Trollheart

Discuss whatever albums come up on the random RYM link for this week here.

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Trollheart

I issue my full and formal apology for this, but it is a random link...



https://open.spotify.com/album/1ibYM4abQtSVQFQWvDSo4J

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RiPS

No.

Nope.

Nuh-uh.

Don't like it.

From the first song I could tell that it wasn't my cup of tea and it didn't get any better throughout the album.

Trollheart

I can tell that too, and I haven't even listened to it yet! (don't tell yer da: there's no lemonade icon!)

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MicShazam

I need to rinse my brain after that Nadia Oh album, so I'm diving in now. Thoughts to follow.

Trollheart

You may as well be rinsing it in ****, if you want my opinion.

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MicShazam

Well, I don't agree, but I'm not about to call it a great album either. Here goes:

Mariah Carey - Daydream


I've heard this album a few times before so I'm feeling comfortable writing this before I'm more than ½ way through this time. I've been exploring all sorts of genres of music since 2009 and a couple years ago, the turn had come to modern mainstream soul and R&B. Basically, most of the artists I heard in this genre wasn't my cup of tea at all, but I did find Mariah Carey a bit more tolerable than most.

Basically, I think there's a few allright songs in her discography, but they're spread out really thin among loads and loads of goopy, syrupy power ballads and other mush like that. Carey has a tendency to over-do her vocals with lots of melismatic warbling - but I guess everyone does that in this particular corner of this genre of music. When she shows a bit of restraint and has a decent melody to sing, I actually find that she has a really good voice. Just a shame that she choses to use it on mostly pretty dull music.

Those slow, plodding Celine Dion drums and soft crescendos are overdone like almost nothing else in music and this album is quite overloaded with that kind of power balladeering. Somehow this type of music doesn't annoy me if the singer has a good color to her voice, but it isn't exactly very involving either. If I was at a dinner party at some friends' place and they put on some Mariah Carey in the background, I would be ok with it. It's pleasant muzak, sometimes even with some really musical nice details in the background if you listen carefully.

As far as listening to this album on my own time, so to speak. Well, that's a bit more tricky. I can find some decent songs, like Long Ago and Always be my Baby for example. Most of the album is sadly rather forgettable.

The album of hers I'd be most likely to put on would be her first Christmas holiday album.

That one has a few horribly cheesy tracks, but also some fun, catchy, feel-good music of the most inoffensive kind. We're not talking about that album though, so I'm not going to be too kind to Daydream here.

Too many ballads. Carey's in good vocal form, but the songs aren't quite there. Completely bearable, but nothing special at all what so ever.

This is what 5/10's are made for.

Trollheart

Title: Daydream
Artist: Mariah Carey
Year: 1995
Genre: R&B, Pop
Nationality: American
Discography: Fourteen albums
Position in discography: Fifth

One thing I can't stand about this woman is her popularisation of what I call the “stretching to infinity” of phrases when she sings: you know the kind of thing - “Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhhhhhhh!” and so on. Drives me nuts. I also don't personally think she's that great a singer. But, the above may have coloured my perception of her music, so let's give this a chance before we shred it, huh? You know, “Underneath the stars” wouldn't be so cringey if she didn't “infinitise” it up at the end. “Underneath the ground” would be better. Oh look: another ballad following it. Is that her singing? Surely not! That's a guy, no? Well, Men. Well, Boyz II Men. Oh, you know what I mean. Some singer in a band who were mildly successful around this time and ... oh ****! Speech a la Barry White except nowhere near as good. Man this is terrible. Boyband + Mariah = Barfbag please.

Oh ****ing Hell no! She's covering Journey's “Open Arms”??? Someone kill this woman! A terrible crime has been committed. Good lord: can this woman not sing without sounding like someone's slapping her repeatedly on the back? She's a human vibrato machine! Ugh. Okay, “I am free” is a nice kind of gospel-ly ballad, but she does ruin it by strrrrretttcching every syllable to its utmost. I mean, why? What purpose does it serve? Has she been told every song must be twice as long as its recorded version to fill up the CD or something? Ah sigh. “Forever” isn't terrible, but I'm not gong to be running out buying any Mariah Carey records. Ever. Unless it's to set fire to them in a desperate attempt to save mankind's ears. I'm the hero you need.

Well, I'm the only one you're getting, anyway.

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MicShazam

I totally agree she's overdoing that vocal thing (it's called melisma), but it doesn't bother me as much. If I abstract from that, I even quite like her voice. Especially during her younger years, like on this album.

Trollheart

Next up, eerily similar title to the last album notwithstanding....

https://open.spotify.com/album/1Y7pOuTbF47Qr4slUDkeEP

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