The Bottom Line
This is one of the most impressive debut albums in pop music history. The songs here dominated pop music radio in 1990, and "Vision Of Love" is one of the best songs of Mariah's recording career.
Pros
- A powerful debut album
- "Vision Of Love" is one of Mariah Carey's best songs
- All aspects of Mariah Carey's classic album formula are here
Cons
- Somewhat formulaic mix of uptempo tracks and ballads
- A few weak songs pull down the overall album
Description
- On this album Mariah's 5 octave vocal range was a new treat to pop music audiences.
- 4 #1 pop singles are among the tracks here.
- With this music, a new star was born.
Guide Review - 'Mariah Carey'
The slow burning r&b ballad "Vision Of Love" introduced the powerful five octave vocal range of Mariah Carey to the pop music world and audiences were entranced. It is simply one of the most stunning debut releases ever by a pop recording artist. Following up the success of the initial single, Mariah released three more #1 pop hit singles from this album in quick succession.
Through her connection with future husband Tommy Mottola, Mariah Carey had access to a starmaking apparatus that was unlikely to fail in its mission. However, what remains impressive is just how successful Mariah was in connecting with audiences from the beginning. Her success with this album was unprecedented in pop music history.
There are a number of weak tracks here, and later albums would be more polished, but with this collection of songs you can return to the moments when few people had heard of this singer named Mariah. Seen as the work of a 20-year-old previously unrecorded artists, this album is an amazing feat.
