Mariah Carey Album: “Emancipation of Mimi”

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!

I have been a Mariah fan since 1990, when my older sister introduced me to pop music. And since those days, I have been a Mariah fan ever since. I loved every album until I heard Raibow, which to me was not the same voice I feel in love with and may me realized that she's slowly fading away with her astonishing voice. Glitter and Charmbraclet weren't much better and once again, flop albums. But Emancipation is a definate win over me. The ballads are back, the gospel like vocals have returned, and improved songwriting has emegered all over again, like rebirth.

If you were a fan until the Butterfly album, then buy this! It is like a Mariah makeover and you know lots of work did go into this album. THe only downer about this album was some of the "club" tunes, for the most part, they are ok, but it isn't something that put me over the top.

I bought this cd, put it in the cd player and listened to it straight through--no skipping around--and my high expectations were completely fulfilled.

I love music. It's such a powerful medium. It can take you places--back to childhood, to the hopeful places in your heart that aspire for greatness, to the quiet places inside yourself that you rarely share with others.... EMANCIPATION OF MIMI was one of those albums that has the energy of something new and also is familiar...having elements that remind you of your favorite songs; some of the tracks seem to be very present and contemporary takes on songs that otherwise would have a clearly 'old school' feel. And I don't know if any of you feel this, but there is something under Mariah Carey's voice--an essence of gospel, if you will. The soul and perfection of her voice can 'take you to church' even if she's performing a pop or hip-hop number:-)

The writing, the beats, the style is brilliant. Mariah Carey is a maestro, and she makes me love even the songs that don't feel like any others that I've ever heard. I admire her for trying different things, not being afraid to go out on a limb artistically. And I'm glad she's back.

While I loved the entire album, I especially liked: 'Like This and Like That'; 'We Belong Together'; 'Get Your Number'; 'One and Only'; 'Mine Again';'Joy Ride'; and 'Fly Like A Bird'. I'm glad Mariah is back to give us all chills with her lovely poetry and angelic voice.

Gorgeous and Genius.

Yes it's true what you've heard...the "voice" has returned. I found Mariah's whispered hushed toned voice that she has used for the past couple of years to be downright grating, and I'm glad that she has gone back to really using her voice. But, that is not the only thing that's good about this album. There are songs with some pretty strong melodies all throughout. This is one of the best "conventional" R&B albums that I have heard in a while. The material is pretty much standard fare for top 40, and there is no new ground forged here, but everything that Mariah does, she does really well on this album. Even the rapper collaborations that she's done consistently on every album since "Butterfly", but that have rarely resulted in good songs, actually work on this album (especially her Twista collaboration, "One and Only"). Almost all of the slow to mid-tempo songs are great, and luckily, they dominate this release. But, even the uptempo dance numbers are pretty good, with the exception of "Shake it Off" that is. Much of "It's like that" didn't strike me as great either, but this song is totally redeemed by that gorgeous pre-chorus section. That Jermaine Dupri intro to "Get your number" REALLY should have been left off, but this is a suprisingly good song otherwise. The track listing only gives credit to Dupri but either Dupri does a great Nelly imitation or that's Nelly singing the hook on this track. The highlights on this album are abundant but the songs that stand out most to me are "We Belong Together", "Mine Again", "Stay the Night", and "Circles". I guess that this CD is supposed to be some sort of loose concept album about Mariah no longer feeling like she has to live up to other people's expectations. I'm not quite buying it but, whatever! :-). It's still a solid album nevertheless and it has left me looking forward to new releases by Mariah.

This CD is practically flawless! I and all the other Mariah lambs have been waiting for this album for quiet sometime, especially after the stellar performances Ms. Carey gave on the Charmbracelet Tour. For some reason this is billed as a comeback album and a return to form after her last two CDs. Glitter was vastly underrated and was never supposed to be a "Mariah Carey Album". It features some great songs and some of Mariah's strongest vocals. Charmbracelet was hindered by the whispery vocals and some not-to-strong songs but it was still a good CD.

Fans will be pleased to know that Mariah is singing in full voice for every song, as shown in the hot first single "It's Like That" and the excellent second single, the ballad with a beat, "We Belong Together". Other highlights for this album are the ballads "Mine Again", "Circles", "I Wish You Knew" (which is sung as if in front of a live audience and features Mariah speaking to the audience), and "Fly Like A Bird". "Fly Like A Bird" just struck me suddenly in a way that no Mariah song has. The song is very uplifting and every part of the song is just perfect. The subtle vocals in the beginning to the full on belting with the choir at the end. The song has brought tears to my eyes and is my favorite track!! The good thing about alot of the ballads is that they are sung live with a band and it just adds a more organic, original, 70's soul feel.

The hip-hop-pop songs are also great (my favorite is One And Only with Twista) but its all about the ballads and Mariah's AMAZING AMAZING VOICE!!!! Go buy the CD, you will definately not be disapointed! Also check out Sprung and Secret Love, the bonus tracks on the international edition of this CD. I am a lamb for life and I think Mariah Carey is a goddess!