[Editor’s Note: this review is of the vinyl edition of the album.]
Time moves on and American music tastes change. While Mariah Carey remains a household name in American music, younger stars such as Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Ariana Grande have replaced her at the top of the charts. What remains is a near 20 year run of super stardom that produced 18 number one hits and more time at the top of the pop single charts than any other female artist in American music history.
Now, all of her number one singles plus her latest release, ”Infinity,” have been issued under the title #1 To Infinity. While focusing just on her chart-toppers leaves out a lot of her better material, it does present in chronological order some of the most popular radio songs of the past 30 years.
Carey’s material was about as mainstream as possible, exploring straight pop, hip-hop, soul, and urban, which took the form of soaring ballads and up-tempo dance tracks.
The vinyl edition is two discs. The sound has not been remastered as far as I can tell, which is not as bad a decision as it sounds since the recordings were state of the art in the first place and hold up well. Vinyl, and especially new releases, played on modern equipment have a sound equal to CD or digital transfer.
Songs such as “We Belong Together,” “Dreamlover,” “I’ll Be There,” “One Sweet Day,” and “Don’t Forget About Us” have all left an imprint on American music culture.
The music of Mariah Carey is what it is. #1 To Infinity is a good introduction to her music if you have not been a part of her loyal fan base. Her fans will have to decide if they want this previously released material in a different form.
She seems to be settling into the respected diva category leaving behind a legacy of one of the best-selling catalogues in music history. While there is nothing new here, the old is worth a revisit.
