Elly Roberts reviews
Mariah Carey: Greatest Hits & Remixes
Distributed by
Columbia
Greatest Hits: 
Remixes:
- Cat.no: 5054612
- Released: October 2005
- Rating: Greatest Hits 10/10; Remixes 4/10
- Format: 4 CD set (separate releases)
Whopping four CD set from the best selling female artist of the '90s.
Since bursting onto the music scene in 1990 with Vision Of Love, the
record-shattering chanteuse has sold in excess of 120 million albums globally.
Daughter of a black Venezuelan engineer and Irish-American opera singer, who
also worked as a voice coach – Carey had an excellent start. She’s consistently
moved forward, though not always using her stunning 7 octave capability to
best effect.
Her vocal gymnastics have topped the US charts 15 times - only Elvis has spent
longer there. Born on Long Island, New York on March 27, 1970, the 35 year-old
has been at the forefront of high octane singing for the past decade and a
half, though no more than two number one singles (Without You and
Against All Odds) have eluded her in the UK. It’s the same story on
the album front – Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995) have been
her only chart toppers.
This outstanding collection of hits and remixes should provide her third.
When you scale through her repertoire, Carey hasn’t been afraid of mixing it
with the best, as she’s regularly dueted, with the likes of Luther Vandross,
Whitney Houston her closest rival and boy-bands Westlife and Boyz II Men who
all appear here. Disc 1 is almost a complete running order of her UK singles
from 1990 to 1995, omitting There’s Got To Be A Way - her lowest chart
entry at 54. Incredibly, her awesome 1994 Christmas hit, All I Want For
Christmas, has been ignored on this 4-CD set, despite being one of the in-demand songs of
the festive season, although it is available on the 2-CD release as a bonus track.
Hits CD 2 is almost a complete order of UK singles from ‘95s One Sweet Day to ‘00s Against All Odds, leaving the door open for possibly
another, years down the line. Shelved is Open Arms, added are Forever
and Underneath The Stars.
Overall, the 28 tracks show a chronology of a diva on top of her game,
moving easily from glossy ballads to hip-hop inspired dance pop with
consummate professionalism.
The 22 remixes, featuring a host of known and lesser known performers is an
insight into the adaptability of her songs, though some are protracted,
ranging from four to eleven minutes. In essence, this no more than a
Euro-beats dance album strictly for clubbers.
Highlights – I’ll Be There, Without You, Fantasy, Forever, Butterfly, My
All, Against All Odds.
Low point – Sweetheart.
Weblinks:
Mariah Carey.com /
Columbia Records.com
The full list of tracks included are :
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
