
Mariah Carey
Rainbow (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
Columbia/Legacy
Jan 16, 2025 Web Exclusive
By the release of Rainbow in 1999, Mariah Carey had charted a winning path to success on her own terms. Following the commercial and critical triumph of 1995’s incredible “Fantasy (Bad Boy)” remix featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard, melding Carey’s otherworldly vocals with the electricity of a hyperactive hip-hop feature or a silky R&B groove was near-certain to yield impressive results. Importantly, that remix came about at Carey’s insistence against an unenthusiastic management team, and her new creative lane represented a satisfying underdog victory.
It’s energizing 25 years later to hear Carey basking in the successes of her own fought-for artistic freedom on Rainbow. She sounds unshakeable on tracks like “How Much”—a kinetic R&B duet with fellow powerhouse vocalist Usher—or on the elastic, TLC-inspired “X-Girlfriend,” where a self-assured Carey sounds equally dismissive and sympathetic to a lover’s previous partner (“you’ve gotta leave him / I know that hurts”).
Still, Rainbow, and its reissue’s bonus material (a scattered assortment of remixes, live recordings and bonus tracks), is often marred by a disorientating asymmetry. Sun-kissed R&B is wedged uncomfortably next to exhaustive ballads. The album struggles to finesse Carey’s many vocal talents into a cohesive few. There are certainly gems sewn into the record’s fabric, but awkward pacing means that Rainbow doesn’t shine to the potential that Mariah Carey, at the height of her powers by the late ’90s, was likely capable of. (www.mariahcarey.com)
Author rating: 6.5/10
Average reader rating: 2/10
Most Recent
- Twin Peaks: Building the Most Groundbreaking Show of the ’90s (Interview) —
- Fade In (Review) —
- Premiere: Karate School Droupout Shares New Single “Keep It Up” feat. Marnie Sher (News) —
- Jarvis Cocker Covers “California Dreamin’” + PJ Harvey Shares New Song For LA Wildfire Benefit Comp (News) —
- Hannah Lou Clark Releases New Single “Jenny” (News) —
Comments
Submit your comment
There are no comments for this entry yet.