1 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
 Forget the media hype, this is all about Mariah that matters, 2001-12-05
Hot on the heels of Mariah's first and hopefully only flop (GLITTER), GREATEST HITS offers two-hours of Mariah's musical highlights. The disappointing previous collection #1's showed that Mariah's career has too many bright spots to fit onto one CD. Two CDs is just the right length to cover virtually all of the key tracks from Mariah's first decade of superstardom. She's a 28-hit wonder...and still counting! Yes, I'm way beyond tired of her media coverage...but I don't see myself losing interest anytime soon when it comes to Mariah's music.While most of the tracks on this anthology have been overexposed in the media, they have a staying power that is rarer to achieve than one would think. Whatever the reason--her impressive voice (generally more nuanced, emotive, and subtle than given credit for), the attractive melodies, the tastefully contemporary production--I found after listening to both CDs that I haven't burned out on this music at all. On the contrary, taken as a collective they seem more impressive with the passage of time. Ironically, I believe that when she is trying the hardest to be contemporary (e.g., recent rap/hip-hop tracks), her musical strengths get obscured and the music quickly loses interest. This set largely steers clear of that, except for her most attractive hip-hop flavored crossover hits ("Honey", "Fantasy"). Perhaps Mariah isn't an musical innovator, but I don't see why we can't be impressed with someone who consistently shines while staying within the parameters of mainstream pop-culture music. Almost without exception over these two CDs her uptempo tunes put you in a happy mood, while her ballads touch the heart. Of course, some artists write deeper lyrics about love and relationships, but the tunes here serve as fine vehicles to bring out Mariah's strengths as a vocalist. To her critics: why nit-pick the lyric sheet when Mariah's vocal interpretations give the songs sufficient substance? For a lot of us, the sum of Mariah's best music is greater than the parts.
1 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
Mariah Carey is a LEGEND!!!, 2001-12-05
This is truly a stellar album and shows Mariah at her BEST!
Mariah puts all those teeny-boppers to shame when it comes to talent and accomplishments! No one will ever come close to Mariah
because she is simply the best! MARIAH IS #1 ALWAYS & FOREVER!!!
3 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
 GREATEST HITS - FOR REAL, 2001-12-05
Mariah Carey, love her or hate her, has certainly proven herself an accomplished hitmaker in her just over a decade long career. This makes her one of the few artists who can put out a greatest hits record that lives up to its title; of the 28 tracks on this collection 16 went to number 1, while the rest either peaked in the top 10 or were HUGE radio hits.
While it is easy to dismiss Mariah Carey's earliest work (save Vision Of Love) as Whitney Houston-esque ballads, this GH shows that Mariah was always keen to seperate herself from the pop pack with a hip hop infused repetoire. Starting wth Dreamlover, from MUSIC BOX, Mariah dips frequently in to urban beats and r&b production. Each album is a step further down that road, and each step more successful. Luckily this collection is in chronological order, so it makes it easy to chart Carey's growth as a songwriter and vocalist. It's the ballads that pay the bills, but singles like Fantasy, Always Be My Baby, and the stunning Honey show an artist one step ahead of the game in terms of bringing hip hop in to the pop game.
With the release of GLITTER this fall it seemed Mariah had lost the plot. Once an artist able to balance the street with the sweet, GLITTER is overcrowded with guest rappers and desperate bids for cred, ignoring the glorious pop ballad all together. Perhaps Mariah will take a listen to this best of and put her musical ideas in check. She is truly one of our greatest pop vocalists, ever...and this record proves it.ONE MISS: where is the career highlight, BREAKDOWN!?!?!
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Amazon Sales Rank:#1339