Published on Jan 27, 1997
Underneath the Stars is a promotional single that may never
see the light of day. Seen from an artistic standpoint, the cut
from Mariah Carey’s latest effort
Daydream is an excellent song and a milestone in Carey’s
lyric-writing abilities.
Yet from a popular standpoint, the song is slightly too R&B
to be mainstream. It’s not one of her power ballads or upbeat dance
mixes, which define Carey’s past success on the charts. Despite
that, it’s still a very good song and perhaps the best
Carey-Afanasieff collaboration since “Hero” off of
Music Box.
“UTS” (as it is fondly called in Mariah circles) is frequently
quoted to be her personal favorite on
Daydream. So no wonder she trusted her brainchild to
Trackmasters in making the “Drifting remixes.” The result is a very
dark deja vu of the original song, which in contrast was a warm,
high school-romantic mix. Her vocals are relaxed to an almost
murmur, and the effect is, like the picture that graces the disc,
hypnotic. It’s a long way from “Dreamlover”.
Chances are,
Underneath The Stars won’t be released to droves of starving
Carey fans. Carey stated that the
Daydream project should last for only a year, a deadline
which passed on October 3. Still, Carey fans hunger for more
material – 1996 was the first year without a Mariah Carey album
since her debut in 1990.
Although another album is scheduled for release come summer 1997
(but Columbia Records is not famous for punctuality), “Underneath
The Stars” and perhaps “When I Saw You” (a song subject to an
Internet mailing campaign with a strong following) could tide fans
over until then.
Daydream is in near exhastion; only
Jagged Little Pill is in a worse state. A wide-spread
release of
Underneath The Stars would be a graceful end to put
Daydream to rest.