(out of five) 
Carey gets a jump-start in the diva sweepstakes -- Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope is due
Oct. 7, Shania Twain's Come On Over hits stores on Oct. 28 {Nov. 4 actually}, Barbra Streisand's Higher
Ground on Nov. 4 and Celine Dion's untitled album has a tentative release of Nov. 18 -- with
this collection of 12 songs, in stores Tuesday.
But all eyes are on Carey in particular as she releases her first album after separating from
husband and Sony bigwig Tommy Mottola.
Carey, who has sold an astonishing 80 million albums worldwide, is helped out this time by
co-writers and co-producers Sean "Puffy" Combs and Walter Afanasieff.
Unfortunately, the results are sleepy off the top.
Following the uptempo first single, Honey -- which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
-- it's downhill with dreary ballads like My All, Fourth Of July and Babydoll, before great pop
finally emerges in the form of Close My Eyes and Whenever You Call.
Also engaging is the uptempo dance of Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) mixed by David Morales,
which makes you long for more of the same.
Carey's cover of The Artist's The Beautiful Ones, a duet with Dru Hill, and the ballads
Breakdown and Outside, in which she trades vocals with Krayzie Bone and Wish Bone from
Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, are interesting, if not outstanding.
More engaging is the subtext of Breakdown, with regards to Carey's marital status.
"Underneath the guise of a smile gradually I'm dying inside," sings Carey. "Friends ask me how
I feel and I lie unconvincingly, 'Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering."
Carey's track record -- her previous six albums have sold between three and nine million each
in the U.S. alone -- will likely mean this album flies out of stores on reputation alone.
Although I suspect she'll have Jackson and labelmate Dion nipping at her heels when they
release their respective albums.
Sunday, September 14, 1997,
By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun
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