Written By Anthony Feggans
Posted on August 31st, 2007 Share on Facebook
When it comes to Mariah Carey, it's hard for me to exactly put how I feel about her in words. No doubt she has one of the most phenomenal voices to ever grace the radio, and we all know how well she has been able to rebound from an embarrassing fall from grace around the early 2000's to capture numerous grammys for her most recent CD which you, the reader, most likely own in some shape or form, The Emancipation of Mimi.
But even though in some people's eyes she's better than ever, to me, nothing will ever come close to the Mariah Carey of the 90's, namely her 5th CD released in 1995, Daydream.
At the shy age of 20, Mariah was beginning to turn heads and gain enamored praise. It began with a catchy and groundbreaking ballad called Vision of Love in 1990 from her self titled debut CD Mariah Carey. From there, things became more grand as her 7-8 octave vocal range shattered through opposition and nay-sayers of her vocal abilities with singles like Emotions (1991), Dreamlover & Hero (1993).
Then came her 1995 CD Daydream which would prove her most critically acclaimed release and the 2nd best selling album of the year, becoming her most commercially successful album to date. The sound of the CD is noticeably different than her previous outings, being inspired much more by hip-hop and R&B as opposed to the purely pop and sometimes gospel roots of the albums that preceded it. But heavier beats and Hip-Hop remixes laid down on some of the tracks would prove to work wonders for her CD and her career.
Now, even though my personal favorite song on the CD is Always Be My Baby, I will cover her most successful single from the album, Fantasy.
Sampling from Tom Tom Club's 1982 single Genius of Love, the song, for me, plays part is epitomizing the sound of the 1990's: slightly R&B, slightly Hip-Hop, and slightly pop. While her clothes were getting smaller, and her hair slightly more blonde and straighter compared to her brown curly locks of before, her sound was as pure and distinct as ringing crystal. Sooner than later, Mariah Carey found herself to be one of the best selling female artists in the music industry.
Now, as all of us know, there were a few more CD's that came out afterwards. 1997s Butterfly, which was heavily inspired through hip-hop, with appearances by P.Diddy (Puff Daddy back then) and Missy Elliot. With this album (and the music videos to follow) Mariah presented a far more sexual image of herself to an unsuspecting public (a result of the times and her simply growing up.) As time went on and she gained more control over what she wanted to do with her music, it become obviously clear that the direction she wanted to go in was Hip-Hop, with 1999's Rainbow following suit.
This is when, for me, she just became one very rich, very scattered hoochy, playing part in the death of the sound of the 90's. She went on MTV dressed like some escaped psychiatric patient who bought baby clothes from The Gap before stealing some poor man's ice cream cart on some street corner in Downtown New York. And then she completely lost it when Glitter, the movie she had co-written as a semi-autobiographical movie about her life for 2 years, got bitch slapped from every critic around (thank GOD we didn't have online blogs back then.) You know the rest
Basically, as much as I miss the 90's and its music, tv, even its horrible fashion sense with neon t-shirts, Doc Martins, and ridiculously enormous Blossom straw sunflower hats, I miss the old Mariah, even after her return to prominence with 2005's Emancipation of Mimi. Blonde Mariah does nothing for me, and it's obvious her voice isn't as pristine as it once was, which is a given after 10 years of putting it to the strenuous test she has. There is something about brunette Mariah that just captures my heart and makes me love music from that time period, especially that particular album.
I know you shouldn't move backwards, so I appreciate her ability to just move ahead of her failures and continue onward, but still[sigh]
Anyways, I remember this song fondly. I used to hear this all the time on the radio back in late '95 and it instantly made me a Mariah fan. I really had nothing else better to do at the time.. I didn't have cable TV and I didn't have a computer lol. I passed the time with the radio.
I also like this era of her career, even though the late 90's was pretty good. The Heartbreaker remix with Da Brat and Missy is still one of my fav's... ah, 1999.. How I miss thee..
Basically, anything before "Glitter" I like. This new Mariah is meh.
Now, as all of us know, there were a few more CD's that came out afterwards. 1997s Butterfly, which was heavily inspired through hip-hop, with appearances by 
