Mariah Carey - Charmbracelet

Mariah Carey's ninth album has been touted as her comeback album, coming as it does after the belly flop that produced the overwrought soundtrack to her ill-fated film, Glitter. With Charmbracelet, Carey goes out of her way to fix all those aesthetic glitches, tempering the overblown vocals, simpering lyrics, and uninspired funk covers of her last album and returning to what she does best--showcasing her magnificent five-octave voice and pillaging her lift history for inspiration. After her breakup with superstar Luis Miguel, MTV meltdown, hospitalization for exhaustion, and the death of her father, Carey had a lot of emotional baggage to sift through. She has and, as a result, has created an inspired and diverse 15-song opus that finds her skipping from an impassioned Aretha Franklin-like gospel ("Saving Grace") to an impish cover of Def Leppard's power ballad "Bringin' on the Heartbreak." Though he's not mentioned by name, rapper Eminem is given a pointed drubbing on "Clowns" for hinting in the press and in his own song "Superman" of a relationship with Carey. There hasn't been such a compelling musical soap opera since Carly Simon's '70s roman à clef, "You're So Vain." However, the disc's most inspiring moment comes on "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy," a wistful elegy for her father that recounts his final days in his hospital room. This is a stunning return to form for Carey. --Jaan Uhelszki Amazon.com

 "You're no superhero..."
Charmbracelet by Mariah Carey is anything but a treasure. This was the album after her so-called breakdown and the music here is mostly filler, the songs are just messy and uninspiring. I used to love Mariah's albums but this one is her second worst after the horrific Rainbow. The only song with spunk and a sense of humor is the Eminem diss track, Clown. Bringin' on the Heartache is a so-so cover and Through the Rain is a complete snooze fest. I hate her r & b style songs, wish she would go back to her pop roots, this is one album to dispose of. April 21, 2008

 A Golden Treasure Filled With Charms!
While Mariah Carey is known for her past hit albums this one showcases a *new* and *sensational* production! It's a diverse musical style incorporating soft, breathier vocals combined with her famous elevated pitches along hip-hop featured artists, some dance elements with R&B, and the all all-too-famous *ballads*! The listening experience takes a story line of a journey with darkness, storms, yet beautiful "rainbows" and "dreams" surfacing. As Mariah states, "This album is like a charmbracelet I'm passing down to you. Here's my story." While there are numerous versions, this one is for those that prefer less hip-hop rap featured artists found on the others. It's a spectacular production definitely for fans, new listeners, and critics!

Every single song has something to offer from expressions of love going wrong [heartache from the heartbreak], barely surviving after a fall [through the rain], desiring romance after a passionate night [I only wanted] to romantic songs like "Boy" feat. Cam'ron [celebrating a hot lover], "The One" [expressing the nervousness of finding true love], "Yours" [proclaiming being completely devoted to embracing that dream].

Each charm is put on each track [booklet] expressing the meaning behind it and the song. It's a puzzle type story that flows through the music bringing emotions of love, hope, strength despite adversity, and cherishing the dream of finally experiencing the *magic* of love.

The touches of class and detailed hard work are definitely noticeable. The thanks on the back mentions God first and foremost. More specifically, "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gifts. 2 Corinthians 9:15." The artwork is stunning in a glossy photo finish, with lyrics in English in the gold booklet.

My favorite tracks are "Through The Rain" for the empowering lyrics of standing strong after hard times, "I Only Wanted" for desiring someone the night after a special romance, "The One" showing how a new lover was unexpected and hard to trust, and "Boy" for the catchy hooks, bouncy rhythmic beats, and hip-hop blends. This is a definite high recommendation!

*The album was dedicated to the loving enduring memory of Mariah Carey's father, Alfred Roy Carey January 25, 2008

 Underrated and Unappreciated : But Also Unlistenable : A Curious Oddity
"Charmbracelet" confuses me. Something tells me I'm SUPPOSED To like it, since I usually like anything by Mariah, but its the only album in her catalog that I have consistently tried to revisit, but somehow can't quite get into it. I consider her soundtrack to "Glitter" superior to this.

The problem is that either Mariah thought she could blend way too many genres together, or she just wasn't very interested. Either way, its evident that the primary reason this ranks low in her catalog is due to the lack of good tunes. Simple as that. Almost nothing here has a catchy chorus or is singable, and her ballads, often Mariah's strong point, are almost always overwrought, oversung and way too dramatic to take seriously.

"Through The Rain" was supposed to be her comeback single. I remember the era well. MTV's TRL was doing a fine job promoting the song, and the video had an extended intro of a biracial family and their struggles. The song is just average, but Mariah for some reason wanted to strangle all the emotion out of it, so it becomes a farce.

"Boy" (I Need You) samples a summer hit by Cam'Ron, so it cant really be called original. However, some solid tracks do come up right after this one. Primary contendors would be "Clown", "Yours" and the beautiful "My Saving Grace". Did I mention that the production on this CD is tight throughout?

"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is easily the most accessible song on this. A straight cover of the rock song, it bewildered many at first, but has gone on to become a much loved Carey track. Towards the end of the album, the song selection tends to droop. I mean, I don't know why Mariah thought it wise to record and release a duet with Ashanti of all people, but you have that song here as well. The "Through the Rain" remix at the end isn't bad, but considering the original song itself was average, its really nothing to write home about.

And thats the problem with this album. Every Mariah record has a WOW moment - a couple of REALLY good tracks, a standout single, some introspective songwriting, but here, there is really none of that. What we have in its' place is very average, same-sounding songs of the pop/R&B variety. Think of something released by Nivea, Olivia or even Amerie (early years) and you can possibly comprehend the vibe of the CD. I am guessing it even sold as much as it did only because of the Carey tag, because otherwise there is very little here that seems compelling.

My main concern with this album, is that despite owning every Mariah album in existence, this is the one I can never quite seem to WANT to play. It lies there, but I can't pick it up. Why? Because I know theres no pay off. As a Mariah fan, it would be easy for me to give this five stars, but I am conscious of her grand mis-step here, and while I won't call this a big mistake, its certainly her most unlistenable musical experiment.

Pros - Great Production, Some good vocals, a Couple of Standout tracks
Cons - No cohesiveness, Poor Melodies, Poor songwriting, Too many 'vocal sighs' from Mariah, and a lack of musical direction

All in all, this is monumental because it reintroduced some edgy production into Mariah's albums, but at the same time it was a huge disappointment as Mariah's 'comeback' would have to wait at least a couple of years more. So should you buy "Charmbracelet". My answer would be - try some audio samples. If you like most of Track 1-6, then do get it. However, if you don't, skip this entirely, as you won't be missing much, honestly.

Three Stars.

November 22, 2007

 Definitely her second worst release...but has some of her best songs.
1. Through The Rain - Decent, but not her best.
2. Boy (I Need You) feat. Cam'Ron - Bad vocals. OK lyrics.
3. The One - OK.
4. Yours - Good song.
5. You Got Me feat. Jay-Z and Freeway - Catchy.
6. I Only Wanted - OK. A bit too mushy.
7. Clown - Very, very good.
8. My Saving Grace - Nice song.
9. You Had Your Chance - OK
10. Lullaby - OK.
11. Irresistible (Westside Connection) - Filler.
12. Subtle Invitation - OK, but nothing special.
13. Bringin' On The Heartbreak - Nice remake. Her best high note EVER is in this song!
14. Sunflowers For Alfred Roy - Classic and meaningful.
15. Through The Rain (Remix) Feat. Kelly Price and Joe. Filler.

Decent - 7
Meh - 6
Ugh - 3

Vocals: 5.25 (She whisper-sings like nobody's business. I miss her singing/belting. I hate what she does now.)
Composition: 7.75
Guest Stars: 7.75
Album Art: 8

One good thing I must say is that it has a lot of good midtempos.
3.6 stars. October 22, 2007

 Great album!!
I really loved this album. My favorite tracks were "The One", "Clown", "Lullaby", "Through The Rain" and "You Had Your Chance"...all her albums are great and this one was no different. She has THE best voice in the industry and never fails to amaze people with what she can do next. The biggest problem with this album in my opinion was that she covered "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" by Def Leppard...who is my favorite band/artist of ALLL time. They can't be touched and she kinda murdered that song...but other than that (LOL) this is a good record and I do think it was awesome of her to like Def Leppard enough to wanna cover them but I think she could have done a lot better. "Clown" is supposedly a response to Eminem and his allegations...I guess we'll never know what happened there but nonetheless, it's a really good song. "Lullaby" is probably my absolute favorite..just the beat of it, the way it's sang...all of it. It's just great. Anyway, buy it, you'll love it! :) September 16, 2007

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