Mariah Carey: E=MC˛

Following up her 2005 Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum comeback effort, The Emancipation of Mimi, wasn't be an easy task, but Mariah Carey certainly took on the challenge and delivered a very solid and well-rounded follow-up in the form of E=MC˛.

By now, everyone's heard the mega-catchy first offering, "Touch My Body." Though the song is accompanied by a ghastly video, it features one element that pretty much makes Mariah's visuals tolerable and at the same time tasteless for some viewers: her curvaceous body is flaunted just as much as her high-pitched harmonies. But gratuitous gimmicks aside, the song actually works. The second single, "Bye Bye," produced by Stargate, is a lush, heartfelt ode to the pain of losing someone close. This highly personal tune has "Smash H-I-T" written all over it.

Mimi reaches out to a few of her A-list industry peers and friends for an exclusive invite to her eleventh studio album party. T-Pain, whose popularity doesn't seem to be waning, drops in for the slinky "Migrate," which is a silly, yet feel good, song, while Scott Storch laces the Young Jeezy-featured ultra-banger "Side Effects." This particular track, from a lyrical standpoint, is very liberating; and Damian Marley stops by to add some fuel to JD's fire on their reggae-infused collabo "Cruise Control."

Elsewhere, Jermaine Dupri offers up three additional gems: the knockin' ballad, "Love Story"; "Last Kiss," which is a piano driven ditty; and the slow-wine inducing, "Thanx 4 Nothin'." These particular highlights are just further proof of the perfect chemistry that these two continue to share. "I'm That Chick," which was the original title of this CD, samples Michael Jackson's classic "Off The Wall," and was also produced by the aforementioned Stargate. In addition, the melodic "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time," rips Debarge's "Stay with Me," and borrows its riff from TV's "Hill Street Blues'" theme music. And finally, "I Wish You Well," the gospel-tinged album ender, is where the songbird really gets to show & prove her world-renowned eight-octave range -- it is still simply amazing/

Although E=MC˛ doesn't quite measure up to its predecessor, The Emancipation of Mimi, it does tail very close behind; and it's a tell-tale sign of greatness when your music is so good that people judge it against your prior work. Comparisons aside, Mariah's new disc is a much-needed breath of fresh air in a stale and oxygen deprived music universe -- inhale.

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