Mariah Carey – The Remixes

Glad I finally picked this up! I love how she offers different, often more casual, vocals on her remixes - makes it so much more interesting!
Dreamlover Def Club Mix and Honey Classic Mix are my favorites.

I was able to tighten up some of the longer remixes using basic Audacity tools, I love them but not enough to listen for 10 minutes - especially when they insert a minute or longer of nothing but beats and beeps. That's not my style, but the rest is!

Catalog nr is the same for the Austria version of this UK Rel., but is written as 5107542000 / COL 510754 2

CD1 showcases Mariah's formidable talent and also makes a point of demonstrating her consistent allegiance to the Clubbing world. Embracing Dance Music at the height of her popularity by going back into the studio to re-vocal the masterpiece that is David Morales' stunning Remix on "Dreamlover". Undoubtedly the most amazing pairing of Artist and Remixer ever, with only perhaps Deborah Cox and Hex Hector coming close to matching the chemistry.

The Duo had hit after hit, with Morales and his Def Mix Crew tweaking Miss. Carey to perfection each and every time. The striking synth hook on "My All", the unbelievable Hip-Hop drop on "Fantasy", the glorious Vocal arrangement on "Honey", the list goes on... C&C Music Factory and Junior Vasquez complete the stunning collection of Remixes, and the first disc demonstrates Mariah is equally at home with Dance Music as she is with other genres.

CD2 opens with the (now) classic Bad Boy Remix Feat. ODB of "Fantasy"; and continues in a similar vein showcasing all the biggest RnB / Hip Hop Remixes (mainly with long time friend Jermaine Dupri pushing the buttons). The Track Masters Remix on "Underneath The Stars" would have been a welcome addition, with it previously being Promo-Only.

On paper, yet another seemingly uninteresting "Greatest Hits" collection, that does little to offer the true Mariah fans anything new. It does appear slightly half-heartedly put together. Just about every single track has been previously available on commercially released singles. The only Remix Edit on CD1 is indeed the one Mix most fans would have liked in it's entirety ("Through The Rain" - HQ2 Remix), and no effort seems to have been put in by way of using rare or unreleased Remixes, or even special Re-Edits. What started as a fine concept that could (and should) have been superb, has ended up being slightly anticlimactic. However, it serves as something nice for the car or Discman; and fully demonstrates just how powerful the Remix can be to a Pop Artist.

Carey's success in the 1990's was due, in part, to her huge cross-over appeal to the American Club/Dance scene. David Morales was key to such success and a large selection of his most popular remixes of classic Carey tracks is available here on the first disc. "My All (Morales ''My'' Club Mix)" has a striking hook and puts Carey's moody vocals to good effect. House Classic in it's own right, the Def Club Mix of "Dreamlover" is just outstanding. Another killer hook that is classic Morales. But the highlight of this disc is "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise Club Mix)", on which Morales teams up with DEF partner Satoshi Tommiie. It's a slow-burning deep house number that builds up to a beautiful peak and manages to do the difficult task of turning the sickly sweet Carey ballad into a classy and undeniably sexy track.

Disc 2 is a less interesting affair - a collection of Urban mixes that while comprehensive, also contains some remixes that add nothing new to the original but an over-rated rap verse. That said, remixes of "Loverboy", "Fantasy" and "Thank God I Found You" are decent and worthwhile. The So So Def creation "My All/Stay Awhile" uses aspects of the Loose Ends track "Stay Awhile" to great effect and is consequently my favourite offering of this disc.

A decent collection that was unfairly overlooked. It will appeal to any Carey fan who has more than 2 of the diva's works but also to David Morales fans looking for a comprehensive profile of one of his most fruitful collaborations.