All the Mariah Carey fans who've been clamoring for a proper collection of her collaborations with David Morales or the countless number of singles she's had mixed up with guest rappers (a trend which she did take from being an occasional novelty to being the default for U.S. pop radio) have every right to be overjoyed. Her new two-disc set serves up most of the alternate versions of her singles, and the legal wrangling that I'm sure took place between Sony, Virgin, and Universal to get this collection put together should be commended.
So does it make me a bad person if the whole thing is fairly inessential? I know there are a lot of people who speak of the Mariah/Morales collaborations as some kind of benchmark in house remixes, but they strike me as fairly bland, even taking into account that time that has passed since their initial release. As a matter of fact, that's the problem with all of disc one, even the non-Morales tracks. For example, "Heartbreaker" and "Anytime You Need A Friend" are both presented here in their blandest versions, whereas both of them were available with mixes (by the same mixers, even) that were more adventurous.
"Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely," in its Junior's Harder Club Mix, is the finest Mariah remix that has ever been done. What's the difference between it and the whoever actually programmed Junior's Heartbreaker Club Mix included on this disc? A really aggressive synth line that makes every other element of the mix pop out at the listener, as well as tuffer drum programs. The same goes for the C+C Mix of "Anytime You Need A Friend," which I always used to dig in the version that used delicious cut-up acid house sounds as accents in the body of the mix. Those accents are missing in the meandering C+C Club Mix on this compilation. A subtle difference, some might say, but when taken in conjunction with the dearth of energy in any of the tracks it could admitted as evidence against the viability of house music in any courtroom in the world.
And the less said about the abortive Hex Hector mix of "Through the Rain," the better.
What's really shocking about this collection is how a few of disc two's hip-hop mixes exhibit the kind of creativity and risk-taking that we normally depend on great house mixers for.
Whoever thought of pairing Mariah with the ODB for the "Fantasy" remix is the kind of forward thinker more labels need. Several tracks play games with melody and expectation and bring new vibes to the table, which is the kind of innovation that normally is the forte of dance remixers. The rest is rap-by-numbers, sadly, with Jermaine Dupri and the So So Def crew racking up the largest amount of sonic dead ends.
At the very least, the legendary Hani bootleg of "Looking In" could have been added just to break up the monotony of the first disc. Or, if we're getting theoretical, imagine what some of today's mixers could do with "I Don't Wanna Cry." You know, the song where Mariah sings in her lower register for more than half of the song and doesn't go coloratura on us as she is often wont to do. I'm envisioning Gabriel & Dresden, or the Murk Boys, or Scumfrog, or any remixer who knows that drama and energy are the keys to good remixing. Nice try, though.
If you dig hip-hop/R&B mixes: ***
If you don't: *
If you love the Mariah/Morales sound: ****
