Mariah Carey's "Caution" Is Such a Good Album 😍

[Popcornie]

I have been meaning to discover her discography. I really dont know many of her songs idk if shes then more USA artist or what but compared to Madonna and Kylie I dont really know almost any of her big hits. I know the christmas song, we belong together, emotions and I have heard hero. 

Her shadeful persona seems really funny so I may enjoy her 2000s work atleast, Im not huge fan of albums filled with 90s ballads which I kinda imagine her earlier albums are. 

Will either give caution a chance soon or then work my way up from her other albums.. 

[Ofcoursenot]

I didn't expect the love for Caution like this! But this is the only Mariah album that I listen full! And two or three of her hits that I know

[JordanMiller is Fggt]

 

That vocal run from the caution tour 😍

 

 

 

 

 

[princessmimi]

Omg I love Caution!

Its easily her best work in the past 10 years and one of the BEST albums of the 2010s decade

I actually do love One Mo Gen, it should've been a single imo.

Its a shame that this album flopped so hard cause its honestly one of the freshest albums in her discography,

it still sounds like it came out yesterday and is amazing!

[bitbitboi]

On 12/16/2021 at 11:04 AM, sparrowhawk said:

this is coming from a LAMB who is a Daydream fanatic (me..i am mariah the elusive asdlkfjasldfjlas was a MESS, to be fair)

Can you or any hardcore lamb PLEASE explain to me why "I am..." is SO hated in the fan base?

I like Mariah but I cannot call myself a fan, let alone a lamb. I knew about her with "Rainbow", which I already read that is special/different from the rest of her discography. I own that album since it came out. I love it. To me, as my entrance album to her, THAT is "essential Mariah" (even though I know it's not). Then, I got "#1s" (freaking impeccable), and then "I am..." because it was on sale... and omg I LOVED IT?! Like, I was stunned. I think it's amazing. And then I rushed to the internet to see the reviews and I was shocked to read most critics and fans be so disappointed and confused or whatever. I truly don't understand. Now "Rainbow" is praised, and here you guys are fascinated by "Caution", which I love as well, so how can I be so far off with "I am..."?? I mean, as a Britney stan I could perfectly explain why "Britney Jean" is apocryphal in her catalogue, for example, but I couldn't do that with any Mariah's album. I actually created a thread about it here (I'm on my cellphone, but as soon as I get to a computer I could paste the link to it here) as soon as I bought that album to praise it and people were so cold and unresponsive haha wow...

I need help!

[jordeezy river red]

It's a really good album! I really love it. 

[sparrowhawk]

12 hours ago, bitbitboi said:

Can you or any hardcore lamb PLEASE explain to me why "I am..." is SO hated in the fan base?

Ok ready? ::deep breath::

I think you may have to be a lamb to really understand why it gets so much hate...But here's the main reasons (IMO).

1. The era was a just mess from top to bottom. Her "manager" at the time is (was even then?) HATED amongst the lambily. She was a loser who exploited Mariah during a somewhat "dark" time in her life, pushing her to do things she probably wouldn't have done (i.e. that DISASTER of a "reality" show that really did nothing good for Mimi's image, amongst other things..)

2. Originally, "triumphant" was  pushed as the lead single for the album, and it was released in 2012. the song sucked. it bombed. it was a mess. she went back into the studio and continued to push back the release date...again...and again..and again.

3. Then, after the long *** wait, we get "#beautiful"  as the NEW lead single which was (and is) a strong track by her, but the whole hashtag thing was confusing...didn't quite get it, still don't, but again, the song works. HOWEVERRRR....we were already thrown by the complete disregard of "triumphant" and disappointed because never before had a mariah lead single bombed quite so hard. (don't even try coming for Glitter, not today Satan...Loverboy was #2 best selling single of the year the year it came out.)

4. "The Art of Letting Go" was pushed as the next "promotional" single, which was AMAZING and exciting. She made some good TV appearances, singing live and interacting with fans...BUT she wouldn't commit to "art" being an actual single because it was leaked before she finished polishing up her vocals. I think you'd be hard pressed to find that original leaked audio now...Mariah made sure it was scrubbed. (If anyone CAN find it, send it my way, haven't heard that in a minute). Mariah made a little TOO much of a debacle over the leak, issuing a statement and long explanation for why her vocals seemed to lack. It was the classic "thou-dost-protest-too-much" scenario. The rereleased and finalized version is what we now have as a "bonus track".

5. The title. ::sigh:: What a mess. Initially she told us the album would be called The Art of Letting Go which was a brilliant title IMO. After the debacle I explained above, however, she pushed back on that and was "elusive" (pardon the pun) as to what the final title would be. Then, we got "Me. I am Mariah...the Elusive Chanteuse". Do I realllly need to explain why that rubbed us wrong? like....no thanks queen. It's iconic yes, but in all the wrong ways. Lolll

6. "You're mine (eternal)" was her next offering to the already pissed/confused lambs. It's meh. A good track, but the video was weird, the song was just more of the same (we belong together redone, much like "stay in love" and numerous other songs post Emancipation. Her performances of the song weren't that amazing. 

7. In spite of everything I said above, when we finally DID get the whole album, there were SO MANY strong tracks that fans wanted to see as singles. She chose the exact opposites and didn't promo anything worth promo-ing (except a small performance of YDKWTD on GMA which was stellar). She explained she had kept pushing the release date back because she'd felt it was "missing" something. What it was missing apparently, was "Money #$%^&^&" or whatever the f--k it is, and another couple of songs towards the end of the album that most fans aren't fond of. They f--ked with the cohesive vibe of the stronger songs and kind of ruined the credibility of it as a whole. 

8. Just a dishonorable mention - the cover art. :/ SO heavily photoshopped. We were hoping for something a bit more...authentic. Even by Mariah standards, it's a reach.

PHEW! Never ask a lamb to explain a Mariah question and think it will be quick. LOL. Sorry! Hope this helps. That all being said, I'd still rate this a solid 5.5/10 for Mimi. Alot of the disdain carries over from the sloppy release, the contradictory reasons for pushing back the release, the weird rollout and the poor single choices. 

TOP TRACKS: Cry., Faded (should have been a single), Dedicated, #Beautiful, YDKWTD, Thirsty, Supernatural, Heavenly, Art of Letting Go

Tracks we could have lived without: the rest. 

[monkeystar88]

I'll have to give it another spin. I didn't care for it before but maybe a few years later I'll like it. 

[bitbitboi]

On 12/22/2021 at 12:09 PM, sparrowhawk said:

Ok ready? ::deep breath::

I think you may have to be a lamb to really understand why it gets so much hate...But here's the main reasons (IMO).

1. The era was a just mess from top to bottom. Her "manager" at the time is (was even then?) HATED amongst the lambily. She was a loser who exploited Mariah during a somewhat "dark" time in her life, pushing her to do things she probably wouldn't have done (i.e. that DISASTER of a "reality" show that really did nothing good for Mimi's image, amongst other things..)

2. Originally, "triumphant" was  pushed as the lead single for the album, and it was released in 2012. the song sucked. it bombed. it was a mess. she went back into the studio and continued to push back the release date...again...and again..and again.

3. Then, after the long *** wait, we get "#beautiful"  as the NEW lead single which was (and is) a strong track by her, but the whole hashtag thing was confusing...didn't quite get it, still don't, but again, the song works. HOWEVERRRR....we were already thrown by the complete disregard of "triumphant" and disappointed because never before had a mariah lead single bombed quite so hard. (don't even try coming for Glitter, not today Satan...Loverboy was #2 best selling single of the year the year it came out.)

4. "The Art of Letting Go" was pushed as the next "promotional" single, which was AMAZING and exciting. She made some good TV appearances, singing live and interacting with fans...BUT she wouldn't commit to "art" being an actual single because it was leaked before she finished polishing up her vocals. I think you'd be hard pressed to find that original leaked audio now...Mariah made sure it was scrubbed. (If anyone CAN find it, send it my way, haven't heard that in a minute). Mariah made a little TOO much of a debacle over the leak, issuing a statement and long explanation for why her vocals seemed to lack. It was the classic "thou-dost-protest-too-much" scenario. The rereleased and finalized version is what we now have as a "bonus track".

5. The title. ::sigh:: What a mess. Initially she told us the album would be called The Art of Letting Go which was a brilliant title IMO. After the debacle I explained above, however, she pushed back on that and was "elusive" (pardon the pun) as to what the final title would be. Then, we got "Me. I am Mariah...the Elusive Chanteuse". Do I realllly need to explain why that rubbed us wrong? like....no thanks queen. It's iconic yes, but in all the wrong ways. Lolll

6. "You're mine (eternal)" was her next offering to the already pissed/confused lambs. It's meh. A good track, but the video was weird, the song was just more of the same (we belong together redone, much like "stay in love" and numerous other songs post Emancipation. Her performances of the song weren't that amazing. 

7. In spite of everything I said above, when we finally DID get the whole album, there were SO MANY strong tracks that fans wanted to see as singles. She chose the exact opposites and didn't promo anything worth promo-ing (except a small performance of YDKWTD on GMA which was stellar). She explained she had kept pushing the release date back because she'd felt it was "missing" something. What it was missing apparently, was "Money #$%^&^&" or whatever the f--k it is, and another couple of songs towards the end of the album that most fans aren't fond of. They f--ked with the cohesive vibe of the stronger songs and kind of ruined the credibility of it as a whole. 

8. Just a dishonorable mention - the cover art. :/ SO heavily photoshopped. We were hoping for something a bit more...authentic. Even by Mariah standards, it's a reach.

PHEW! Never ask a lamb to explain a Mariah question and think it will be quick. LOL. Sorry! Hope this helps. That all being said, I'd still rate this a solid 5.5/10 for Mimi. Alot of the disdain carries over from the sloppy release, the contradictory reasons for pushing back the release, the weird rollout and the poor single choices. 

TOP TRACKS: Cry., Faded (should have been a single), Dedicated, #Beautiful, YDKWTD, Thirsty, Supernatural, Heavenly, Art of Letting Go

Tracks we could have lived without: the rest. 

haha thank you SO MUCH for this!! ugh we gotta love the gays 

I'm sorry it took me so long to reply, I got Covid  I only got an exahusting fever, but I'm better today.

Dude, I've been wanting a reply like this since I got the album earlier this year, and I just couldn't get a real fan to answer me... I even googled Mariah Carey forums so I could ask you guys directly but I couldn't find a single one, where do you guys even meet?! I mean I read lots of reviews on the internet and they were useful but I wanted a lamb's opinion, the real deal.

Having said that... Even after all that rant of yours, you DO love the album!! You mentioned so many good songs. I guess what fans hate so much about it was actually everything about that era, but not really the music, which is what I couldn't understand. You basically hated the whole rollout, and the second half of the album.

As an outsider, I guess what Mariah needs, here and there, is just a bit of EDITING:

- That album title is NUTS, there is no excuse for it, it's a mouthful, it's all over the place, it doesn't work, it's not even cute. After everything you told me, I think the best title would have been "The Elusive Chanteuse". I still hate it because it's so egotistical and extra but... isn't Mariah all of that? hah! And I guess it represents that era or stage in her life pretty well. "The Art of Letting Go" sounds perfect but I don't think it's representative of the whole album.

- The annoying punctuation: the hashtag in "#Beautiful", a period for "Cry.", and the weird characters in "Money ($ * / ...)".

- Now talking about particularly BAD editing... Her album covers have always been incredibly photoshopped, at least the latest ones. Like, it's ridiculous. I have the standard edition and even if I let that doll body pass, her head looks tiny. It cannot be real.

But I guess it must be difficult for an artist to find a middle ground, because if you really want to be successful and recognized, you have to be yourself, unique, yet everybody around them seem to be always trying to control them. But yeah, she went a bit overboard here... Also, she should have released less songs, do away with the covers (two in the standard edition) and remixes (two in the deluxe).

The singles:
- "Triumphant (Get 'Em)" > It IS kinda a mess, and she sounds like a feature on her own song. Her vocals sound weak to me. Meek Mill's verse is great, though. I LOVE Rick Ross but I was underwhelmed by his rap.
- "#Beautiful" > Honestly? One of my favorite songs. Ever.
- "The Art of Letting Go" > That song is FIRE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4O8J0o6Eyw
(she's lip-syncing there though, right?)
- "You're Mine (Eternal)" > The video IS weird! haha. The song is OK, I actually really like it, I love "dreamy" songs, but not as a single, it sounds too subdued... Such weird choices.
- "You Don't Know What To Do" (feat. Wale) > Super gay and campy, but if you're going to release such a thing, you have to commit and go all the way, and she didn't even release a video for it.

The other songs that you rejected:
- "Make It Look Good" > Bish, I love this, it has a retro sound but it's so fresh and fun.
- "Meteorite" > A new sound for her, I applaud artists who test new waters.
- "Camouflage" > A super 90s ballad, I like it!! It sounds almost like an acapella song. It also gives me some sliiiight "Petals" vibes, which is always good.
- "Money ($ * / ...)" (featuring Fabolous) > This is SO Mariah, how can you not like it... I don't get it.

[Applejack]

It boggles my mind it wasn't nominated for the Grammys. It was by far the best R&B/pop record of the year. It easily could have disputed the other major categories as well.

As for MIAM, I kinda think that whole album was badly produced. The messy rollout was irrelevant because, as I remember, people only started paying attention with Beautiful, but it was a weird situation despite the song being catchy. There was something really off putting in most of the songs, her vocals didn't receive the best treatment, the instrumentals didn't mesh well. There's no song I'd save from that album, maybe because I don't feel anything strong for any of the songs, even if there's a number of songs that weren't all bad. It was somewhat reminiscent of the mess that Britney Jean was in terms of production, although not as extremely bad, but at least I do feel something for a couple of songs in BJ. Really, I thought Glitter was a stronger album as that one was a nice nod to 70s music, while MIAM is just riding every early 10s trend but not getting nowhere and I really hated the early 10s for music.

Going from MIAM > Caution really felt the same as the jump from BJ > Glory. Even their titles and themes were reminiscent of each other lmao.

[CHAOTIC STYLE.]

I’m having my R&B phase and what way to experiment this genre than listening to the queen of R&B? Caution is a straight fire album, it’s better than what you hear nowadays at the R&B singers and I’m surprised the critics paid this album dust. Especially the Grammys. I also follow a lot of Spotify playlists and they didn’t include Mariah there. 
 

[CHAOTIC STYLE.]

My holy trinity right now

1. The distance
2. Giving me life
3. 8th grade 

 

[Живак]

it's not a good album, it's a masterpiece.

[sparrowhawk]

1 hour ago, Style. said:

I’m having my R&B phase and what way to experiment this genre than listening to the queen of R&B? Caution is a straight fire album, it’s better than what you hear nowadays at the R&B singers and I’m surprised the critics paid this album dust. Especially the Grammys. I also follow a lot of Spotify playlists and they didn’t include Mariah there. 
 

the grammys have had it out for mimi for DECADES. she has openly spoken about how her relationship with the grammys is...not so great. they never reward greatness anymore. at least rarely. it's a popularity contest. caution should have at LEAST been nominated for r&b album, PERIOD. 

[CHAOTIC STYLE.]

16 minutes ago, sparrowhawk said:

the grammys have had it out for mimi for DECADES. she has openly spoken about how her relationship with the grammys is...not so great. they never reward greatness anymore. at least rarely. it's a popularity contest. caution should have at LEAST been nominated for r&b album, PERIOD. 

Mariah was very popular for a long period of time, but still didn’t get the Grammy recognition… so it must be something else. 

[rik]

4 minutes ago, Style. said:

Mariah was very popular for a long period of time, but still didn’t get the Grammy recognition… so it must be something else. 

The Grammys needs to

[sparrowhawk]

2 hours ago, Style. said:

Mariah was very popular for a long period of time, but still didn’t get the Grammy recognition… so it must be something else. 

it has to do with her divorce. tommy mottola is still a powerful name even now, and he was all throughout the 90s and 2000s

[Brat]

Yes No No is one of my favorites