ECM2 – Mariah Carey
The Continuation of Mimi
Three years after ‘The Emancipation Of Mimi’, Mariah Carey returns with her 11th studio album; E=MC2.
The album begins with the smooth seductive ‘Migrate’ featuring T-Pain; Mariah muses about drinking pinot grigio with her girls. The vocoder trend continues. It’s about time Teddy Riley gets some royalty checks!
‘Touch My Body’ is first single off the album. Mariah is vocally strong and it’s no surprise it reached number 1 on the Billboard Charts.
The collaboration with Damian Marley on ‘Cruise Control’ is a lovely surprise. Jermaine Dupri does a fabulous job meshing reggae tones and R&B together. The only problem is Mariah’s Jamaican accent; it needs a lot of work!
‘That Chick’ is one of the best tracks on the album. It has a great vibe and wonderful potential to be the third single.
E=MC2 is romantic at its heart. On the track ‘Side Effects’ she talks about her ‘private hell’ marriage to Tommy Mottola. We are then treated to a series of love ballads (‘Love Story’ and ‘Ill Be Loving You)
‘Bye Bye’ is a dedicated to the singer’s father who died of cancer in 2002. This is the official second single. The track itself is well arranged and this is one of the few tracks where Mariah is at her best.
The album ends pleasantly with the gospel inspired ‘I Wish You Well’. It’s disappointing that this track is the only one where Mariah’s vocal range is in full flow.
E=MC2 is certainly a musically diverse album with the pop, gospel, reggae influence. With this album Mariah has proven her comeback wasnt a fluke.
