Mariah Carey Album: “Greatest Hits”

Mariah's Greatest Hits. Although, her latest albums "Glitter" and "Rainbow" are good I miss the classic Angelic ballads from her earlier work. I am dissappointed that Glitter didn't do as well as anticipated, and in fact, I don't really understand because overall it is a good album & the ballads are beautiful. However, I think all the rap/hip-hop in her most recent music is not benefiting her success, & instead it is aiding her in loosing her momentum. No matter what I will always love Mariah & her music, but she has to cool it with the rap sh... Some of it is okay, but enough is enough. The beauty in her songs & emotion is lost with the piercing/& sometimes annoying rap background vocals. Some of it just doesn't fit. However, in the song "Honey", the rap background is acceptable because it's funky, it "fits", & it's not overplayed. Ever since her music has been altered with hip-hop she seems to have lost the significance in her sound. Her song bird & Angelic voice is too beautiful, emotional, and meaningful to add the annoying repetative "hip-hop" nuisance. The songs story line & emotion is lost behind to much of the hip-hop. I must point out that I like how she has experimented with different sounds; such as, funk, dance, & pop - but the hip-hop/rap is becoming too much. Mariah - I still love you & you will always remain a singing sensation, but we want to hear more of your beautiful Angelic voice like in "Never to Far". Aside from all this, you are still a shining star in my book and I will always be a #1 fan. Furthermore, I respect the fact that Mariah does alot for charity & not only does she have the voice of an Angel, but also the heart of an Angel.

While never accused of being a particularly meaningful song interpreter, Mariah Carey has nonethelesss produced some of the best pop of the last decade, the majority of which is presented here in this very generous twenty-eight song compilation. While her career is seemingly going even further south thanks to her unjustly criticized GLITTER album(and the accompanying flop of a movie), this is a good reminder of why, at her peak, few could come close to Carey's track record. While she was constantly prone to adult contemporary sap('I Don't Wanna Cry', the horrifically maudlin 'My All'--one of her worst records ever), she also produced a number of first-rate singles('Vision Of Love', 'Fantasy', 'Emotions'). Sixteen of the tracks are carry-overs from her previous 1'S collection(rendering that set pointless), along with tracks from RAINBOW, as well as a completely unnecessary remix of her holiday track 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'. Additionally, the set includes several of Carey's non-commercial singles(the sterling 'Forever', 'Butterfly'), as well as one of her best, most fully realized songs ever('Underneath the Stars', which was inexplicably never released). One minor omission her is that of 'Breakdown', one of the few highlights from her otherwise dreary BUTTERFLY album. Otherwise, this is a great way to filter through the cream of Carey's Sony years.

It was only a matter of time before one of the most sucessful singers in the world (Mariah) put out a GREATEST HITS package. Now, this cd is excellent in covering Mariah's career from 1990-2000. It features 15 number one hits! Plus other top ten hits like "can't let go", "without you", "anytime you need a friend", "endless love" etc. Has there ever been an artist with a greatest hits collection that includes FIFTEEN number one hits on one album? I think not! So that alone proves Mariah's sucess and talent. Listening to GREATEST HITS will bring back memories. I'm sure that everyone knows at least ONE Mariah song so this is a great collection. My only problem with this collection is that "breakdown" and "the roof" didn't make the final cut. Also, no new tracks but it's no big deal. Mariah's GREATEST HITS is a landmark pop/r&b collection that everyone would enjoy.

Mariah Carey was the biggest female songstress of the 90's. She had several hugely successful albums hit after hit (at least up until the "Butterfly" album.) This album is a great look back at her amazing career (although the first disk has most of the good stuff on it. Mariah worked for her success and her first album yielded 4 incredible hits (Vision of Love, Love Takes Time, Someday, and I Don't Wanna Cry) They were all huge on radio and commercially (all making it to #1) Mariah's 2nd album "Emotions" wasn't quite as successful as her first, but it was still a fantastic work churning out three of her best songs (Emotions, Can't Let Go (breathtaking), and Make It Happen) Yet again, all three were large on radio and commercially. Next came along her biggest acheivement yet "Music Box." Four fantastic singles followed (the 2 #1's "Dreamlover", "Hero", and the equally deserving "Anytime You Need A Friend" and "Without You." In '95, Mariah released yet another huge album "Daydream." "One Sweet Day" was one of the buggest songs in history and "Fantasy" and "Always Be My Baby" were also amazingly successful. "Forever" was also released off "Daydream" but never charted (which is beyond me cuz it's a fantastic song.)

Now...here's where Mariah began to falter. '97 and "Butterfly." She began to go into the hip-hop scene and radio quickly turned its back on her. "Honey" and "My All" went to #1 but only due to commercial releases. They both received lukewarm airplay. "Butterfly" never even charted. in '99 "Rainbow" was released which provided some amazing songs, but they were overshadowed by the hip-hop (...). "Heartbreaker" and "TGIFY" went to #1, but yet again, they released barely any airplay and only managed to cuz of commercial releases....

Mariah...go back to the music that brought u onto the scene. Don't waste your time with music that doesn't show off your amazing talent.

As a casual fan, for many years I just had her "1's" collection and figured it was enough. Well recently I got this "Greatest Hits" fairly cheap and quickly realized how much better it really is. Besides the inclusion of more tracks, I like this collection more for the songs that didn't reach the top of the charts. Some of the minor hits I like alot more than the #1 hits, specifically "Can't Let Go", "Make It Happen", and the cover of "Without You". I think my current favorite here is "Anytime You Need A Friend". That song is excellent, and is one of a few I had completely forgotten about. Another plus to this set is the inclusion of the songs from "Rainbow". In a perfect world this would also have "Breakdown" and "Against All Odds", but it's still an amazing package. The only other surprise to me was the lack of pictures. She usually gives us some nice shots, but not here.