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carlos b fly

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Posts: 22,018 You'll never be ready. Memba I told you!

#22 [url]

Jul 6 15 1:10 PM

Kevon wrote:
I like it but I feel like it was a waste of good songs. The songs were beautifully written, lyrically and melodically. It was a Mariah album through and through. I think what lets it down is the mumbly, whispery vocals that just got lost in the production. A real shame because the songwriting on the album is amongst her strongest.


Yeah, it is a VERY Mariah album. Her last that really used the formula and the quality of lyrics and melodies are actually commendable and classic Mariah. My views on it have slightly softened over the years in hindsight, compared to albums like E=MC2 and Memoirs which just get worse over time and in the grand scheme of her career, mean little to nothing in Mariah's overall tapestry.

Its an album you have to work for and you know what I'm like with music - I don't believe in that or letting things 'grow' in. As a product, it either works or it doesn't but you do need look past or struggle on with the muddy production and whispering vocals of CB to see the quality underneath but its a lot of work. I cant be bothered to do that. As often said, with better production, vocals and less filler, it would have been a far more enjoyable piece of work.
 

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Kevon

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#23 [url]

Jul 6 15 1:24 PM

^Though for me I feel the music that 'grows' on me and isn't instant is the stuff that stands the test of time. Like, I thought 'E' was great when I first heard it because it was so immediate and catchy. But then there was so little to it that it's now amongst my least favourite, if not my least favourite Mariah album.

Believe it or not I didn't really like Butterfly when I first heard it. There were so many things going on in the layering that it wasn't immediately. But then as time went by I ended up growing to love it for those things. That nearly 20 years later I still hear little nuances that I didn't hear before.

CB is in the middle because generally what makes a Mariah album is vocals along with melody. And the vocals just weren't there.

Remember this song? Amazing but just because of the way it's sung, it's just one level vocally.



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BeyondIdolization

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#24 [url]

Jul 6 15 1:39 PM

Kevon wrote:
Mariah10Carey88 wrote:
I love it but whoever mixed and mastered the songs should never be let into a studio again. I think the problem with the vocals isn't the vocals themselves and it's more how they were recorded,mixed, and mastered with that hissing sound (which was also present on FLAB and other teom songs). Some of the songs it sounded like she was under water or in a well. But the songs themselves are some of her most creative and melodic.
The production is poor but the vocals are definitely the main problem. I mean Lullaby is a mumbly mess. Which is a shame because melodically and lyrically it's a good song.


I don't mind the VOCALS on Lullaby, but the vocal production/mastering is indeed horrible, which makes the vocals sound worse than they are. I think had she recorded it in one of the Sony era studios, the vocals would sound less harsh/hissing. I just think that Capri studio wasn't up to par, when she started recording there is when the actual sound quality went downhill.

 

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carlos b fly

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#25 [url]

Jul 6 15 2:25 PM

Kevon wrote:
^Though for me I feel the music that 'grows' on me and isn't instant is the stuff that stands the test of time. Like, I thought 'E' was great when I first heard it because it was so immediate and catchy. But then there was so little to it that it's now amongst my least favourite, if not my least favourite Mariah album.


 


I've always been a WHAM-BAM kinda guy. Always. Uber decisive. I'm not one to listen to songs/albums dozens of times in the hopes I'll like it. If it doesn't have those elements that at least intrigue me off a first or second listen, then I'm done. I've got that kind of ear (maybe from industry training) that I'll zoom in fast on what I like, what's weak or what isn't quite working.

While MIAM, for example, has revealed more musically time and time again, I knew I at least liked it after one listen. If I thought it was complete sh!te, I'd know after that first play. You either tickle me down there or you don't smiley: laugh  

  

Last Edited By: carlos b fly Jul 6 15 2:29 PM. Edited 1 time.

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MissyJG

Posts: 6,019 Chillin' at FOMM

#27 [url]

Jul 6 15 7:21 PM

I actually like the songs but I haven't listened to the whole album in many many years (like literally a decade) because I was turned off by the way she overused whispery vocals which sometimes sounded misplaced and forced unlike on her other albums. I was glad JD told her to use her full voice again. Her CB voice was very smooth and fluid though. And I like the videos. But it's been so long. I think it's time to listen to it again. See how I feel about it now.

Last Edited By: MissyJG Jul 6 15 7:30 PM. Edited 3 times.

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esettle0

Posts: 21,128 Reflections of your love have come to wither

#28 [url]

Jul 7 15 8:44 PM

The song that could have been really epic with just a much stronger vocal is 'I Only Wanted'. The production, lyrics, and melody are all there. It'd be far more stunning with 'After Tonight'-like vocals.

I wonder what would win for best vocal of the album? Probably 'The One'. Is that the only JD-produced song on the album?

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BeyondIdolization

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#29 [url]

Jul 7 15 9:21 PM

Do People Like 'Charmbracelet'?

esettle0 wrote:
The song that could have been really epic with just a much stronger vocal is 'I Only Wanted'. The production, lyrics, and melody are all there. It'd be far more stunning with 'After Tonight'-like vocals.

I wonder what would win for best vocal of the album? Probably 'The One'. Is that the only JD-produced song on the album?


I think you meant to say My All lol. AT and IOW vocals are pretty much equally poor.

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esettle0

Posts: 21,128 Reflections of your love have come to wither

#30 [url]

Jul 7 15 10:38 PM

BeyondIdolization wrote:
esettle0 wrote:
The song that could have been really epic with just a much stronger vocal is 'I Only Wanted'. The production, lyrics, and melody are all there. It'd be far more stunning with 'After Tonight'-like vocals.

I wonder what would win for best vocal of the album? Probably 'The One'. Is that the only JD-produced song on the album?


I think you meant to say My All lol. AT and IOW vocals are pretty much equally poor.

well I did mean AT,  but I get your point lol. While AT's vocals are sub-par, I don't hate them... but I hate IOWs vocals lol.

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robjv1

Posts: 10,743 True in love and wisdom, well off and witty, using god's sleeve to wipe the hell off the city.

#31 [url]

Jul 7 15 11:12 PM

Re: Do People Like 'Charmbracelet'?

YHYC has grown on me a lot. TGMH gets waaaaay more play than SI. MSG she did better with FLAB, so that gets no plays.

Last Edited By: robjv1 Jul 7 15 11:27 PM. Edited 1 time.

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Kevon

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#32 [url]

Jul 8 15 5:06 AM

I remember IOW was the first time we heard 'the squeak' during the lipping when she performed it on The View. FOMM was flipping out



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WYC9

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#33 [url]

Jul 8 15 2:03 PM

MoonlitSoup aka jeremimi wrote:
Love it!! It makes for some of my best cover songs because my whisper voice is basically the same as Mariah's



In what universe?



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Bigsteel 00

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#34 [url]

Aug 29 15 4:50 PM

Do People Like 'Charmbracelet'?

Kevon wrote:
I remember IOW was the first time we heard 'the squeak' during the lipping when she performed it on The View. FOMM was flipping out :lol


Lmao

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BeyondIdolization

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#36 [url]

Aug 31 15 11:59 AM

Kevon wrote:
I remember IOW was the first time we heard 'the squeak' during the lipping when she performed it on The View. FOMM was flipping out laugh.gif

 


  Early CB era was probably the worst she's ever sounded because it was like (when she sang live) she could barely even make a sound; I honestly think it was psychological more than anything, she had totally lost her confidence. Then of course she totally turned it around with the CB tour.

 

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#37 [url]

Aug 31 15 12:58 PM

^Agreed about the confidence, which started around the Glitter era. She was visibly shaking during her big performances post-Glitter (starting with the 9/11 tribute performance)-- she sounded out of breath and like she was petrified of making a mistake.

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BeyondIdolization

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#38 [url]

Aug 31 15 1:30 PM

jamiclever wrote:
^Agreed about the confidence, which started around the Glitter era. She was visibly shaking during her big performances post-Glitter (starting with the 9/11 tribute performance)-- she sounded out of breath and like she was petrified of making a mistake.


Her voice got a lot better towards the end of 2001 though with Home for the Holidays and the BET Christmas special (maybe end of medication..?). And then of course she did the beautiful recording of Star Spangled Banner. But then she sounded terrible again for the CB recording sessions.

 

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robjv1

Posts: 10,743 True in love and wisdom, well off and witty, using god's sleeve to wipe the hell off the city.

#39 [url]

Aug 31 15 3:17 PM

Yeah, her voice was all over the place during that period. Those early Glitter performances were really shaky, then she got great... then she sounded awful on CB and amazing on tour. She has the worst timing ever lol.


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