Mariah Carey
The Rarities
Columbia/Legacy
Listen Below
Mariah Carey aficionados are living through a moment that at one time seemed unfathomable—universal acknowledgement and celebration of Carey’s talents. After years of having her abilities questioned or discounted, to witness a consensus finally emerge in recognition of this singer-songwriter-producer is a refreshing change of pace.
It all began with Caution (2018)—Carey’s fifteenth studio album was a masterclass in all her charms. From there, a continuous groundswell of positive public sentiment partnered with Carey’s own enthusiastic engagement has culminated this year in the dual release of The Meaning of Mariah Carey and The Rarities. The former is a current New York Times best-selling memoir, the latter is a two-disc collection of—in Carey’s own words—“fan favorites, rare songs and long-forgotten gems.” Coupled with the expansive vinyl reissue campaign Carey has recently embarked on with her back catalog, The Rarities feels like an additional discographic treat.
Regarding the second disc of The Rarities, it’s a seventeen-track account of Carey’s March 7th, 1996 concert stop in Tokyo, Japan on her Daydream World Tour. A solid demonstration of her power as a live vocalist at the peak of her career—up to that point— it is an absorbing listen. But is the first disc that has created palpable excitement among Carey loyalists and stirred curiosity within the casual listener.
Fifteen cuts deep, Carey briskly traces the arc of her thirty-year career from her days as an eager neophyte up through to her present-day incarnation as an experienced hitmaker. Of course, she charts what transpired between those two poles of artistic development through these select cuts offered up here.
The ‘70s soul pastiche of “Here We Go Around Again” evinces that from the beginning, Carey held strong affection for R&B in any permutation heedless of the era of its origin. Moving further into the compilation, Carey soon displays her way with penning top-tier crossover ballads that would consolidate her white base without relinquishing her black audiences with “Can You Hear Me” and “Everything Fades Away”—each track showcasing Carey’s incomparable vocal range and how well she casts a lyric.
When Carey locates the pulse of hip-hop-soul indicative of the mid-to-late 1990s on “Slipping Away” you can feel her sound widen. “Slipping Away” was previously only available as the flipside on the American and Canadian pressing of the “Always Be My Baby” single from Daydream (1995). Its appearance on The Rarities gives “Slipping Away” the broader accessibility that Carey’s enthusiasts have long clamored for. Jumping ahead to “I Pray” and “Cool On You”—drafted in 2005 and 2007 respectively—one finds a confident and relaxed Carey in command of her own rhythm and blues style that convincingly spans gospel and urban vibes equally.
Despite The Rarities being stocked with fine works, there are two exceptional pieces that part from the whole: “Loverboy” (Firecracker - Original Version) and “Lullaby of Birdland.”
The first cut has quite a storied past as it was the inaugural take of the first single from Carey’s Glitter (2001), her eighth record and soundtrack tie-in to the film that shared the album’s appellation. Like all of Carey’s lead singles dating back to “Dreamlover” in 1993, “Loverboy” was built around a sample—in this instance the Japanese electronic art-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra’s “Firecracker,” a savvy proto-synth rendition of the late exotica maestro Martin Denny’s own 1959 composition of the same name. Yellow Magic Orchestra’s cover romanced the American R&B charts in 1979 where Carey encountered it in her youth.
That she tapped Yellow Magic Orchestra’s turn at “Firecracker” for “Loverboy” was brilliant and the loose, sexy countenance of this iteration—complete with a bit of doo-wop vocalese at its outset and close—confirms just how eclectic Carey’s tastes are when it comes time to mine other sources for interpolating purposes. Sadly, interference from industry titan and ex-husband Tommy Mottola prevented Carey from issuing this variation of “Loverboy” to the public in 2001. Instead, she utilized Cameo’s 1986 classic “Candy” on the version that went on to become a smash nineteen summers ago.
With “Lullaby of Birdland,” this selection is a true definition of a standard. Composed by George David Weiss and penned by George Shearing, covers of this jazz number have been plentiful through the decades, but with musical direction from the late Jim Wright—a frequent collaborator and friend—Carey put her own inimitable spin on this live recording from 2014. Of course, she also oversaw the production on its finalized form for this set.
Although there have been some anthologies released in the past to document Carey’s incredible musical journey so far, The Rarities offers us a unique window into this songbird’s nuanced creative processes and abiding passions—and we are all the better for it.
Notable Tracks: “Here We Go Around Again” | “I Pray” | “Loverboy” (Firecracker - Original Version) | “Lullaby of Birdland”
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