Throwback Thursday- Mariah Carey
Happy TBT, Musicheads! I’ve long maintained the fact that you not only had to be around, but be a consistent part of the record-buying public back in '90-91 to understand why the Mariah Carey of today is not the Mariah Carey of old. So what if I was only 8 years, I was still part of the record buying public, dammit! Me and my $2 a week allowance money. Do you know how long it took to save up for a cassette tape off those wages? But anyways, I digress…
Point being, Mariah was a 'bad mama-jamma' back in her prime. On her 1990 self-titled debut, she was already being compared to the likes of Whitney; who by that point, was already considered was vocal royalty. Keep in mind, Mariah was all of 20 years old at the time. But even she had something Whitney didn’t, an insane five, full octave vocal range. Now I’m not saying one was better than the other, because they were both the definitive voices of my childhood, and besides, that’s an argument for another day; but 5 full octaves? Dayum!
In those early days, us listeners got a complete understanding of what it meant it possess 5 octaves because her's were showcased in EVERY. SINGLE. SONG that she came out with….but again, I digress. In her prime, Mariah’s voice was equal parts grace, power, and soul- a feat that has not been matched by many before or since. Vocally no one could really touch her.
Just hearing this song takes me back to being an 8-yr old little girl, trying to screech out all the high notes, over the course of long car rides with my mom and grandmom. My sincerest condolences for their ears...
Enjoy this trip in time back to October 1991
