ShareThis"MARIAH CAREY: THE BALLADS," Mariah Carey (Sony)
In 2008, Mariah Carey passed Elvis Presley and threatened the Beatles for the most No. 1 hits in pop history, and nervous folks (especially those fond of the Beatles) assailed the singer as a nonentity whose songs are thoroughly disposable.
The new greatest-hits collection "Mariah Carey: The Ballads" both refutes and supports that allegation.
The first part of the 18-track compilation features Carey's earliest singles, including first hit "Vision of Love," a 1990 chart-topper in which the then-20-year-old blew through the ceiling with power and soul. And as to the likes of 1993's textured "Hero," 1995's memorializing "One Sweet Day" (featuring Boyz II Men) and her impressive 1994 cover of Nilsson's hit "Without You" -- well, anyone who claims not to recall those songs probably doesn't remember anything at all about the 1990s, so stuck are they in the Beatles era.
However, although the hits kept coming for Carey, the quality got iffier -- a fact verified by "The Ballads' " mid-album inclusion of such trifle as "Thank God I Found You (Make It Last Remix)," "I Still Believe," "My All," "The Roof" and the shockingly bland duet with Whitney Houston, "When You Believe." It's doubtful Carey herself has any recollection of those throwaways.
But as suits a good pop song, "The Ballads" redeems itself at the end with the pretty, piano-based cut "Reflections." Just before that closer are, in order, "Always Be My Baby," "Dreamlover" and "How Much" featuring Usher -- a fine trio of songs, to be sure, but all with too much pep to be classified as ballads.
Nevertheless, the diversion is a zesty relief from the collection's mid-section slump. And even Carey fans might have had a hard time digesting 18 ballads in a row.
Rating (five possible): 3-1/2
"ALL OF US IN OUR NIGHT," Modern Skirts (Redeye)
Modern Skirts teases and frustrates with the new "All of Us in Our Night," and many listeners might feel lost in limbo, forever guessing the intentions of the Athens, Ga., band.
Conventional focus is in short supply as the group dramatically shifts from the unremarkable jangly opening track "Chanel" to the alluringly cushy electronica of the subsequent "Soft Pedals." The band produced the former on its own, while David Lowery (Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven) produced the latter -- and that's an important distinction for the tracks to come. Lowery was at the helm of four other cuts and Mike Mills (R.E.M.) also produced one while the group produced the five remaining songs. Apart from the mellow aura of the sweetly downcast Modern Skirts-produced "Chokehold," the guest producers bested the band on all other tracks of "All of Us in Our Night."
Regardless of who was at the boards, there's an undercurrent of ambivalence throughout the release, a lack of direction poking holes in a semi-tantalizing canvas of stripped-down arrangements that swing from guitar-based indie-rock to vibe-oriented reflections.
On its own, the band gets lost, never taking off after attempting an ersatz-Beatles mode on the horn-decorated "Radio Breaks" and unsure of what to do with the Weezerly air they trap on "Eveready."
Lowery helps, emphasizing harmonic supporting vocals to give a glowing backlight to Jay Gulley's lead singing on "Yugo" and wrapping the humble "Mrs." in surreal textures. And for his part Mills directs "Motorcade" into a playful sing-along.
Yet the nagging feeling never goes away that Modern Skirts is in an identity crisis, unsettled but not really restless and with no clear point of view.
Rating: 3
"GRAND," Matt and Kim (Fader)
Although a few albums are lucky enough to have multiple defining moments, most don't have a single instance that distinguishes them.
So Brooklyn duo Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino should be satisfied with the revealing stretch they produce on "Lessons Learned," the sixth track on their new "Grand." Supported by a foundation of manic beats and long, crunchy synth notes, keyboardist and quirky lead vocalist Johnson sings, "Thinking 'bout tomorrow won't change how I feel today," as drummer and backing singer Schifino mines a sweet melody for a series of echoing "da-da-da's." The cut represents the complexity within the overall simple framework of "Grand," which simultaneously feels both urgent and reflective, uplifting and melancholy, naive and provocative.
Johnson and Schifino ride an indie spirit to build to that pivotal track. Opening with a "Daylight" keyed to exclamation-point synthesizers and Johnson's plaintive vocals, "Grand" grows in carefree intensity, galloping through the subsequent demonstrative, electric-rubbed energy of "Cutdown." Then comes the reverberating clap-along "Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare," followed by a more complicated and demanding group-participatory song, "Spare Change." "I Wanna's" burst of New Wave punch bridges the momentum to the album's "Lessons Learned" climax.
From there, Johnson and Schifino maintain a sense of playfulness as they charge on to a quick conclusion of their half-hour collection, but the skittering final five tracks are only serviceably buoyant, with Johnson's one-note vocal delivery wearing thin.
Still, the two offer a wild jaunt. And they have their moment.
Rating: 3-1/2
(E-mail Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at Campbell(at)knews.com.)
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