| Thursday 22 November 2001 |
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Sans sparkle
The way things are going for Mariah Carey, it looks like she needs inspiration from one of her hit numbers Hero. Just a few months ago everything was going right for her. She had just signed a $ 100 million contract with a record company and was all set for her new album and a leading role in a film. Maybe she found too much in her plate and with a thud. Her whole world came crashing down. Twice she required hospitalization, her new album got a lukewarm response and her film career came down before it took off.
The 12-track original soundtrack of the film, in which she plays a young upcoming club singer trying to break into the big league (a little Madonna-esque theme), has the most unlike combination where a horde of rappers are lined up and overshadow Mariah Carey. Whitney Houston and Madonna have used the movie-plank to further elevate their musical careers, unlike Mariah they took full advantage of the film to showcase their talent.
This album has Mariah's trademark ballads and uptempo pop numbers too, but as mentioned earlier the line up of rap / hip hop stars takes the shine off the album. Of the 12 tracks, Mariah has just five solo numbers and is reduced to a supporting role on the rest of the numbers. The album opens with Loverboy remix featuring Da Brat, Ludacris, Twenty II and Shawnna and ends with it again, this time featuring Cameo. More such tracks follow and on wonders why a singer whose forte is ballads did not make them theme of the album.
Ballads like Lead The Way, All My Life and Want You do appear but they fail to lift the album. The best track is Last Night A DJ Saved My Life but here Busta Rhymes, Fabolous and DJ Clue steal the limelight. With problems in her personal life (she has separated from her husband) and the film and album both failing to take off, she needs to find the "hero in her" to overcome this phase. (Khaleej Times) Many thanks to Miss Mariah Carey.
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