1997 was a year of sweeping changes in Camp Mariah.
She parted company with her long-time management and
was snatched up by Velvet Mafioso power broker Sandy
Gallin. She further poised for Hollywood with the addition of
drama coach Sheila Gray to her entourage. She also parted
ways with husband Tommy Mottola, who, coincidentally or
not, also happens to be the President of Sony Music
Entertainment. Mariah, who's been hankering to add some
hip to her hop since working with Wu-Tang rapper Ol' Dirty
Bastard on the re-mixes for 1995's "Fantasy," takes on a
slew of rap all-stars to get her new album out of the gate. All
of these factors combine to make Mariah Carey's Butterfly
one of the most eagerly awaited releases of the year.
With domestic drama swirling around her, Mariah's grab at
the reins of total artistic control certainly sets the stage for
this CD to be her Like A Prayer. The bad news is that after
her first single, the superb R&B flavored "Honey" and its
attendant video, the rest of the album falls flat with one or two
exceptions. It's as if Mariah drove her super-star vehicle into
the Hip-Hop Stop and yelled, "Fill 'er up!" out of the driver's
side window.
With everyone including Puff Daddy, Poke and Tone and
David Morales taking on a producer role, Mariah relies too
little on long-time producer Walter Afanasieff, whom she's
been working with since her 1990 debut. Her new posse
seems to have forgotten the way Mariah Carey makes a
record. Strangely, they haven't put together a ballad heavy
pop album that showcases Mariah's heaven-sent
multi-octave range and then turned the singles over to
super-producers for peak-hour re-mixes. Instead, Mariah
and company try to have it both ways and jazz up the ballads
with the latest hip-hop bells and whistles, resulting in an
anemic blend that's too weak to be considered R&B and not
like anything resembling the ballads on which Mariah built
her career.
Only the tracks that stick to the Mariah/Afanasieff combo feel
the power of Mariah's previous torch-work. In particular,
"Whenever You Call" sounds like what, in light of this new
disc, could be called "Classic Mariah." The title track is
actually dissected into two distinct tracks. The ballad
"Butterfly" is weighed down by lyrics that seem to be penned
by an authoress all too accepting of love, no matter how
kick-it-out-of-the-house bad it may be. The good news is
"Butterfly" has a hip sister called "Fly Away (Butterfly
Reprise)." This track is produced by David Morales, the
genius responsible for Mariah landing the mothership right
on the dancefloor in 1993's "Dreamlover" re-mix and it gives
hope for the re-mixes this disc may spawn.
Lest anyone think it's safe to take out the wineglasses, be
warned that Mariah still takes on the vocal gymnastics that
made her a star. Faster than you can say Mary Lou Retton,
this disc will have birds lighting on your shoulder, most
noticeably on the disc's epic ballad "Fourth of July."
Tony Phillips, VH1
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