Disco de Mariah Carey: “Ballads”

I got my copy of the cd today. This compilation is more for the hard core fans to add to their collection. Of the 18 tracks, 6 songs aren't exactly what you call ballads - "Always Be My Baby", "How Much", "Dreamlover", "Thank God I Found You (Remix)", "The Roof" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You". I was pleasantly surprised though to hear "Reflections" on the album given that it was released under Virgin Records' "Glitter". However, it lacked (Columbia released) ballads like "Love Takes Time", "I Don't Wanna Cry", "Never Forget You", "Forever", "Whenever You Call", "Butterfly" & "Can't Take That Away". And if they really wanted a Christmas song because of the timing of the release of the compilation, they should have instead included "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)".

This would make a decent first purchase for someone without any of Mariah's better albums or compilations. It combines some of our favorite ballads onto on convenient disc.

"

" (duet with the great Luther Vandross), "Hero," and "Without You" are the quintessential pieces while tracks like "The Roof" and "How Much" stick out as filler.

There are better compilations out there such as

, which contains one of my favorite ballads "Whenever You Call" (duet with Brian MckNight) - one that should have definitely been included on this

collection had music rights not been a factor.

Most diehard Mariah fans have the tracks on this Ballads CD already, so unless you are without an MP3 player with playlist functionality, you can safely pass on this one.

All her ballads are what made Mariah Carey famous. I'm sure most agree that her ballads speak directly to one's heart. Great compilation of her songs.

Mariah, when you putting out a new & current "REMIXED" CD? I'm waiting!

Mariah Carey has perfect pitch and you can hear it as she uses exact keys and incredible range throughout "The Ballads." I really like the duet with Whitney Houston. They sing, "When You Believe," which was written by Stephen Schwartz and Babyface. It's a well-written song that allows both singers to showcase their talents.

Mariah, I love your music, but this new Ballad Collection COULD'VE been MUCH better. For starters, some of the tracks on this new collection aren't ballads. It would've been a killer package to gather all of your greatest ballads & slow jams from all 3 record labels (Sony, Virgin, and Island) to create a stellar 2 CD set. I've done this and included some of your rare B-sides to sweeten my special Mariah Slow Jam Playlist on my iPod (I even mastered the songs onto 2 discs!!). At any rate, I really love the cover photo of your Ballads compilation.

Better luck next time!