Some Fan
Oct 21st, 2003, 12:56 AM
Mariah Carey, on the other hand, is a more traditional disco diva, and a great one. And she has never been easier to enjoy than on "The Remixes" (Columbia), a double-disc set that compiles a decade's worth of house and hip-hop remixes.
The hip-hop disc isn't perfect; it proves, among other things, that Jermaine Dupri is a hit-and-miss producer. But it includes some of Ms. Carey's most appealing collaborations. "Breakdown," with Krayze Bone and Wish Bone (from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony), is a marvelous demonstration of sing-rapping, with the three vocalists taking turns skipping over the syllables. And on "Miss You," with Jadakiss, the rapper has fun addressing the pop star as if she were merely a drug dealer's moll: "When I thought you was late with the coke/ That's when things fell apart Ma, and it stagnated us both."
The other disc is even better: Ms. Carey's brassy, breathy vocals sound best when accompanied by a thumping house beat, and David Morales, in particular, knows how to turn a histrionic ballad into a club classic. His 11-minute "Def Mix" version of "Dreamlover" is a revelation: after a long percussion break, he isolates a few of Ms. Carey's ad-libs; her ultrafalsetto vocals sound spookier than all of Basement Jaxx's sound effects combined.
The hip-hop disc isn't perfect; it proves, among other things, that Jermaine Dupri is a hit-and-miss producer. But it includes some of Ms. Carey's most appealing collaborations. "Breakdown," with Krayze Bone and Wish Bone (from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony), is a marvelous demonstration of sing-rapping, with the three vocalists taking turns skipping over the syllables. And on "Miss You," with Jadakiss, the rapper has fun addressing the pop star as if she were merely a drug dealer's moll: "When I thought you was late with the coke/ That's when things fell apart Ma, and it stagnated us both."
The other disc is even better: Ms. Carey's brassy, breathy vocals sound best when accompanied by a thumping house beat, and David Morales, in particular, knows how to turn a histrionic ballad into a club classic. His 11-minute "Def Mix" version of "Dreamlover" is a revelation: after a long percussion break, he isolates a few of Ms. Carey's ad-libs; her ultrafalsetto vocals sound spookier than all of Basement Jaxx's sound effects combined.