Friday 26 November 2010

CD review: Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas II You

Mariah Carey‘s 1994 Merry Christmas album - which yielded All I Want For Christmas Is You, is the top 3 best selling holiday album in the United States since 1991. Merry Christmas II You is not Carey's attempt to recapture that same formula but rather to offer a more festive, relaxed counterpart that complements the first album well.

Lead single Oh Santa! is a cute pop record that - quite transparently - revisits the theme of All I Want For Christmas Is You. The hook is addictive and the bass is bombastic. I feel like I have been transposed from a car to a reindeer sleigh while listening to this track on the road. It has the same vibe to All I Want For Christmas Is You and over the past couple of weeks, it has grown on me. I still think that all she wanted for Christmas was a tad better, but there we are.

The Charlie Brown Christmas originally recorded by a children choir for Vince Guaraldi of Snoopy fame, is my favorite track. This is another track where she incorporates the whispery voice and it works to perfection, but the "Linus & Lucy" piano intro at the beginning was unnecessary. O Come All Ye Faithful/ Hallelujah Chorus is a nice duet with her mother, Patricia Carey. The elder Carey sounds wonderful, and the blending of both their voices not only invokes sweet sound but the warmth of family.

The live performance of my favorite version of O Holy Night is another highlight. This was recorded about 10 years ago at the WPC in South Central Los Angeles. The great thing is that the soon-to-be-Mommy really sings it very well. Goose bumps and smiling heart, you will be transported to the middle of a Christmas concert with this track.

Mimi has proven her detractors wrong again with this holiday record strong enough to rival her first Christmas album from 16 years ago that has topped the charts every year since.

(Spin or Bin)



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