#1's - Carey, Mariah (Cassette 1998)

The concept album is something that has been around in the music business for years and years but some people fail to realize that. The most common, the greatest hits disc, has become a necessary part of every established artists' discography; some artists even release multiple editions. Another type of concept album, the live album, is made most by people who are confident with their live vocal skills and who want their fans to get the full experience without the pricey tickets or the lousy concession food. One type of concept album that I personally have rarely seen is the number ones album.

It s not often that a singer manages to have thirteen songs go to number one on the charts, especially in a period of under ten years. But Mariah Carey had done just that by 1998, when her collection of number one hits was released in this #1s compilation. This CD features her thirteen number one hits (she has since had two more), plus four bonus tracks that were never before available. Sweetheart is a duet with JD, who always pops up on remixes to show off his "talent." He basically responds to Mariah s singing by saying, "Uh-huh," "Yeah," and so on. Mariah sounds good, but this song doesn t.

Yes, I wouldn t mind sleeping with Mariah Carey! Who wouldn t? Those legs, that bust, that high pitch scream in the bedroom perfect to annoy the neighbors, would suit me just fine. Musically however, Mariah Carey annoys me to no end and each time she comes out with a new CD I cringe at the countless amounts of press she gets and the constant need for radio stations and music television to dedicate to her musical mumblings. Mariah is 40% air, 40% high pitched screeching, and 10% singing. Earlier her career had different percentages more in Mariah s favor, but after a few hits she become...

As I continue to age, I have mellowed some on certain artists that I was not into when they were in their prime or even come to enjoy songs by artists who used to annoy me. So, for example, in high school while many of my peers were listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, I was happily listening to Sophie B. Hawkins and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and when I did encounter Nirvana, I thought it was mostly just noise and unpleasantness. A few years back, I saw a music video of a cover of "Come As You Are" where an Elvis impersonator sang the lines surrounded by models and it was pretty well...