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#41 [url]

Jan 5 09 6:31 AM

heightsgarage wrote:
Johnny Roberts wrote:

E=MC2 is a great record, not as good as TEOM, but better than anything else she's done this decade.


so not as good but better than teom? image




He means better than anything released this decade besides TEOM, so Glitter and CB.

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#42 [url]

Jan 5 09 6:43 AM

It's so much better than TEOM, and I wish E=MC² haters(you know who you are) wouldn't react with comments like "You are crazy"or "ridiculousn thought" ...we're talking musical taste here!

I think it's a very solid album, the first album from Mariah since Daydream where I instantly liked every song!




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therooftop

Posts: 1,754 Chillin' at FOMM

#43 [url]

Jan 5 09 8:08 AM

I think "E" is a very confident, consistent and cohesive album.

I think the problem with the newer songs are that they are too short. Most of the songs are only a little over 3 minutes. Thats where "TEOM" and "E" suffers. With the old songs, she continues doing adlibs, scatting and whatnot for about an additional minute. That's why the fans had something new to discover every time.

Mariah ditched those for commercial appeal. Someone in her team probably told her that her songs were too long, and when she came back with TEOM, her songs were notably shorter, more repetitive and end more abruptly. Perfect for radio. Bad news for fans

Unlike fans, critics don't put Mariah CDs on repeat for weeks. Thus these 2 albums got a better critical reception. Fans, however, were disappointed because they ruined the songs for themselves.

To sum it all up, The older albums had a longer playing time (well not exactly because some just have 10 tracks, but you get the point.) More stuff to discover and less chances of getting sick of.

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Kevon

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Posts: 37,602 'Showing receipts and offering seats'

#44 [url]

Jan 5 09 8:16 AM

therooftop wrote:
I think "E" is a very confident, consistent and cohesive album.

I think the problem with the newer songs are that they are too short. Most of the songs are only a little over 3 minutes. Thats where "TEOM" and "E" suffers. With the old songs, she continues doing adlibs, scatting and whatnot for about an additional minute. That's why the fans had something new to discover every time.

Mariah ditched those for commercial appeal. Someone in her team probably told her that her songs were too long, and when she came back with TEOM, her songs were notably shorter, more repetitive and end more abruptly. Perfect for radio. Bad news for fans

Unlike fans, critics don't put Mariah CDs on repeat for weeks. Thus these 2 albums got a better critical reception. Fans, however, were disappointed because they ruined the songs for themselves.

To sum it all up, The older albums had a longer playing time (well not exactly because some just have 10 tracks, but you get the point.) More stuff to discover and less chances of getting sick of.
That's a really good point, I had never thought of that. Many of the songs on "E" are really catchy, but I couldn't figure out why I lost interest in them so quickly. Maybe you're onto something there.

They clearly wanted to re-create what 'WBT' had with this album - that song was short and sweet, and kept people wanting to listen to it over and over again. The only problem with that is that, as you said, there's less to the song without Mariah's minute-extra standard. The reason I listen to the 'Butterfly' tracks over and over is because they all have so much to them. If they were missing a chorus, it wouldn't be the same.

I'd like to see that element to Mariah's music back - if they want to do both, they can cut out the extra for the radio edit like they used to.

image
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EdWood

Posts: 1,272 Chillin' at FOMM

#46 [url]

Jan 5 09 9:49 AM

I agree that EMC2 is a great record but I have to admit that it's one of her albums with least longevity. The tracks that have longevity for me are:

Touch My Body
I'm That Chick
Thanx 4 Nothin
I Wish You Well

The rest of the tracks got old real quick. Sometimes I feel like listening to Last Kiss or Cruise Control etc. but increasingly less often.

I have always said that TEOM is her best album. For me I love every track and it still sounds fresh to me. It is probably my most played album.

Her top two albums for me are TEOM and Butterfly.

The next two are probably the debut and Daydream.

So I would put E=MC2 probably in 5th or 6th place with Emotions (I am not including Merry Xmas and Unplugged).

But then again, if I could pick and choose songs from Glitter and Charmbracelet I would probably make a better album then EMC2.

Her worst are definitely Rainbow and Music Box. Apart from the singles, most of the songs have not held up the test of time. But I do admit that EMC2 has some great production and I think the vocals are also great based on where her voice is at today. The problem with the album is that it has no stand out tracks that scream hit and the fact that the album seemed to get old too quickly.

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rainbow1199

Posts: 12,520 Often imitated, never duplicated.

#47 [url]

Jan 5 09 4:24 PM

kevo2002 wrote:
therooftop wrote:
I think "E" is a very confident, consistent and cohesive album.

I think the problem with the newer songs are that they are too short. Most of the songs are only a little over 3 minutes. Thats where "TEOM" and "E" suffers. With the old songs, she continues doing adlibs, scatting and whatnot for about an additional minute. That's why the fans had something new to discover every time.

Mariah ditched those for commercial appeal. Someone in her team probably told her that her songs were too long, and when she came back with TEOM, her songs were notably shorter, more repetitive and end more abruptly. Perfect for radio. Bad news for fans

Unlike fans, critics don't put Mariah CDs on repeat for weeks. Thus these 2 albums got a better critical reception. Fans, however, were disappointed because they ruined the songs for themselves.

To sum it all up, The older albums had a longer playing time (well not exactly because some just have 10 tracks, but you get the point.) More stuff to discover and less chances of getting sick of.
That's a really good point, I had never thought of that. Many of the songs on "E" are really catchy, but I couldn't figure out why I lost interest in them so quickly. Maybe you're onto something there.

They clearly wanted to re-create what 'WBT' had with this album - that song was short and sweet, and kept people wanting to listen to it over and over again. The only problem with that is that, as you said, there's less to the song without Mariah's minute-extra standard. The reason I listen to the 'Butterfly' tracks over and over is because they all have so much to them. If they were missing a chorus, it wouldn't be the same.

I'd like to see that element to Mariah's music back - if they want to do both, they can cut out the extra for the radio edit like they used to.



It seems as though not just Mariah but everyone is cutting out the extra minute or so of songs, I've noticed songs have gotten considerably shorter in recent years. Probably due to the digital age and just wanting to sell a hot catchy single.

image

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#48 [url]

Jan 5 09 5:07 PM

^ Yeah, just call it the "Akon" effect. Everything cut and fit perfectly for radio and nothing else.

Basically an album of singles. I'm sure record companies love this as they can just keep cranking out singles all year long. I hate this trend and I suspect Mariah will now as well.

Last Edited By: Johnny XI Jan 5 09 5:10 PM. Edited 1 time.

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mariahfan150

Posts: 33,673

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#50 [url]

Jan 6 09 4:23 AM

ArabianLamb wrote:
rainbow1199 wrote:
BeyondIdolization wrote:
rainbow1199 wrote:
BeyondIdolization wrote:
Not her best album imo, but a great and very solid one. Whether an album is a great body of work should be judged on its consistency and cohesion. Unfortunately there are ignorant people (some in this very thread) that fail to grasp that concept, and let their own dated view on what music "should" sound like (and particularly, Mariah's music) cloud their judgement. But, really, that is their loss and not something worth contemplating.


What if something is consistently mediocre? image

Well, that's not the case here so we don't have to discuss that. image I can understand the criticisms of the ballads on E=MC2 to an extent, but to completely dismiss the album is just silly. There's some really interesting work here, which everyone seemed to agree on until the album started underperforming.


I don't really see your point there- as far as I'm concerned, there are still plenty of fans praising the album despite it underperforming. The existence of this thread is proof positive. The only thing this era that had a complete opposite reaction following its performance was 'Bye Bye', probably because people view it as the murderer of the success of the record. I became disillusioned with it two weeks after it was released, which most would agree was before it underperformed. And I agree that there's some interesting stuff- but as an album, while cohesive, it's one of her least compelling imo.

Yes completely agree, as an album its just...there, nothing amazing, nothing timeless...just okay material, with okay vocals. Mediocre is the best word to describe the album by far.

Contenders for her best albums include Butterfly, Daydream, Debut and TEOM.
Completely agree.



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mariahsaccountant

Posts: 342 Chillin' at FOMM

#51 [url]

Jan 9 09 5:26 AM

therooftop wrote:
I think "E" is a very confident, consistent and cohesive album.

I think the problem with the newer songs are that they are too short. Most of the songs are only a little over 3 minutes. Thats where "TEOM" and "E" suffers. With the old songs, she continues doing adlibs, scatting and whatnot for about an additional minute. That's why the fans had something new to discover every time.

Mariah ditched those for commercial appeal. Someone in her team probably told her that her songs were too long, and when she came back with TEOM, her songs were notably shorter, more repetitive and end more abruptly. Perfect for radio. Bad news for fans

Unlike fans, critics don't put Mariah CDs on repeat for weeks. Thus these 2 albums got a better critical reception. Fans, however, were disappointed because they ruined the songs for themselves.

To sum it all up, The older albums had a longer playing time (well not exactly because some just have 10 tracks, but you get the point.) More stuff to discover and less chances of getting sick of.
Good point there. Of course, I'm EXTREMELY grateful that TEOM came along, and WBT with it, because that was nothing short of the "miracle rain" after a VERY LONG DROUGHT.

Still, I can't help but agree with a comment by Jon Pareles of the New York Times (one of the few critics who have consistently evaluated Mariah with objectivity, and maybe even some affection): with TEOM, as she was so eager to get back into the good graces of radio and the public, it seemed like she had ditched all of the eccentricities (that made us fans and addicts in the first place) and concentrated on what was instantly likeable.

And that TEOM approach, of course, was applied with even more single-minded focus in E=MC2.

So while I do love E=MC2, and the 7 (more or less) excellent tracks (i.e., I could do without hearing Last Kiss ever again), and I think it's a cohesive album, it could have done with a few sublime album tracks, in pretty much the same vein as Close My Eyes for Butterfly or Underneath The Stars and Melt Away for Daydream.

Then again, I should be careful about what I wish for, because we might get another Charmbracelet, God forbid. image

The hooks are catchy, the melodies are very good, the lyrics are streetsmart (I love the Migrate Mariah-isms, despite the criticism), and the production is, for the most part, extremely competent. I guess that's just it. It's a very competent piece of work, but what does it in, ultimately, is the almost palpable, single-minded focus on generating a multitude of hits (which, ironically, never happened).

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#52 [url]

Jan 9 09 1:14 PM

BeyondIdolization wrote:
Not her best album imo, but a great and very solid one. Whether an album is a great body of work should be judged on its consistency and cohesion. Unfortunately there are ignorant people (some in this very thread) that fail to grasp that concept, and let their own dated view on what music "should" sound like (and particularly, Mariah's music) cloud their judgement. But, really, that is their loss and not something worth contemplating.

Thank You for posting this!

E=MC2 is my second favorite Mariah album after TEOM. However, E=MC2 has some songs that drastically stand outfrom other songs in the Mariah Carey cataloge in a good way. I really think this as an album is an excellent effort and its filled with a lot of solid tracks. What gets me is how people are so quick to dismiss the opinions of others because it doesn't match their own opinion of what said artist should sound like.

imageimage


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