E=MC2 - Dark Publications

Location: Home » music » General » E=MC2

Similar Items:

•	Spirit
•	Hard Candy
•	Here I Stand
•	Discipline
•	Growing Pains

Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
Performer and songwriter Mariah Carey has set April 15th as the in-store date for the most eagerly anticipated album of the year, E=MC. The 11th studio album of her career, E=MC is the follow-up to The Emancipation Of Mimi, Mariah's worldwide 10 million selling #1 album, which generated three Grammy awards (including Best Contemporary R&B Album), 2 #1 singles and countless more industry honors during its 18-month stay on the charts. The first single from E=MC is "Touch My Body," written and produced by Mariah Carey, C. "Tricky" Stewart, and The-Dream, and blasting out worldwide on February 12th. The video for "Touch My Body" was directed by feature filmmaker Brett Ratner - Internet, cable and network premieres for the video will be announced in the weeks ahead. In addition to C. "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream, other guest producers joining Mariah on E=MC will include Jermaine Dupri, DJ Toomp, Stargate, Will I Am, Bryan Michael Cox, Nate "Danjahandz" Hills and James Poyser.. E=MC is executive produced by Mariah Carey and Antonio "LA" Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group.

The Emancipation Of Mimi, released April 12, 2005, was an industry phenomenon for the mega-platinum award-winning superstar - Soundscan's biggest-selling album of the year, bringing total sales of Mariah's albums, singles and videos to more than 160 million worldwide, making her the most successful female recording artist in history. Mimi featured "We Belong Together" (winner of the Best Female R&B Vocal and Best R&B Song Grammys) and "Don't Forget About Us," Mariah's 16th and 17th #1 career singles respectively. They tied one of the most enduring chart records in Billboard Hot 100 history, Elvis Presley's 17 #1's. Mariah is now positioned as the only active recording artist in the 48 years of the Hot 100 (which began in 1958) with the potential to surpass the Beatles' all-time high of 20 #1 hits.

Customer Reviews: Read 224 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

You'll Be Lovin' This Long Time April 15, 2008
71 out of 135 found this review helpful

"E=MC2" is another one for the record books. Songs from this album will grace radio waves deep into 2009.

In similar fashion to her unprecedented commercial comeback "The Emancipation of Mimi," 2005's highest-selling LP, Mariah Carey has crafted what both fans and casual listeners will enjoy - an album that plays like a greatest hits project, with nearly every selection having the makings of a killer hit single. Her songwriting is at its peak - deep, earthy, frisky and fun - much like Carey herself. That generation-defining voice has never sounded fuller of passion, vigor and purpose. The melodies are strong and instantly memorable, the songs perfectly sing-able even for those lacking Carey's luminous pipes.

The biggest surprise about "E=MC2" is that, aside from its being a consistently satisfying collection of unshakable pop melodies and inspiring ballads, it shares no obvious commonalities with other LPs in Carey's catalogue, including its predecessor. This may discourage those with set expectations, but further listens reveal increased treasures. This is a recording built to last.

Her lyrics are always self-effacing, but she raises the bar on "Side Effects" and the dignified closer "I Wish You Well." The former is dark and straightforward, detailing the pain of an emotionally crippling relationship with a sizzling rap from mega-talented Young Jeezy.

The latter, meanwhile, deals with the same topic in a more understated fashion. Finding solace in verses from the Bible, she rises up against persecution ("No weapon formed against me shall prosper") and finds inner strength:

"So the more you curse me/The more you're blessing me/The Word said it/Love your enemies/Do good to those who curse you/Pray for those who mistreat you."

There is plenty of room for fun as well - as she coos on "I'm That Chick," a bouncy, ultra-catchy slice of old school soul, "I brings that levity." That track, as well as the Supremes-esque "I'll Be Lovin' You Long Time," sizzle with addictive hooks and wall-to-wall Mariahs singing over each other. Others like the sassy, dancefloor-ready "O.O.C. (Out of Control)," which has such snappy lyrics and blazing attitude that its title seems destined work its way shorthand vernacular, sound crafted to blare out of top-down convertible stereos on hot summer afternoons.

"Migrate" featuring T-Pain ("From my car into the club we migrate/From the bar to V.I.P. we migrate") and "Cruise Control" featuring Damien Marley ("I've been told so many sagas/He brings the drama, six baby mamas") both appear destined smash hits with their irrepressible choruses, and "I Stay In Love" is a classic Carey ballad that nevertheless finds her throwing curveballs at her creative palette.

"For the Record," however, may be the album's penultimate moment. Assuring a former love that her fire still burns bright, she namedrops some of her '90s records amid the buoyant, violin-infused instrumentation:

"Can't nobody say/I didn't give my all to you/And for the record/I told you underneath the stars that you belong to me/For the record/It's obvious that we just can't let go of us, honey."

Carey proves herself to be in the throes of an awesome creative streak with "E=MC2." The last album proved her talent unstoppable in spite of the odds against her, but this one affirms she is here to stay. She has never been more sexy, more beautiful, more moving or inspiring. Carey proves yet again that through all the imitators and worthy chart rivals there is only one performer with the killer combo of vocal perfection and songwriting panache.

"Them other regularities, they can't compete with MC," she continues on the aforementioned track. "The whole entire world can tell that you love yourself some me."

Our great-grandchildren will surely not remember most of today's entertainers, but "E=MC2" adds further likelihood that Carey will prove an exception to the rule.

5 out of 5 stars

Please Buy This Album! April 15, 2008
37 out of 85 found this review helpful

Mariah Carey's last album was so perfect. She finally stopped whispering and placed her voice back above the mix and showed why she's had so many #1's -- her voice is stunning! For all the copy cats that come and go, nobody will hold a note and work it out like it's at Bally's like Mariah.

Her new disc is not a disappointment. It's not an exact retread of her last one, but it does share that same mix of thumping bass over her crystal clear voice, it's a mix that's worked so well last time so why mess with it.

There isn't one weak track on this disc, with all the top tier production she receives from Swizz Beats, Danja, Durpi, you'd think someone would drop the ball but nobody does. The dance tracks, "I'll Be Loving You Long Time" & "O.O.C." have that wonderful 70's feel that Alicia's album went for (but just missed the mark), out of the two "O.O.C." has the edge with it's more playful riff. "Side Effects" is another winner with a much harder and darker edge that works. Carey's not pushing her vocals and for most of the album, she's not octave leaping like she did on her last disc.

The ballads has always been her strong suit and this disc has some great ones. "Love Story" needs to be a single now! Jermaine Dupri and Carey just work. The same goes for "Last Kiss," these mid-tempo songs build until she lets it rip at the end. Her voice has gotten deeper, and it adds a great depth to the songs.

"I Wish You Well," with it's proverb spilling, gospel tinged, octave leaping showiness is Mariah making me wish she would do a gospel album.

Mariah has never gotten the due she deserves for reinvention. She's lost her footing along the way but most great artists do. Making great music is a journey and it's been an excellent one for her fans so far.

5 out of 5 stars

What Einstein really meant April 17, 2008
23 out of 60 found this review helpful

Emancipation = Mariah Carey to the second power, and sure enough her energy and talent ensures that this album will sell masses of copies at the speed of light.

Released on the same day that American Idol Season 7 featured her music, Mariah's appearance on the elimination show clearly showed the difference between the diva and the debutantes, Davids and dreadlocks. Heck, she even had Simon Cowell on his feet applauding.

With writing and production credits on every single song, the versatile MC delivers an album equal to "The Emancipation of Mimi", with a mix of R&B, pop, reggae, hip hop, soul and even disco. Lyrically the album seems very personal, especially the tracks "Side Effects" and "Bye Bye", but there's something here to appeal to every listener.

First single "Touch My Body" has already hit the number one spot, with second single "Bye Bye" hot on its heels. (The latter is the song she performed on American Idol.) Other first class tracks are "Cruise Control" (the reggae track featuring Damian Marley, and my favorite); "I Stay in Love" (a classic Mariah Carey track); "I'm That Chick" and "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" (bouncy retro-disco-pop tracks which sample music by Michael Jackson and DeBarge); "O.O.C." (meaning out of control); and the perfect album closer "I Wish You Well".

This album is recommended for any fan of popular music. There are no bad tracks, and singles will be coming from this album for quite a while.

Emancipation of Mimi

Amanda Richards, April 16, 2008

5 out of 5 stars

I love this new album from Mariah Carey April 15, 2008
22 out of 60 found this review helpful

This is an excellent new album from Mariah Carey. My favorite track is "Cruise Control". I love the rapping by Damian Marley on this track. My other favorite track is I'm That Chick". It has a good groovy beat to dance to. "Side Effects" is a good jam too. I like the rapping by Jeezy on this song. "Touch My Body" is a very sensual song. It is the kind of song that makes me wish I had a girlfriend. There are also some very pretty track on this disc. Bye Bye is a very touching song. I also love the piano playing on I Wish You Well". "I Stay In Love" is a sweet love song. "Thanks For Nothing" is a good song about feeling broken hearted. I really enjoy listening to the tracks on this disc.

3 out of 5 stars

X (The Emancipation Of Mimi) - Y (Stellar production and lyrics) = Z (E=MC2) April 28, 2008
21 out of 37 found this review helpful

The world was introudced to Mariah Carey when she released her first single "Vision Of Love". The song was decent to me but when she did the track live on The Arsenio Hall show, that's when I became a fan. Her debut CD Mariah Carey was released in 1990. My favorite tracks were "Love Takes Time", "Vanishing", "Vision Of Love" , "I Don't Wanna Cry" and "Someday". A year later, Mariah released her 2nd CD Emotions, which features one of my favorite ballads from Mariah in "Can't Let Go". She released Music Box in 1993 which contained the hits "Dreamlover" and "Hero". 2 years later she released her 4th CD Daydream. This CD contained "Fantasy" w/the late ODB and "One Sweet Day" w/Boyz II Men which spent 16 weeks at #1.

After her much publicized split from Tommy Mottola in 1997, Mariah created her edgiest album to date with Butterfly. The 1st single "Honey" was produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs, Stevie J and Q Tip's and J Dilla's production group The Ummah, as well as, Mariah herself. My other favorite tracks included "Breakdown" w/Bone Thugs N Harmony, "My All", "Babydoll" and Mariah and Dru Hill's remake of the Prince classic "The Beautiful Ones". # 1's was released in 1998 and featured an updated version of "Whenever You Call" w/Brian McKnight, "When You Believe" w/Whitney Houston which was on "The Prince Of Egypt" soundtrack, "I'll Be There" w/Trey Lorenz and the remake to the Brenda K. Starr slow jam, "I Still Believe".

From there, in my opinion, things just went downhill from there as far as Mariah's CD were concerned. It got started with 1999's Rainbow. Now all of the tracks weren't bad, but if you look at the standards that were set from her previous CDs, you were left with a CD that would leave you disappointed. I actually enjoyed the remixes of her 2 #1's on this CD, "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You" better than the original versions of those tracks. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse Mariah decided to release the soundtrack to her movie Glitter. This by far was Mariah's worst release ever. Other than a couple of ballads, this CD remained a coaster in my basement. Charmbracelet was released a year later and featured her smash "Through The Rain". While it was definitely better than "Glitter" the sales numbers didn't reflect that. 3 years later Mariah released her best CD since "Butterfly" in my opinion, with The Emancipation of Mimi - Platinum Edition. The 1st single "It's Like That" caught my attention but it wasn't until I heard "We Belong Together" when I realized that Mariah was officially back. The album cuts on this CD were nice as well with tracks like "Circles", "Mine Again", "Joy Ride" and "Fly Like A Bird" which I did hear on some radio stations. Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, The Neptunes, Kanye West, James "Big Jim" Wright, Mariah, etc. all should have been praised for the job well done on her comeback CD.

When I found out that Mariah would be releasing a new CD this year, I was anxious to see if Mariah would continue with making the classic CDs that she has made in the past or if her new work would be in the just another CD category. The 1st single "Touch My Body" is decent but Mariah is playing things too safe in my opinion. This song doesn't come close to any of the singles that she released on her last CD. I have definitely heard better work from C. Tricky Stewart & The Dream as well, especially on Mary J. Blige's "Just Fine". Danja gets things started in the club with "Migrate". Teddy Pain joins in on the collaboration and while I am not his biggest fan, I feel that he does a nice job, along with Mariah, getting "E=MC2" off to a good start. "Cruise Control" is decent as well until Mariah starts trying to act like she is Damian Marley on the 2nd verse. Damian does a good job with his verse but most Mariah fans will find this track to either be a hit or miss track. Bryan Michael Cox and Mariah produce a winner in "I Stay In Love". This is the stellar balladry that I always expect to hear on a Mariah Carey CD. This is clearly one of the best tracks on this CD. Young Jeezy, who appeared along with Jay Z, on Mariah's "Shake It Off (Remix)", shows up on "Side Effects". Scott Storch produces a bouncy track that allows Mariah and Jeezy to both put in nice performances. Stargate who has done production work on the latest CDs from Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, Trey Songz, Chris Brown, Rihanna and Ne-Yo show up to produce the uptempo track "I'm That Chick". This song sounds like an 80s jam that you would hear when you were trying to roller skate back in the day. This is another top notch track on "E=MC2". DJ Toomp who has done production work on Kanye West's "Graduation", Jay Z's "American Gangster" and past CDs from TI, shows up to produce "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time". This is another nice track from this CD. Mariah shows tremendous energy with this midtempo jam. Bryan Michael Cox shows up again on "For The Record". Mariah gets a chance to tell an ex that he will be the one who regrets letting her go in the longrun. Stargate shows up again to produce "Bye Bye", which is a tribute to everyone who has lost an important loved one in their lives. I also heard a version of this track with Jay Z, which is the 2nd single for "E=MC2". "I Wish You Well" picks up where "Fly Like A Bird" left off. Sometimes you find yourself wishing that Mariah would do more songs like these and to leave tracks like "Touch My Body" alone.

The problem with "E= MC2" is that the producer who deserved the most credit for what happened with "The Emancipation Of Mimi", which was Jermaine Dupri, doesn't give a stellar production performance this time around. If you listen to "Cruise Control", "Love Story", "Last Kiss" and "Thanx 4 Nothin'" you'll find yourself asking JD what happened this time around. "Cruise Control" and "Thanx 4 Nothin'" are decent but "Love Story" and "Last Kiss" are average and mediocre in my opinion. Even if you did like the track, JD's continuous talking through the tracks don't help things either.

Overall, there are some good moments with "E=MC2". The problem is that when you look at the body of work of "The Emancipation Of Mimi", it just seems that 1) the overall objective was to make a carbon copy of Mariah's last CD, 2) the best tracks on this CD pale in comparison to the best tracks on "The Emancipation Of Mimi" and 3) JD doesn't step up to the plate like he did on "Confessions" and Mariah's last CD. "What we got is Trill, it's too real to be the last kiss." JD almost ruins his tracks with his voice this time around. If you are a fan of the majority of Mariah's previous CDs then you should add "E=MC2" to your Mariah collection. If you are expecting another "The Emancipation Of Mimi", then you may want to approach this CD with lower expectations. Overall I would have to rate this CD between a 3 and a 3.5.

James' Top 5

1) I Wish You Well
2) I Stay In Love
3) I'm That Chick
4) I'll Be Loving You Long Time
5) For The Record

Honorable Mention:

Side Effects w/Young Jeezy
Bye Bye
Migrate w/T Pain
Cruise Control w/Damian Marley

Powered by Associate-O-Matic

T-shirts, Posters

Pentagram T-shirts, bags, etc...

Gothic Posters

Antique Map Reproductions

Che Guevara shirts
and accessories