Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
| Mariah Carey
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is the twelfth studio album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 29, 2009 by Island Records. After promotion for her previous album, E=MC (2008) ended, Carey began to work on a new album, producing songs with Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, and revealed the album's title through Twitter. Carey said that Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel would have "big ballads", and that "each song is its own snapshot of a moment in a story". --Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Slant Magazine
She is in fine voice throughout the album, and there are plenty of inspired moments to be found
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Rolling Stone
Her most sonically and tonally coherent release, a mix of love ballads and sassy breakup anthems that might have been her best album had it been several songs shorter.
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BBC
Little more than pastiches of past successes.
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The Telegraph
The sentiments (and self-obsessed packaging) may be smug and gloopy, but her incredible technique is applied to seductive beats with surprising restraint.
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The Guardian
A sprawling, 17-track epic with few obvious singles – but it is loaded with creativity. It's an astonishingly intimate listen.
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Los Angeles Times
She shows off her talent by coming off as just another girl at the nail salon.
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AV Music Club
She largely sounds laid-back and cool here, rather than her usual overpowering self.
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Sputnik Music
A trek through a wasteland of arid, lifeless balladry.
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Hip Hop DX
Its plentiful ballads are indicative of one undeniable truth: no one rocks a mid-tempo like Mariah.
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NME
The album itself reveals she’s also got a penchant for exhuming the sickly-sweet memory of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Loving You’ and setting it to 17 different slow jamz drenched in studio gloss.
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Independant
You start to wonder if you're not just hearing the same track over and over again, with minor variations: it's all pretty much the same...
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Billboard
Her throwback vibe on it is refreshing and much welcomed.
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Music OMH
Though it’s commendable to stick with one set of producers to give a sense of cohesion, it could have done with some variation.
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All Music
All it needs to push it over the edge is a great pair of singles, and their absence does hurt the album a bit, but not enough to prevent it from being her most interesting album in a decade.
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Entertainment Weekly
Imperfections are nowhere to be found on it, but neither are many true revelations.
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Def Pen
Well done, Mariah! My iTunes will definitely count a lot of “Memoirs” plays.
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Spin or Bin
What she has done is create an amazing album in terms of novelty and creativity.
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Random J Pop
A solid body of work. Just not the kind that will blow you away.
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Entertainment ie
Fans of generic r'n'b may be sated by her 12th studio effort, but for those who are aware of the pop brilliance that she's capable of, it's yet another disappointment.
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IOL
Regardless, she needs no help from Jermaine Dupri or featured artists to prove she's still the best.
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Sonic Amp
The album fails to fully display her full range and the majority of the songs are slow and kind of run into each other.
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Student Life
She rehashes the themes she’s been using constantly since her 1990 debut, but they still aren’t old because of her deeply felt songwriting and expressive vocals.
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Planet Ill
Despite some flaws, such as the simplistic lyrics and one-dimensional production style, the album is sure to be another hit for her, giving old and new fans something to look forward to.
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Shepherd Express
Carey at her most incisive and memorable...
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Diva Devotee
This is a rewarding album that highlights that Mariah “the hit factory” Carey is not necessary the Mariah we want or need.
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Michigan Live (AP)
No one is perfect — that's obvious. This CD is — that's obvious too.
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Harbingers
It is not ground-breaking, but it is surely different from anything in her back catalogue and sees her standing between her comfort zone and somewhat pushing the boundary vaguely.
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Soulfisticated
This is an an album that feels like an album. Whereas a lot of mainstream albums feel like a bunch of singles and filler songs were just thrown together in a haphazard order, Memoirs takes you on a journey from beginning to end.
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Jerkish Behavior
A classic old school female r&b album and reminds of good ol days.
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The Daily Iowan
One major problem with Memoirs is its lack of originality — it’s apparent that as her age progresses, so does her reliance on old material.
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Express
It lacks both rhythm and blues, offering only gloss and little else.
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The Boston Globe
It presents her as more of an emotive vocalist and not just a singer with an impressive range.
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