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Lynk

My Biased, Unwanted and Irrelevant Opinion on Music Box

My Review of Music Box  

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Hello..... It's Me. So I recently just listened to Music Box and at the request of no one, wrote a really bad review of it. It's in the spoilers but it's and essentially an essay (around 1200 words tbh). Read if you wanna and tell me what you think. (Can also drag me if you want moo1)

The Review

Spoiler

Introduction

Spoiler

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0552/3515/0020/products/0194397763812_1200x1200.jpg?v=1617021337

Mariah Carey or “Moo” if you live on Stan Twitter is one of my favorite female vocalists. Though I’m not a stan, I do believe she’s a one in a million talent and has stood the test of time as one of the biggest female artists of all time. Even though I have literally kissed this woman’s ass many times, I haven’t listened to her best selling album Music Box, outside of the singles. “Celine Box” as described by @Billie Frank, has sold over 25 million records, spawned two #1s, is certified diamond in the USA, France and Australia (maybe that’s why @Cha Eunwoo likes it so much) and has some of Mariah’s most iconic songs like Hero and Without You. Even with all these acclaims, Lambs (at least on FOTP) claim the album is boring and well, sounds like a Celine album. (The disrespect to Celine). Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to listen to it. After listening, I can clearly say that while it didn’t bore me to sleep, it didn’t blow me away. I don’t think the album is trash but some songs leave a lot to be desired.

Track by Track Review

Spoiler

1. Dreamlover - I don’t like this song. Plain and simple. It’s just… No. It’s most definitely my least favorite Mariah lead from any of her 90s album. I’ve never been a fan of this and I honestly feel this is the weakest #1 song in her catalogue. (Yes, even worse than Thank God, I Found You) - 4/10

 

 

2. Hero - Ah, the inspirational Mariah song. It started with Make It Happen on Emotions and kind off because a stable of a majority of her discography. If you’re listening to a Mariah Carey album, you’re gonna hear at least one inspirational song. I… used to like this song. A lot actually. It’s a really good song overall and has “picked me up” a number of times. So why don’t I like it anymore? FUCKING NICK CANNON!!! I won’t say what he did (Lambs probably know what I’m talking about), but if you wanna look it up be my guess. Before this would easily be an 8 but not right now. - 6/10

 

 

3. Anytime You Need A Friend - Two inspirational songs? That’s right. Madame C is trying lift your spirits by x2 up in here. Taking a page from Make It Happen, the song has gospel roots and even a choir in the background. This would work if the song didn’t drag on like that. It’s longer than it needs to be. Also it’s kinda boring. Make It Happen, this is not - 5/10

 

 

4. Music Box - After those three tracks I honestly thought I wouldn’t have a good time with this album. This song brought me some relief. I had actually heard this album cut before somewhere and told myself that I didn’t like it. What was young Lynk on? This song is so pretty. Not a lot of you may know this but I’m a sad boy who loves songs like this. This song tugged at my heart strings, she sounds great on it and the song’s kinda cute. - 8/10

 

 

5.  Now That I Know - OK so I’m not a dance music person. I don’t hate the genre but it’s not for me. There are some dance songs that I enjoy a lot. This isn’t one of them. Honestly, I don’t like the way it sounds. Sounds off somehow and I don’t like the instrumental either. The song sounds like a ballad trying to fit on a dance beat - 3/10

 

 

6. Never Forget You - Remember when I said that @Billie Frank called this album Celine Box? This song gives off a “Celine vibe”. In fact, I actually thought of Celine’s voice while Mariah was singing. The song isn’t bad. Just doesn’t feel like a Mariah song. - 6/10

 

 

7. Without You - Probably the biggest song on this album (and probably the only song Lambs claim on this album). Without You is a cover of the Badfinger song which Mariah makes her own. There’s a saying that if the vocal trinity (Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion) covers your song it’s no longer yours and this song is proof of that. This song feels like an original Mariah song and it’s sang beautifully. Solid cover - 8.5/10

 

 

8. Just To Hold You Once Again - This song reminds me of Something to Remember from Madonna’s I’m Breathless and Close To You from Rihanna’s Anti. That’s not a bad thing, I love those songs. The song is about giving up your all to someone who you’ve lost/had a huge impact of you. I relate to these lyrics and I’ve actually been in the same position before. Thank you Music Box for once again fucking with my heart strings. - 8/10

 

 

9. I’ve Been Thinking About You - The superior dance song on the album. “Now That I Know” fans can choke!! Like I said, I’m not a big dance fan so I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this song. It’s fun, bouncy and a joy to listen to. She sounds great on the song too. - 7.5/10

 

 

10. All I’ve Ever Wanted - So while I was listening to the album I was busy doing a few chores. A few songs got me to sing along and got a head movement or two from me. This song was the only song to get to stop what I was doing and keep my attention. It was also the only song I replayed, not because I wanted to get a second listen but because I genuinely loved this song. I think I replayed this around 8 times or something. I know this song by heart now. Best song on Music Box and I make no apologises for that statement. Quite fitting that the only ten on this album would be track #10 - 10/10

Conclusion

Spoiler

While it’s not my favorite Mariah album, I don’t understand why Lambs completely dismiss this album. It’s not garbage and it actually has some gems. Unfortunately, Those gems couldn’t make up for the long, drawn out songs that sound like they’d rot on the Adult Contemporary charts. I feel like Tomato Mozzarella saw the success Celine and Whitney (with the Bodyguard) were both having and probably forced Mariah to record songs similar to those. Only problem was while doing so he forgot to add the Mariah elements to most of the songs so they end up sounding like cheap, lifeless copies.

Standout songs: All I’ve Ever Wanted, Without You, Just To Hold You Again, Music Box

Final Score: 6.6/10 (Good)

 

 

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I think your review is quite fair considering that you've never heard the music from the box. Get it? Anyway, the album is average at best. It's very consistent within the theme of exploring devotion and loyalty, but there's not any real love yet within every lyrics of these songs. Also, Tommy Motorola didn't tell her to just record. Mariah herself wrote this album with Walter Abrasive. She was just Presh Off the Runway.mp3 from her princess-inspired marriage with Tommy, so of course the theme of "love" probably came to her mind and his too. But I believe that as the album was getting made, Mariah realized that something wasn't right. I mean, from the first track of this album it was clear that something rather sinister was going on with her life. Mariah loves to write songs based on her real life experiences without always making it direct, meaning that she would make a song that could be applied to anybody (universal appeal, I guess, is the word that could be used here...if not somewhat anonymous) as she wouldn't address her life directly in an LP until Butterfly. Music Box is filled with songs that depicted rain beyond the sunny day, a storm behind that rain, perhaps the only one that do so out of anything from her complete discography.

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54 minutes ago, LittleDudeNT5 said:

Gave it a trash the second I read the Dreamlover review sass1

That's fair. I feel I was a bit vague in that review. It's not like I haven't tried to like it but I can't for some reason. I really forced myself to try and enjoy it but I can't. Maybe it'll grow on me or something idk.

41 minutes ago, Gwen Stefanee said:

I think your review is quite fair considering that you've never heard the music from the box. Get it? Anyway, the album is average at best. It's very consistent within the theme of exploring devotion and loyalty, but there's not any real love yet within every lyrics of these songs. Also, Tommy Motorola didn't tell her to just record. Mariah herself wrote this album with Walter Abrasive. She was just Presh Off the Runway.mp3 from her princess-inspired marriage with Tommy, so of course the theme of "love" probably came to her mind and his too. But I believe that as the album was getting made, Mariah realized that something wasn't right. I mean, from the first track of this album it was clear that something rather sinister was going on with her life. Mariah loves to write songs based on her real life experiences without always making it direct, meaning that she would make a song that could be applied to anybody (universal appeal, I guess, is the word that could be used here...if not somewhat anonymous) as she wouldn't address her life directly in an LP until Butterfly. Music Box is filled with songs that depicted rain beyond the sunny day, a storm behind that rain, perhaps the only one that do so out of anything from her complete discography.

I know MC was more involved in it but that's how it feels to me. It doesn't feel like a Mariah album apart from a few songs. I guess it would make sense that this album came out when she was married to Satan Tommy. Poor soul, if only she knew. Also the Walter Afanasieff shade is kinda cancelled based on the fact that he wrote All I Want For Christmas with Mariah

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55 minutes ago, Lynk said:

That's fair. I feel I was a bit vague in that review. It's not like I haven't tried to like it but I can't for some reason. I really forced myself to try and enjoy it but I can't. Maybe it'll grow on me or something idk.

I know MC was more involved in it but that's how it feels to me. It doesn't feel like a Mariah album apart from a few songs. I guess it would make sense that this album came out when she was married to Satan Tommy. Poor soul, if only she knew. Also the Walter Afanasieff shade is kinda cancelled based on the fact that he wrote All I Want For Christmas with Mariah

Shade against Water Abrasive will never be cancelled considering Mariah wrote the Christmas anthem by herself. She has insinuated many times that Ms. Abrasive just played the keyboard because she couldn't play as well as him. It was very generous of Mariah to include him at all in the credits of said song. In fact, I should have known it much earlier when I first watched this video:

6 years ago! This isn't All I Want for Christmas Is You but it's rumored to be a very early version of Close My Eyes. Somebody might suggest that it's just a front because it's for camera, but that might not be true as we can see that Mariah totally led the melodies and Walter just played the piano to fill-in-between the bare bone that is her basis melodies. Sometimes I wish that Mariah had taken an intensive piano lesson or something so she didn't have to include him on the songs that he had no actual input.

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11 minutes ago, Gwen Stefanee said:

6 years ago! This isn't All I Want for Christmas Is You but it's rumored to be a very early version of Close My Eyes. Somebody might suggest that it's just a front because it's for camera, but that might not be true as we can see that Mariah totally led the melodies and Walter just played the piano to fill-in-between the bare bone that is her basis melodies. Sometimes I wish that Mariah had taken an intensive piano lesson or something so she didn't have to include him on the songs that he had no actual input.

It likely is, we already know Mariah often will take years to finish certain songs. Just look at Lead The Way which was started in the Daydream era and not finished until 2001. 

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@Lynk i actually agree with much of what you say. Hero isn't a bad song it just isn't a Mariah song to me, part of the reason for that is because it was written by Mariah to be sung by Carole King, but Tomato said she should keep it instead. Music Box is easily my favourite on the album. Now That I Know is a bop but it's totally inappropriate on the album.

 

The bonus track "Everything Fades Away" and B-Side to Dreamlover "Do You Think Of Me" are actually far better than most of the album and some of her best songs imo, but i guess Tomato didn't approve of their sensualism. They've also aged far better. Do You Think Of Me is literally a masterpiece. 

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30 minutes ago, Gwen Stefanee said:

Shade against Water Abrasive will never be cancelled considering Mariah wrote the Christmas anthem by herself. She has insinuated many times that Ms. Abrasive just played the keyboard because she couldn't play as well as him. It was very generous of Mariah to include him at all in the credits of said song. In fact, I should have known it much earlier when I first watched this video:

6 years ago! This isn't All I Want for Christmas Is You but it's rumored to be a very early version of Close My Eyes. Somebody might suggest that it's just a front because it's for camera, but that might not be true as we can see that Mariah totally led the melodies and Walter just played the piano to fill-in-between the bare bone that is her basis melodies. Sometimes I wish that Mariah had taken an intensive piano lesson or something so she didn't have to include him on the songs that he had no actual input.

The fuck? Why credit him then? dead2

58 minutes ago, Cha Eunwoo said:

I agree with your review.

 

All I've Ever Wanted and Just To Hold You Once Again are my favourite songs from the album. rose1

 

Serving tastes, unlike @Billie Frank and @Royale

All I Ever Wanted fucking ruined me. Almost had me like cry9

10 minutes ago, Billie Frank said:

@Lynk i actually agree with much of what you say. Hero isn't a bad song it just isn't a Mariah song to me, part of the reason for that is because it was written by Mariah to be sung by Carole King, but Tomato said she should keep it instead. Music Box is easily my favourite on the album. Now That I Know is a bop but it's totally inappropriate on the album.

I don't hate Hero, it's just been tainted by Mariah's ex husband (the second one). The album itself doesn't feel like a Mariah album outside of a few tracks. Music Box is really pretty though

10 minutes ago, Billie Frank said:

The bonus track "Everything Fades Away" and B-Side to Dreamlover "Do You Think Of Me" are actually far better than most of the album and some of her best songs imo, but i guess Tomato didn't approve of their sensualism. They've also aged far better. Do You Think Of Me is literally a masterpiece. 

I'll give them a listen later and tell you what I think

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2 minutes ago, Lynk said:

I'll give them a listen later and tell you what I think

Do You Think Of Me is easily her best song pre-Butterfly, it's by far her most mature and experimental by that point. Especially with good earphones it just sounds amazing. 

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1 hour ago, Gwen Stefanee said:

Shade against Water Abrasive will never be cancelled considering Mariah wrote the Christmas anthem by herself. She has insinuated many times that Ms. Abrasive just played the keyboard because she couldn't play as well as him. It was very generous of Mariah to include him at all in the credits of said song. In fact, I should have known it much earlier when I first watched this video:

6 years ago! This isn't All I Want for Christmas Is You but it's rumored to be a very early version of Close My Eyes. Somebody might suggest that it's just a front because it's for camera, but that might not be true as we can see that Mariah totally led the melodies and Walter just played the piano to fill-in-between the bare bone that is her basis melodies. Sometimes I wish that Mariah had taken an intensive piano lesson or something so she didn't have to include him on the songs that he had no actual input.

This is all just complete conjecture xD She even said he was a great writing partner on QuestLove's podcast. Every song is different, and if they're crafting the melody together, of course he would deserve credit. Mariah loves collaborating with people and sees the value in it. 

 

If you don't like him for other reasons – for whatever reason Mariah doesn't like him anymore – then that's fine, but you're just making up stories. 

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2 hours ago, Lynk said:

That's fair. I feel I was a bit vague in that review. It's not like I haven't tried to like it but I can't for some reason. I really forced myself to try and enjoy it but I can't. Maybe it'll grow on me or something idk.

But, jokes aside, I really do disagree with you on a fair few of your other ratings as well. Also saying "this is the only song Lambs claim" for WY is pretty false. I would say most Lambs consider Music Box to be her most mediocre of the 90s, but that doesn't mean they don't have songs on the album they like. Every fan is different, but Anytime You Need A Friend, Music Box, Now That I Know, All I Ever Wanted, etc. (beyond Dreamlover and Hero being classics) could be considered to be fan-favorites. Album isn't amazing, but I wouldn't agree with most of your sentiments.

 

But, ofc, you can like/dislike the album how you want. 

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21 minutes ago, LittleDudeNT5 said:

If you don't like him for other reasons – for whatever reason Mariah doesn't like him anymore – then that's fine, but you're just making up stories. 

He sided with Tommy when they broke up, Mariah stopped working with him as she couldn't trust him and now he acts like her earlier work was all his ideas when it wasn't. 

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3 hours ago, Cha Eunwoo said:

I agree with your review.

 

All I've Ever Wanted and Just To Hold You Once Again are my favourite songs from the album. rose1

 

Serving tastes, unlike @Billie Frank and @Royale

Never said anywhere that I outright dislike the album though, but I don’t really care for it as a whole. 
I’ve Been Thinking About You is my favorite on this one. ari5

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2 hours ago, Billie Frank said:

@Lynk i actually agree with much of what you say. Hero isn't a bad song it just isn't a Mariah song to me, part of the reason for that is because it was written by Mariah to be sung by Carole King, but Tomato said she should keep it instead. Music Box is easily my favourite on the album. Now That I Know is a bop but it's totally inappropriate on the album.

No. According to Mariah and Walter it was supposed to be Shakira's mentor, Gloria Estefan, soundtrack record for a movie that was about to be released at that time. But Motorola told Mariah to keep it for herself.

1 hour ago, LittleDudeNT5 said:

This is all just complete conjecture xD She even said he was a great writing partner on QuestLove's podcast. Every song is different, and if they're crafting the melody together, of course he would deserve credit. Mariah loves collaborating with people and sees the value in it. 

 

If you don't like him for other reasons – for whatever reason Mariah doesn't like him anymore – then that's fine, but you're just making up stories. 

She literally said many times, even in the video that I just shared, that she would come up with her melodies, then told Walter to play it on the piano/keyboard, would tell Walter to expand it based on her command because everything was going inside her head, Walter would "translate" it into the production side, and BOOM! complete song was born. She also said similar things in the QuestLove's podcast, also saying that there was an "incestuous relationship" during those times in the past regarding the label, Walter, and herself. They never crafted any of her melodies "together," because she had made it in her head already as a full song BUT without the physical form. I know how it works because I literally do the same thing all the time with my own composition. That's why Mariah always needed co-writers WHO CAN PLAY INSTRUMENTS. Mariah hadn't stopped disliking him because he was allegedly there when Motorola pressed a butter knife on Mariah's cheek as a way to control/threaten her during an argument. He was also addressed as part of the people whom she thought closest to her yet sold her out "dutifully."

Phew.

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1 hour ago, Billie Frank said:

He sided with Tommy when they broke up, Mariah stopped working with him as she couldn't trust him and now he acts like her earlier work was all his ideas when it wasn't. 

16 minutes ago, Gwen Stefanee said:

No. According to Mariah and Walter it was supposed to be Shakira's mentor, Gloria Estefan, soundtrack record for a movie that was about to be released at that time. But Motorola told Mariah to keep it for herself.

She literally said many times, even in the video that I just shared, that she would come up with her melodies, then told Walter to play it on the piano/keyboard, would tell Walter to expand it based on her command because everything was going inside her head, Walter would "translate" it into the production side, and BOOM! complete song was born. She also said similar things in the QuestLove's podcast, also saying that there was an "incestuous relationship" during those times in the past regarding the label, Walter, and herself. They never crafted any of her melodies "together," because she had made it in her head already as a full song BUT without the physical form. I know how it works because I literally do the same thing all the time with my own composition. That's why Mariah always needed co-writers WHO CAN PLAY INSTRUMENTS. Mariah hadn't stopped disliking him because he was allegedly there when Motorola pressed a butter knife on Mariah's cheek as a way to control/threaten her during an argument. He was also addressed as part of the people whom she thought closest to her yet sold her out "dutifully."

Phew.

Okay ya'll, yes I know why she doesn't like/work with him anymore. I just didn't feel like explaining it because we all get it by now. It was just unrelated to music. She even said so at the time of their parting. She has said before that she's come up with a melody and then they'd pass it around together until they come up with the music for the track. She's usually take it to write the lyrics while he started some of the arrangement, and they'd get back together to do the rest, most likely. Just because he, and others, are brought on because they can play instruments and she can't, doesn't mean he doesn't contribute at all. This definitely means he's entitled to writing credit, because the song obviously changes/is crafted by him in some way, even if the inception of the idea is from Mariah.

 

And I don't think he's acting like it was all his idea. Where did he say that? He's just bitter that she doesn't mention/talk about him anymore, especially now that AIFCIY went number one twice in a row. How that translates into "it was all mariah, he didn't do barely anything, he doesn't deserve as much credit" is ridiculous.

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34 minutes ago, Gwen Stefanee said:

No. According to Mariah and Walter it was supposed to be Shakira's mentor, Gloria Estefan, soundtrack record for a movie that was about to be released at that time. But Motorola told Mariah to keep it for herself.

Yes you're right, i got them mixed up. dead2

10 minutes ago, LittleDudeNT5 said:

And I don't think he's acting like it was all his idea. Where did he say that? He's just bitter that she doesn't mention/talk about him anymore, especially now that AIFCIY went number one twice in a row. How that translates into "it was all mariah, he didn't do barely anything, he doesn't deserve as much credit" is ridiculous.

Just look at literally any recent interview, he takes all credit and acts like it was all him, in contrast Mariah always credits the people who she works with or when something was someone else's idea. She literally constantly credits the Tomato as it was him who came up with the idea of doing a Christmas album. 

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