The Emancipation of Mimi

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Mariah Carey's tenth studio album is the long-awaited follow-up to 2002's "Charmbracelet". The album finds Carey's broad range of musical talents on full display, as every one of its 14 songs bears her signature as writer and co-producer. Carey continues to work with today's top R&B and hip-hop producers, such as the Neptunes, who lend their signature production style to two tracks: "To the Floor" (featuring Nelly) and "Say Somethin'" (featuring Snoop Dogg ). The album's other featured guest is Twista, who shows up on "One and Only." The first single, "It's Like That," is one of four songs co-produced by Mariah and Jermaine Dupri, along with "Get Your Number," "Shake it Off," and "We Belong Together." BBC Review ---------- After virtually bankrupting her previous record label (Virgin/EMI), the high profile failure of Glitter and that terrible Phil Collins cover version with Westlife, lesser mortals than Mariah Carey would surely have buckled under the sheer humiliation of it all. Despite shifting an incredible 140 million albums in the late 90s her latter-day career has resembled a perpetual catastrophe. However, Mariah seems to sashay obliviously onwards, an entourage of servile minions clearing the wreckage left in her wake. Perhaps such recent history explains the use of her alter ego Mimi, although the emancipation (the word, with its tricky five syllables, is helpfully defined in the sleeve notes) in this case simply looks like Mariah attempting to reinstate her street credentials. Running the risk of sounding like just about every other R'n'B diva on the block is a strategy fraught with potential difficulties, although mostly she does manage to pull it off. Certainly, comeback single "It's Like That" so successfully re-writes Christina Aguilera's career blueprint, that even a typically bull-in-a-china-shop contribution from man Scoop can't ruin it. Better still is "Say Somethin'" which sees Snoop and Pharrell reprising the naked thump of Kelis' "Milkshake" and adding some neat disco touches. Along with the Kanye West-produced "Stay The Night" it's arguably the album's strongest moment. Contributions from Jermaine Dupri and Nelly are respectively ting and clichéd, but elsewhere that famous five-octave voice is back in full effect - occasionally replicating the majesty of Minnie Riperton ("Circles") but often the equivalent of a human dog whistle ("One And Only"). Saying that, there's still plenty here for Mariah's traditional fanbase. "We Belong Together" and "Your Girl" update her classic soul sound with elegance, while "Mine Again" and "Joy Ride" are the pick of the ballads. For all her vocal gymnastics, there's nobody better at walking the fine line between bombast and sensitivity, and this is undoubtedly Mariah Carey's strongest album for some time. Mimi may not be entirely emancipated from her past, but this is certainly one big step out of the mire. --Adam Webb Find more music at the BBC ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/syn//albumreviews/-/music/ ) This link will take you off in a new window