Disco de Mariah Carey: “Rainbow”

Rainbow seems to be the best title she could pick for this album. All the songs are different in every possible way (not meaning it's bad.) But through it all Mariah pulls it off to make a great album which I give 4 stars.

1) Heartbreaker(4.5/5.0)- This is one of my favorite songs off the album. It is a fast-paced danceable song. The beats and tones are excellent (not to mention the vocals). This songs also features rapper Jay-Z which adds more appeal to the song.

2)Can't Take That Away(5.0/5.0)- This song is one of the best songs on the album, if not the best alone. The vocals and message in the song will get you tear-eyed. She sings this song with such feeling and amazement. Undescribeable.

3) Bliss(4.0/5.0)- This song is a ballad and really shows off Mariah's strength vocal wise. The lyrics to this song can be described as sexy. I only gave it a four because the vocals are repeated enough to drive you crazy.

4)How Much(3.0/5.0)- It's not the best but it's okay. The song features R&B star usher but he really doesn't seem to help the weakness of the song. The beat is good though.

5)After Tonight(5.0/5.0)- This song is sooooo beautiful. The beat and tone are of the Latin flavor. Her vocals are great. The only flaw is that it sounds like MY ALL (but who cares! )

6)Ex-Girlfriend (4.0/5.0)- It's okay. It's an r&b style song. But not much to it.

7)Heartbreaker Remix(5.0/5.0)- This remix is one of her best. It features Missy Elliot, Da Brat, & DJ Clue. It's R&B rhythm with the bouncy beat is just unstoppable.

9) Against All Odds(4.5/5.0)- This song is way better than Phil Collins's version. Has more soothing and flexible vocals. But the beat doesn't really compliment her voice.

10) Crybaby(5.0/5.0)- Smooth R&B song. Her vocals are extremely extreme and Snoop Dogg adds a some mor flavor to it with his rap. Fans don't seem to like this song due to it's r&b sound. I just think they have problems.

11) Did I Do That(2.0/5.0)- We just won't go there. Okay?

12)Petals- (5.0/5.0)- Just beautiful man. This song is really touching and the weather sonunds in the background only make it better. One of the best songs on the CD. This song will instantly be a favorite to many.

14) Thank God I found You(5.0/5.0) The best ending song ever! Beautiful vocals and the guests are perfect (Joe & 98 degrees). Great love song to dedicate to a love one.

Well, what else can you say other than Mariah is the best. This album is definitely a rainbow and in the overall ending is a pot of gold for all fans.

I've been a fan of Mariah's since I was twelve and I listened to "Music Box," which my parents owned. She has one of the most amazing voices ever, despite what anyone else says. Who wouldn't want to sing like that? She is also extremely talented because, unlike many other "divas," (Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, etc.) she co-writes all her music and she can successfully mix hip-hop vibes with soaring, soulful ballads. When I first heard "Heartbreaker" on the radio, I couldn't wait for "Rainbow" to come out. Now that I have it, I must say I am slightly dissappointed. Songs like "Petals" and "Can't Take That Away From Me" rank up there with "Hero" and "Vision of Love." But sometimes, the album sounds just like "Butterfly." I loved "Butterfly" (probably her best album), but I expected even more of a development in "Rainbow." Still, if you are a long time Mariah fan like me, get the cd right now. If you sort of like her, it's a little bit of a risk. If you are a hip hop fan who thinks this will fit in with your rap collection, you're wrong. Still, overall, I like it.

I find it hard to believe that the people who gave this album less than a rating of three completely didn't listen to this album! In the liner notes located on the first page of the pull out Mariah states that 'This album chronicles my emotional rollercoatser ride of the past year.' Has anyone noticed the developement from song to song? The journey that she takes the listener on? It begins with the lyrically brilliant 'Heartbreaker' (which I might add is one of her best-written up-tempo hits). The song may not be her most rhymatically driven song (she has a need to recycle songs like the boring Will Smith) but it shines with the pure POP feeling that she has given us over the last decade. Let's not forget, that is what she is, a great POP artist! 'Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)' is another great song, this time becuase she both co-wrote it (with Diane Warren) and it is of original origin, no recycling here. Her best ballad ever, I would have to say. Unfortunetly Mariah can bore the pants off me with her annoying mumbling that began on 'Daydream' (Music Box is void of it) with the song 'Underneath The Stars.' She doesn't have to do it, but she does on 'Bliss', 'Vulnerability' (there for the emotional rollercoaster ride rather than the appeal) and 'Crybaby' (most likely her worst song ever because her voice is annoying and Snoop Dogg is on it! What more can I say!) But her song 'How Much' which features Usher pumps, as does the soon to be hit 'X-Girlfriend.' Her cover of the Phil Collins classic is in my opinion better than the original (as was her No.3 hit 'Without You') and the wonderfully lyricised 'Petals' is packed with Mariah's past and feelings. Her voice does exactly what the song calls for, she doesn't need to belt out or pull that annoying nonsense she does on certain songs, the song is just simple beauty. Her duet with 98 Degrees and Joe 'Thank God I Found You' is another great ballad that is up there with the ranks of 'One Sweet Day' and 'Endless Love.' It is a wonderful song that only deserves to be at No.1. So please before you decide to review this album, at least listen to what she is saying rather than doing, because words are stronger than what she wears, who she sings with (except 'Crybaby') and 'How unoriginal she is.' It's the meaning behind the songs that is important. Rainbow is a strong album, creative and emotionally packed, not her best (Music Box is) but a great effort from a gtreat artist. Four out of Five.

The full story of why this was recorded in only three months appears in the September 2007 issue of "Interview" magazine. In an interview with Ingrid Sischy, she talks about how she wanted to bang out the records after the divorce just to fulfill the rest of her contract. Excerpts can probably be found on one of Mimi's fan sites.

Personally, I find this recording to be cute, lighthearted and "pop". These are "block party" songs to me, and I had plenty of those when I was a kid! What did you expect from our girl? She's eternally 12!

"Bliss" is the most interesting track. The notes are up there, and stay up there. Honestly, some critics may think this sound is bizarre, but if you could sing that high? Wouldn't you? So stop complaining.

It's a fun album. It's not 'Emancipation' or 'E=MC2', but worth a spin. I popped it in my iTunes and sing along when I'm sorting laundry or zipping thru my apartment, cleaning, cooking or puttering. It's gentle background filler that puts me in a good mood. Not every recording has to be emotional glory, salvation, gloom or doom.

I'd give it a B+.

Mariah constanlty amazes me. I was captured by 'Vision of Love' from the first listen, I thought to myself, how could someone so young have such vocal power and such emotional depth? And what a voice! As she puts out one album after another she continues to amaze me as she shows more and more of herself (both musically and bodily). At first I was disappointed as each album seemed to go down hill, then I realised Mariah is a very honest person.

The image of elegance and class was just an illusion created by her producers. As she shows more of herself you can see she has no emotional depth whatsoever,and she has no intention of taking herself seriously. She is just an insecure girl trying very hard to find happiness and please her fans.

Just look at her lyrics and you will see love poems you might have written yourself in elementary school. We all have that part of us in our heart, some choose to hide it, some choose to ignore it, but Mariah chooses to share it with the world. And that takes a lot of courage if you ask me.

Buying Mariah albums has become a habit of mine. Through the years I have learned to have no expectations of her CDs anymore. She is like an old friend, you just want to check out how she is doing. The voice is more or less still there, it's just a pity she has not learned how to use it. So don't take it too seriously, she herself surely isn't, look at the way she's smiling on the cover. Listening to Mariah is just guilty pleasure.