STACK #193 Nov 2020

MUSIC FEATURE

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MARIAH CAREY MUSIC BOX Bryget Chr isfi eld explores the creation, impact, and astonishing legacy of her favourite classic records.This month: Mariah Carey’s Music Box .

was my escape,” she writes. “My house was heavy, weighed down with yelling and chaos. When I sang, in a whispery tone, it calmed me down. I discovered a quiet, soft, light place inside my voice – a vibration in me that brought me sweet relief. My whisper-singing was my secret lullaby to myself.” Ever tried to sing along with Mariah Carey? Okay,

“I ’m a chanteuse, dahling... I’m on the stage!” Mimi announces during the intro for Lullaby Of Birdland - Live, 2014 (from her recent The Rareties release). Mariah then recalls some rare moments of joy from her childhood – sitting at the piano, riffing with her Juilliard-trained opera singer mother’s muso friends – before observing: “When I was little I would be in lingerie on the piano at like 13. Appropriate? Not really. But it’s me; I can’t help it!” In her memoir The Meaning Of Mariah Carey , she acknowledges she was born with a “propensity for extraness”, which is summed up perfectly in a photo of Baby Mimi “posing for the guncles”: one hand on hip, the other tilting her head sideways, Mariah works her angles and flashes a million-watt smile – born with it. “I was always so scared as a little girl, and music

Year 1993

let’s try Emotions . Here goes. Ready? “It feels like a dream/ When you touch me tenderly/

I don’t know if it’s real/ But I like the way I feel inSIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!” Ugh, best we leave those whistle notes to Mimi, no? Mariah often cites Minnie Riperton’s Lovin’ You as an early influence, which makes a whole lotta sense. Cyndi Lauper recently tweeted some love Mariah’s way after picking

vibrantly from the mix.

On her writing process with Afanasieff, Mariah revealed during a 1993 interview: “We have this connection where I’ll sing what I’m hearing and he’ll start playing, and usually it’s what I’m hearing in my head. Walter really tries to let me lead. He knows it’s important

With Sony CEO and husband Tommy Mottola, early ‘90s

up The Meaning Of Mariah Carey , and Mimi replied, “Cyndi, you have always had love from me!!! I will never forget on my 21st birthday (back when I still had birthdays), when you gave me a beautiful orange lyric book and I wrote the entire Music Box album in it. It meant so much to me as do you and your talent!”
 One of the best-selling albums of all time, the Diamond-certified Music Box comprises many ballads – primarily written by Mariah and Walter Afanasieff (the pair establishing their working relationship on her preceding album, Emotions ) – plus a smattering of urban dance tracks. There’s a lot of space within these arrangements, every Tinkerbell-esque chime, finger snap and woodblock knock popping

to me to let the melodies I have develop.” Other contributors to Music Box included Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds – who helped write and produce track Never Forget You , which marked the beginning of a collaborative relationship and lasting friendship – and C+C Music Factory (AKA Robert Clivillés and David Cole); the pair appear as writers/producers on Music Box , their previous work on Mariah’s self-belief banger Make It Happen unlocking the kind of collaborative magic that demands further exploration. On working with Cole, Mariah writes, “He was a church kid who loved dance music (as evidenced on Make It Happen ). As a producer, he pushed me as a singer, because he was one too.” Mimi may look like she has never known life outside a mansion, but she came from nothing. When she first started booking jobs

Mariah at the 1993 American Music Awards; she was the most-nominated artist (six awards) and won Favourite Pop/Rock Female Artist

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