BeyondIdolization wrote:
DutchLamb wrote:
And most artists also don't listen to their past work to find inspiration. They rather want to move forward and do something fresh. Mariah on the other hand is the complete opposite.
And you know that Mariah listens to her old work for inspiration how? You had a converation with her about it? And how do you know what other artists do and don't do?
Oh, come on. This was a fair assessment. It's true. TEOM was her least "Mariah" album since Butterfly (but she did note that Subtle Invitation worked well, and then went on to make several "live" tracks), but the inspiration for E was obviously a combination of what worked on TEOM (WBT pt. 3-7), a throwback ballad meets FLAB, and what the "in" producers of the moment were doing. Memoirs was inspired by her whole career and the last decade in popular R&B. Even Merry Christmas II U was inspired by the first Christmas album, TEOM, and her early 90's ballads, although the Mark Shaimann stuff, especially CTTITAA, was completely different.
Looking back on her past work was a great idea for the Christmas album, but I don't think it's the best idea for new material - especially Memoirs since it sounded dated (albeit solid) by the time it was released.
I REALLY like where she went with "Oh Santa" - I'm not necessarily saying she should do the whole album with JD or even work with him on this new effort, but it proved that she could still make something insanely catchy and timeless while appealing to what makes a hit now -- a track that will make people dance, be happy, and allow them to forget about the job market and economy. I honestly think if she released something in the same vein that wasn't Christmas-centered, it'd be a crossover radio hit. She's also probably elated right now since she's pregnant and married, and she hasn't really delved into this part of her life in her music yet, save The Impossible. It'd be great if she laid down vocals right now since she can't drink and her voice is in such great shape, but that may continue after she has the baby, so who knows.
I'm glad that she's considering recording again right now, but I really don't think people should get their hopes up for a new effort until at least 2012, especially since she's giving birth to twins in a few months and is still with Island - they're going to be super nit-picky with the next release, especially because she just rebounded from a relative commercial flop to a relative commercial success.