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- 68,342
Get 'em get 'em get 'em GO!
5
Whenever You Call
Butterfly
I know it's gloopy, but I love it. I actually had #1s before I owned Butterfly, so the Brian McKnight duet was the first version I heard. I think that's brilliant, but obviously I was thrilled to discover the Mariah-only version once I got my hands on Butterfly. Written and produced with Walter, it's surely one of her most ridiculous and accomplished vocal performances. This is why it always bugs me when people say her voice declined after Daydream. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger with crashing drums and swooping strings bringing the drama alongside the beautiful, romantic lyrics. For some reason there's no official audio on YouTube, only this horrible lipped "live" video.
Whenever You Call
Butterfly
I know it's gloopy, but I love it. I actually had #1s before I owned Butterfly, so the Brian McKnight duet was the first version I heard. I think that's brilliant, but obviously I was thrilled to discover the Mariah-only version once I got my hands on Butterfly. Written and produced with Walter, it's surely one of her most ridiculous and accomplished vocal performances. This is why it always bugs me when people say her voice declined after Daydream. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger with crashing drums and swooping strings bringing the drama alongside the beautiful, romantic lyrics. For some reason there's no official audio on YouTube, only this horrible lipped "live" video.
Whenever You Call Featuring Brian McKnight
Mariah: "I feel that it was one of the best songs on the Butterfly album and Brian’s vocals made it so beautiful."
Brian McKnight: "We didn't really work together that's, the thing. She trusted me enough to go in the studio on a track on which she had sung all of her parts... I just matched what she did, she wasn't even really there."
Mariah: "I feel that it was one of the best songs on the Butterfly album and Brian’s vocals made it so beautiful."
Brian McKnight: "We didn't really work together that's, the thing. She trusted me enough to go in the studio on a track on which she had sung all of her parts... I just matched what she did, she wasn't even really there."
Beverley
GUESS WHO’S BACK?!
Whenever You Call is just EVERYTHING
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
Well. What can I say. I think it is probably
Tens, tens, tens across the board.
- My favourite Mariah ballad
- One of my favourite songs of all-time
- Probably the song I most relate to personally in relation to a particular relationship in my life
Tens, tens, tens across the board.
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
Good lord, the vocal climax / beat drop / key change is just... *dies*
Loufoque
BATTLE FOR YOUR LIFE
You can keep the Brian McKnight version, however. I hate her copy + paste duets with a patched on male vocal (see: Angels Cry)
Cerro de Casa
User
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Are there really people who seriously think that her voice started to decline on Butterfly? I mean I've heard some people referring to it on Moopy but at the time at least I distinctly remember the reviews highlighting her vocals on the album as superb and the change a stylistic choice rather than decline?