Mariah Carey, Michael Bublé at their best in intimate albums
Mariah Carey
Pop music fans are so fussy with the kind of music they consume these days. But, with the easy access they have on just about any type or musical genre from every imaginable corner of the world, who can blame them? That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
With the release of the latest albums of Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey, the crumbs aren’t the only things you’ll enjoy.
In the case of Mariah’s 15th studio album “Caution,” her lowest-charting collection since “Glitter” peaked at No. 7 in 2001, it certainly deserves better attention and patronage than the numbers it’s getting.
The album is so spin-worthy that it’s been playing nonstop on our portable media player since we started listening to it last week.
Its standard 10-track edition isn’t just anchored on a sassy R&B sound framed by the songstress’ slinky singing, with gorgeous melodies that don’t require too many gimmicks to generate audience-hooking scrutiny.
There are Mariah Carey tunes that we love to bits (“We Belong Together,” “Emotions,” “Make It Happen,” “Underneath the Stars,” etc.), but we’ve never been an avid fan of the singer herself.
But “Caution” is turning us into a Mariah convert because its lineup proves that you can be hip without sacrificing melodic content, as the winking “GTFO” and “With You,” the finger-snapping “Caution” and “One Mo’ Gen,” and the sing-along-worthy “8th Grade” and “A No No” demonstrate. It’s hard to pick a favorite because the album simply has no throwaway track.
For millennials who have been weaned on rap-and-sing numbers, Mariah’s collaborations with Gunna (“Stay Long Love You”), Ty Dolla Sign (“The Distance”) and Slick Rick and Blood Orange (“Giving Me Life”) don’t disappoint.
But if you want to mull over something more intimate and personal about Mariah, the gracefully limned self-referential “Portrait” asserts her followers’ perfervid plea to her naysayers that not everything about the enduring diva reeks of self-entitlement and faded glory.
Mariah describes the track as “a reflection” of how she keeps her thoughts, troubles and relationship woes to herself: “Look the other way as I bottle myself up inside; I won’t let the teardrops spill tonight.”
If you think the single reflects a moment of weakness, it does. But, make no mistake, the diva refuses to go down without a fight, as the succeeding lyrics assert: “Somewhat desensitized/Still the same hopeful child/Haunted by those severed ties/Pushing past the parasites/ Down but not demoralized.”
Michael Bublé
Bublé in ‘Love’ again
Michael Bublé’s 10th studio album “Love,” which recently bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, is just as significant because, while it features the kind of songs (“When I Fall in Love,” “Unforgettable,” and the country-pop revival of “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” with the talented Loren Allred) that has catapulted him into superstardom, it also features one of the most moving singles Michael has ever written.
That tune, called “Forever Now,” was inspired by the singer’s love for his 5-year-old eldest son Noah, who was diagnosed with liver cancer two years ago.
The singer has been saying that the tune is so personal that he refuses to listen to it again after recording it in the studio.
Trust us, you won’t find a song that is as sweet as it is heartbreaking.
If you have yet to listen to it and don’t know what it’s about, the lyrics explain it best: “Through your ears, I hear it/Through your eyes, I see/A world full of magic/Full of possibilities/You know as well as anybody how tough this life can be/But you’ve got so much strength inside you/A strength I pray you’ll never need.”
As a performer, the Canadian crooner is second to none, but he is even better when he lets his heart do the talking, as was the case with “Haven’t Met You Yet” (from the album, “Crazy Love”), when romantic inspiration drove him to write it while he was dating his Argentine wife, actress Luisana Lopilato.
Like Mariah’s “Caution,” Michael’s “Love” has no throwaway track, boosted further by the catchy big-band froth and frolic that characterize the feisty “I Only Have Eyes for You,” the groovesome “Such a Night,” and the playful “When You’re Smiling.”
Two other songs that demand to be heard are Michael’s delectable remakes of “My Funny Valentine,” which plays out like a throbbing dramatic thriller (remember “Cry Me a River,” from his “Crazy Love” collection?), and his alternating English-and-French “makeover” of “La Vie en Rose,” with jazz singing champ Cécile McLorin Salvant.
If you’ve been yearning for music that could bring as much joy as catharsis, Michael and Mariah’s latest albums are guaranteed to satisfy your craving.
