Spring Break
E=MC2 isn't genius but proves Mariah's still got it
Caity Cudworth
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Entertainment
This long, arduous, journey is not for the faint of heart. Apparently, the trek requires "three bottles of Patron," jeans that "feature my hips," and "a Lamborghini." Clearly, if you're rolling with Carey and T. Pain, looking fly is essential to the migration process.
On the whole the album is actually pretty solid. I doubt this project will catapult Carey into the category of "musical genius" but it's definitely listenable, embarrassingly so. All the more so if you have a high tolerance for songs about a) how sexy Mariah is, b) all of the reasons why Mariah is sexy and c) who she would like to have sex with and how she would like to go about having sex.
Also, there are a couple songs about clubbing.
On E=MC2, Carey's voice may be more processed than a bag of Cheats but the production values on the album are seamless and this is critical. Tracks otherwise drenched in a candy coating of stupidity (see: "I'll be Loving U Long Time," and "I'm That Chick") prove that flawless production is a virtue in its own right.
If you take the album for what it is-the latest release from one of the most commercially successful singers in the past decade (and, moreover, a singer whose career is no longer really dependent on her voice), then you'll probably enjoy this.
Throughout the years, Carey has relied so heavily on sex appeal to sell albums that she usually seems more like an endearingly crazy stripper rather than a singer with an eight-octave range. So if you listen to E=MC2 expecting the vocal acrobatics she relied upon before she discovered hot pants, well, you'll be disappointed.
On the other hand, if you just accept the fact that Carey is-if nothing else-a talented performer who knows that sex sells and the American public sometimes finds insane people charming (provided they're female and show a lot of cleavage), then this is actually a pretty solid venture for Carey.
In related news, as of April 2, Carey surpassed Elvis in number of No. 1 singles, so, bravo, Mariah. If you keep it up you can have your own frilly pink version of Graceland-though that might not be a good thing. It just seems all too frighteningly possible that, like the King, Carey's career will end with her drugged up, bloated and wearing a sparkly jumpsuit.
On the whole the album is actually pretty solid. I doubt this project will catapult Carey into the category of "musical genius" but it's definitely listenable, embarrassingly so. All the more so if you have a high tolerance for songs about a) how sexy Mariah is, b) all of the reasons why Mariah is sexy and c) who she would like to have sex with and how she would like to go about having sex.
Also, there are a couple songs about clubbing.
On E=MC2, Carey's voice may be more processed than a bag of Cheats but the production values on the album are seamless and this is critical. Tracks otherwise drenched in a candy coating of stupidity (see: "I'll be Loving U Long Time," and "I'm That Chick") prove that flawless production is a virtue in its own right.
If you take the album for what it is-the latest release from one of the most commercially successful singers in the past decade (and, moreover, a singer whose career is no longer really dependent on her voice), then you'll probably enjoy this.
Throughout the years, Carey has relied so heavily on sex appeal to sell albums that she usually seems more like an endearingly crazy stripper rather than a singer with an eight-octave range. So if you listen to E=MC2 expecting the vocal acrobatics she relied upon before she discovered hot pants, well, you'll be disappointed.
On the other hand, if you just accept the fact that Carey is-if nothing else-a talented performer who knows that sex sells and the American public sometimes finds insane people charming (provided they're female and show a lot of cleavage), then this is actually a pretty solid venture for Carey.
In related news, as of April 2, Carey surpassed Elvis in number of No. 1 singles, so, bravo, Mariah. If you keep it up you can have your own frilly pink version of Graceland-though that might not be a good thing. It just seems all too frighteningly possible that, like the King, Carey's career will end with her drugged up, bloated and wearing a sparkly jumpsuit.
