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Mariah Carey Album: “#1's”
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Release Date:1998-11-16
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Type:Unknown
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Genre:Pop, R&B, Soft Pop
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Label:Columbia
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Explicit Lyrics:No
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UPC:5099749260429
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Review - :
Protest as she may -- and she does, claiming in the liner notes that {^#1's} is "not a greatest hits album! It's too soon, I haven't been recording long enough for that!" -- it's hard to view {^#1's}, {$Mariah Carey}'s first compilation, as anything other than a greatest-hits album. {$Carey} was fortunate enough to have nearly every single she released top the pop charts. Between 1990's {&"Vision of Love"} and 1998's {&"My All,"} all but four commercially released singles ({&"Anytime You Need a Friend,"} {&"Can't Let Go,"} {&"Make It Happen,"} {&"Without You"}) hit number one, with only a handful of radio-only singles ({&"Butterfly,"} {&"Breakdown"}) making the airwaves, not the charts. That leaves 12 big hits on {^#1's}, all number ones. Since {$Carey}'s singles always dominated her albums, it comes as no surprise that {^#1's} is her best, most consistent album, filled with songs that represent state-of-the-art '90s adult contemporary and pop-oriented urban soul. That said, it isn't a perfect overview -- a couple of good singles are missing because of the self-imposed "#1 rule"; plus, the {$Ol' Dirty Bastard} mix of {&"Fantasy"} is strong, but fans familiar with the radio single will be disappointed that the chorus is completely missing on this version. The album is also padded with a personal favorite (her {$Brian McKnight} duet {&"Whenever You Call,"} taken from {^Butterfly}) and three new songs -- the {$Jermaine Dupri}-produced {&"Sweetheart,"} the {$Whitney Houston} duet {&"When You Believe"} (taken from {^The Prince of Egypt} soundtrack), and {&"I Still Believe,"} a remake of a {$Brenda K. Starr} tune -- which are all fine, but not particularly memorable. Still, that's hardly enough to bring down a thoroughly entertaining compilation that will stand as her best record until the "official" hits collection is released. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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