Greetings,
Be honest. You forgot that this album even existed, didn't you? Okay, fair enough. I wouldn't blame you if you did, considering where it lies in the oeuvre of Mariah Carey. I mean, we all remember the debacle that was Glitter in 2001, not to mention all the personal shenanigans that surrounded it, and we all remember the comeback brought on by The Emancipation of Mimi in 2005. But nestled between those two extremes was the album Charmbracelet, the only thing released during this time, aside from a greatest hits compilation from Columbia, which doesn't count. They never count, unless it's from The Eagles. So, what can be said about this oft forgotten recording and is it justifiably oft forgotten? Well...let's talk about that.
Charmbracelet was released in December of 2002 and was Mariah's first release on Island Records. This, of course, was after she was bought out of her Virgin contract for... $50,000,000! All that money to not sing. I'd take that deal. Anyway, she started working on it in early 2002, a mere months after the whole Glitter fiasco. Now, I'm all for her trying to get through her personal issues by way of her music and writing. After all, I do that myself. But I think it may have been better for her to do that just...to do it. To work through everything and have whatever she wrote be her own, rather than turn it into an album. I have no problem with her eventually sharing all of this with the world, as artists tend to do, but part of me thinks she just wanted to release something to replace her previous work. It may have been rushed and it might have been for the wrong reasons. But that's just my opinion. And I did appreciate some of the more personal and uplifting songs that she gave us here. Yeah, let's get to the actual songs, shall we?
To be fair, there isn't ton of memorable material on this album, but there is some. The first single was called "Through the Rain". It clearly chronicled the difficulties that Mariah had faced in the previous year. It wasn't bad, but some people were critical of it because it reminded them too much of another of her songs, "Hero". Which was a good song, so I don't know why that's exactly a bad thing. You can make more than one inspirational ballad, last time I checked. The second single was "Boy (I Need You), practically a 180 from its predecessor. I wasn't a fan of it, mostly because it just didn't click for me. That was another complaint many critics made about the album as a whole. It wasn't hooky enough. I kind of agree with that, overall. The third, and I believe final, single was a cover of Def Leppard's "Bringin' On the Heartbreak". Now, I always get suspicious when people cover songs from artists that are of a very different genre than their own, but considering that Mariah grew up in the 80's surrounded by all kinds of music, I don't doubt that she was a legit fan. And I think this is a pretty good version. Props to Dave Navarro for his contribution as well.
Aside from the singles, there were a few other stand out tracks on the album. "Clown", for one, is memorable, but mostly because it appears to be chronicling her relationship...or "relationship"... with Eminem. Um, good times? I liked "Subtle Invitation", especially musically, as it sounds very old school. Good horn work and all that. And then there's a song called "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy", which was about her father who had passed away. It is certainly the most personal of all the songs on this album. Maybe the most personal she has ever done.
Overall, I'd say that Charmbracelet is okay. It has its moments to shine, but there are also a lot of down time. It's not her worst album, but if you were going to rank them all, it would most likely be in the bottom half. I mean, if you're a hardcore Mariah fan, you probably already own this. If you're not a fan, I'd say you can skip the majority of it. But check out those few gems. Still, as much as I think that she, perhaps, should have held off on releasing this one, I can respect her for trying to work through her issues the best way she knew how, with her music. Can't fault her for that.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
