Changes: Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel

Revision as of 02:52, 9 August 2019

Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel is Mariah Carey's 12th studio album that was released on September 29, 2009 by Island Records.

Tracklisting

Betcha Gon' Know (The Prologue) 4:00
Obsessed 4:02
H.A.T.E.U. 4:28
Candy Bling 4:03
Ribbon 4:21
Inseparable 3:34
Standing O 4:00
It's A Wrap 4:01
Up Out My Face 3:41
Up Out My Face (The Reprise) 0:51
More Than Just Friends 3:37
The Impossible 4:01
The Impossible (The Reprise) 2:26
Angel (The Prelude) 1:04
Angels Cry 4:02
Languishing (The Interlude) 2:34
I Want To Know What Love Is 3:27

Album Background

Chart Performance

Critical Reception

"Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" received generally positive reviews from music critics.

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 13 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews.

Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars (out of five) and called it "her most interesting album in a decade", commenting that: "Even if it doesn't smack of the confessional autobiography of the title, there's no denying that Memoirs is an album, not a collection of tracks, possessing its own flow and mood, which gives it a personality the slightly desperate E=MC2 lacked" though "it never manages to kick out a song that is all that distinctive on its own terms".

Another critic pointed out that the album lacks "the pandering, heavy-handed sexuality Mariah has relied upon too heavily this decade – and in doing so, it feels age appropriate in a way she hasn't in a long time, despite a collection of silly, jumbled lyrics".

The A.V. Club also gave the album a positive review with a grade of B-, commenting, "Their team-up with Carey is canny: Stewart and Nash loosen up the diva's sometimes overblown on-record persona, and in return she gives definition to some of their more meandering tunes and backdrops. Memoirs is Carey's least pyrotechnic album, its flow is as important as its tunes, and while Carey is still given to acrobatic vocal displays, her lattice of subtler vocal overdubs softens and strengthens those flights."

A mixed review came from Slant Magazine, in which music critic Sal Cinquemani called the album "one of her most sonically consistent". However, finding the album "soulless", he noted that the aural similarity of the tracks led to the production sounding "cheap and same-y, lacking the fullness of her best work".

He continues, "Mariah is in fine voice throughout the album, and there are plenty of inspired moments to be found... Which makes it all the more disappointing that the album's final stretch devolves into a mess of old-school Mariah rehashes that should have been left in the past."

Entertainment Weekly music critic Leah Greenblatt gave Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel a B, noting that the album neither impresses nor disappoints, but is merely satisfactory: "imperfections are nowhere to be found on Memoirs, but neither are many true revelations." Robert Christgau once again gave the album a "dud" score.

Jon Caramanica from The New York Times gave the album a mixed review, writing that the album "manages simplicity and clutter all at once".

Caramanica also criticized Carey's vocal performances, decrying her overuse of her softer vocal registers at the expense of her more powerful lower and mid registers: "When exactly did Mariah Carey stop singing? Even when she began flirting aggressively with hip-hop in the mid-1990s she was happy to impose her titanic vocals atop even the scrappiest production... Of late though, Ms. Carey has been whispering, as if newly scared of grand gestures."

A positive review came from Billboard music critic Mariel Concepcion, who wrote that "Mariah Carey is not only revisiting her past appearance-wise, but she's also taking her sound back to her R&B roots...Overall, Carey's throwback vibe on "Memoirs" is refreshing and much welcomed."

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ==Chart Performance==
 ==Critical Reception==
+"Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" received generally positive reviews from music critics.
+At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 13 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews.
+Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars (out of five) and called it "her most interesting album in a decade", commenting that: "Even if it doesn't smack of the confessional autobiography of the title, there's no denying that Memoirs is an album, not a collection of tracks, possessing its own flow and mood, which gives it a personality the slightly desperate E=MC2 lacked" though "it never manages to kick out a song that is all that distinctive on its own terms".
+Another critic pointed out that the album lacks "the pandering, heavy-handed sexuality Mariah has relied upon too heavily this decade – and in doing so, it feels age appropriate in a way she hasn't in a long time, despite a collection of silly, jumbled lyrics".
+The A.V. Club also gave the album a positive review with a grade of B-, commenting, "Their team-up with Carey is canny: Stewart and Nash loosen up the diva's sometimes overblown on-record persona, and in return she gives definition to some of their more meandering tunes and backdrops. Memoirs is Carey's least pyrotechnic album, its flow is as important as its tunes, and while Carey is still given to acrobatic vocal displays, her lattice of subtler vocal overdubs softens and strengthens those flights."
+A mixed review came from Slant Magazine, in which music critic Sal Cinquemani called the album "one of her most sonically consistent". However, finding the album "soulless", he noted that the aural similarity of the tracks led to the production sounding "cheap and same-y, lacking the fullness of her best work".
+He continues, "Mariah is in fine voice throughout the album, and there are plenty of inspired moments to be found... Which makes it all the more disappointing that the album's final stretch devolves into a mess of old-school Mariah rehashes that should have been left in the past."
+Entertainment Weekly music critic Leah Greenblatt gave Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel a B, noting that the album neither impresses nor disappoints, but is merely satisfactory: "imperfections are nowhere to be found on Memoirs, but neither are many true revelations." Robert Christgau once again gave the album a "dud" score.
+Jon Caramanica from The New York Times gave the album a mixed review, writing that the album "manages simplicity and clutter all at once".
+Caramanica also criticized Carey's vocal performances, decrying her overuse of her softer vocal registers at the expense of her more powerful lower and mid registers: "When exactly did Mariah Carey stop singing? Even when she began flirting aggressively with hip-hop in the mid-1990s she was happy to impose her titanic vocals atop even the scrappiest production... Of late though, Ms. Carey has been whispering, as if newly scared of grand gestures."
+A positive review came from Billboard music critic Mariel Concepcion, who wrote that "Mariah Carey is not only revisiting her past appearance-wise, but she's also taking her sound back to her R&B roots...Overall, Carey's throwback vibe on "Memoirs" is refreshing and much welcomed."
 [[Category:2000s albums]]
 [[Category:R&B]]