Published on Jun 8, 1997
Any time I review an artist who is a favorite of one of our
writers, I run the risk of really upsetting them. If I don’t like
an album by that particular artist, I usually get nasty little
notes from that writer. If, however, I like the release, I usually
don’t hear from them.
One of our writers, “Always JB,” is a drooling Mariah Carey fan.
I have never been a big fan of hers – like other “divas” (Whitney
Houston, etc.), I have always felt their songs have been more of
vehicles to show how high their vocal range is. If I want to see
someone showing off, I’ll watch the Detroit Red Wings pummel
Philadelphia – oh, wait, I did that before I wrote this review.
So it may seem strange that I am the one reviewing Carey –
today’s subject,
MTV Unplugged EP – rather than JB. Call it an attempt to be
open-minded or call it an impulse buy as a result of my last trip
to the used record store.
I can’t help but notice one particular section of the liner
notes: “We broke the arrangements down to their simplest forms by
using only acoustic instruments on all of the songs.”
Duh
– that’s why they called it “unplugged,” you fool! (This
didn’t stop Tesla from breaking out an electric guitar on their
“acoustic” album, however.)
Now that I have my cheap shot out of the way, I will admit that
Carey does have some impetus as a vocalist – though I think she is
better as a “torch” singer than when she is hitting some of those
high notes that would make the dog howl with pain. (I did once hit
a note that high – when my then-girlfriend kicked me in the crotch
after I rated The The as “okay” – but I digress.) When Carey is in
torch mode, songs like “Vision Of Love” shine.
Too bad moments like this are few and far between on
MTV Unplugged EP. Carey puts a slight gospel twist on the
opening track “Emotions,” and continues to keep a gospel theme
going throughout various parts of the album. But on “Emotions” and
“Someday,” Carey shows off how high she can sing (though she does
stay true to form with the studio versions). Two words: who
cares?
In fact, it is on a cover song that Carey seems to be in the
most control – “I’ll Be There,” a song which grated on my eardrums
when it played on the in-store piped music while I worked in
retail. Trey Lorenz’s background solo work does add to the power of
the track.To Carey’s credit, she does revive my interest in the
early stage of her career with a decent job on “Can’t Let Go.”
New fans may be turned off at the brevity of this album, while
diehard fans like JB probably appreciate the new twist on some of
their favorites. But I don’t think
MTV Unplugged EP will attract that many more fans – it’s
more of an album for diehard fans only.
Sorry, JB – though I will be looking forward to your next review
for me, where you’ll probably bludgeon someone like Led Zeppelin to
death.