On The Road Again: Mariah Carey "Music Box (USA, Columbia Records, 47270 2)"

jueves, 1 de mayo de 2025

Mariah Carey "Music Box (USA, Columbia Records, 47270 2)"

Music Box is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993. The album comprises ballads primarily written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991), and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development, Carey wanted to broaden her audience, choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame, she experimented with different musical instruments, leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous two efforts.

In order to successfully take the album in a new direction, Carey and Afanasieff sought out new and innovative producers, as well as some from Carey's previous releases. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds first began working with Carey on Music Box, where he helped produce "Never Forget You", as well as being part of the songwriting process. Additional writers and producers were Robert Clivillés and David Cole (a pair also known as C+C Music Factory) and Daryl Simmons. While the album featured a range of music producers, the bulk of the songwriting was done by Carey and her writing partner, Afanasieff. In future projects, they would continue writing material for Carey's albums, until her 1999 release Rainbow, where he is absent from the writing credits.

Five singles were released from the album. The first three, "Dreamlover", "Hero" and a cover recording of Badfinger's "Without You", became worldwide chart-topping singles, the latter becoming Carey's highest charting international single of her career. "Without You" became Carey's first number-one single in most European markets and reached the top three in the United States. To promote Music Box, Carey embarked on the short but successful Music Box Tour which traveled to select cities in North America. Carey was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Dreamlover" at the 1994 Grammy Awards and received the same nomination for "Hero" at the 1995 Grammy Awards.

After its release, Music Box received generally mixed reviews from music critics. The album faced criticism regarding Carey's more mellow and laid-back tone in comparison to her previous work. Commercially, the album reached number one in 15 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Diamond, for shipments of ten million copies across the United States. Music Box remains Carey's highest seller with 28 million copies sold worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

In 1988, Carey was discovered by Tommy Mottola, CEO of Columbia Records, and was promptly signed to the label. Carey's self-titled debut studio album, released in 1990, focused on re-recording and mastering several songs she had already written in high school alongside classmate, Ben Margulies. Aside from the seven songs taken from Carey's demo tape, four other tracks were written and produced by the former and an array of famed record producers. The album was complimented by critics, who called it a mature debut, full of various genre influences ranging from pop, R&B and soul. The album became a commercial success, selling fifteen million units globally. While making a strong impact on pop music, Carey became interested in altering her sound, and deviating from pop music for her second studio effort, Emotions (1991). Following the success of her debut, Columbia allowed her to take more control over her musical departure, enabling her to change her genre infusions, melodies and production.

With Carey as executive producer, having more control than she had on any other album, she took the album in a new direction, alongside Afanasieff. For Carey's third studio effort, she enrolled the help of a range of songwriters, as well as record producers. Aside from Afanasieff, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, a man who would collaborate with Carey often in the near future, also took part in the project. Babyface also co-wrote a track with Carey titled "Never Forget You", a song that was released as a B-side to "Without You" exclusively in the United States. The album, which consisted mostly of slower ballads (with the exception of "Dreamlover", "Now That I Know", and "I've Been Thinking about You"), contained collaborations with some carry-on producers and writers from Emotions. Of these were Clivillés & Cole (of C+C Music Factory), who co-wrote the track "Now That I Know", a danceable pop-R&B ballad, which used similar formulas and synthesizers from tracks on Emotions. Another writer–producer that worked on the album was David Hall, who with Carey wrote the US single "Dreamlover".

During the album's recording, Carey worked with several different musicians and producers, aside from Walter Afanasieff, the only hold over from her debut. On the album's first track "Dreamlover", Carey worked with Dave Hall throughout the song's entire production. In order to help with some of the song's arrangements, Mottola enrolled the help of Walter Afanasieff, who took on the completed track and transformed it into a more commercial hit.

Emotions contained influences from mostly 1950s, 1960s and 1970s balladry and gospel, as well as her continued work of R&B and soul. The album, while praised by some as more mature and raw, failed to reach the critical or commercial heights of her debut effort. Notably, it sold significantly less well and failed to introduce Carey into a different market. Following these developments, Columbia sought to market Carey in a similar fashion to her debut, aiming for a more commercial and radio-friendly album. Their plans were to tone down Carey's vocals, and soften the album's production, leaving a more contemporary pop/R&B record. Agreeing to this approach, Carey and Afanasieff began writing and recording material for her third studio effort, Music Box.

One of the noticeable differences between Music Box and Carey's previous albums is the sound. The album was described by Afanasieff as a softer and more pop-oriented record, "filling the songs with air" and allowing far more space in the overall sound. Another noticeable change is in the album's production. When Mariah Carey was released, critics took notice of its "overly produced" and "studio perfect" quality, whereas Emotions, in comparison, maintains a "raw, live sound." Music Box, however, falls in between the two, a decision made by Carey during the album's production. She would layer each track with live backing vocals, so not to sound too overly produced, but still kept the inclusion of musical synthesizers.

According to Marc Shapiro, Music Box reflects signs of Carey's vocal maturity, as well as representing an album she was truly proud of. The album's first single "Dreamlover" was described as a "slight piece of pop fluff," representing a more commercial side to Carey than the "more ambitious" "Vision of Love". Critics believed the song's chart performance was due to its summer release, as people were still looking for a "not-too-heavy" and more diverse sound. The song's composition was described as "mid tempo and mildly dance-able," with Carey's voice being called "perpetually happy," like a "little-girl voice."

Track listing