Mariah Carey
Heartbreaker (Columbia 79261)

Sure, it's a rewrite of Mariah's own "Fantasy," but it's a damn good rewrite of Mariah's own "Fantasy." The way I see it, Mariah's just found her groove and is sticking with a good thing. People seem to be pretty divided on Mariah – people love her, other people despise her, and usually for the same reasons. The wildly over-the-top vocal theatrics, the hip-hop posturing, the increasingly vainglorious sexy image, the calculated hitmaking – and what of it all? To me, all that is exactly what pop is, and the fact that Mariah has mastered it only makes her more solid. What critics haven't been acknowledging is that while her image has been getting more risqué and her sound has been getting more "urban," her records have been getting steadily better. As she asserts more control over her career and musical output, she is putting out fewer lame songs, and more instantly great material.

I totally buy into her whole "butterfly" transformation shtick, because she's managed to become one of the decade's defining artists and seems to be still on the ascending path. And people say it's because she's wearing less clothing that she's selling millions of records, missing the fact that the records are far more slammin' these days.

Of course, the reduction in clothing can't be hurting her career. I'd be willing to bet that at least 25% of sales of the Heartbreaker EP will be based entirely on the cover, which features Mariah looking sluttier than ever. I say, let her look slutty if she wants to, since the music is great – it's only icing on the cake, right? It is certainly a confusing blow for feminism, but then so was Marilyn.

Anyway, the Heartbreaker EP includes five versions of the song: the album version, the remix (also on the album), and three Junior Vasquez club mixes of "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely," which all exceed ten minutes in length. The album version (with Jay-Z) is great, the remix (with Da Brat and Missy Elliott) is very good, and the club mixes are all good. It's a pretty thorough exploration of "Heartbreaker," at 40 minutes twice as long as most 70s country albums.

The drawback is that since the two primary versions of the song already appear on Rainbow, the big reason to get the EP is to have the three (very similar) club mixes. Mariah fans, of course, will want it, though the casual fan will have to decide just how much "Heartbreaker" is needed.

The disc doesn't get boring at all even though it's all the same song, because once it gets dancey, you're focused much more on the beat than the fact that you've been listening to the same hooks for the better part of an hour. And to the 25% of people who will listen to the disc once and otherwise stare at the pictures, I say, enjoy!

Review by Donna Dampon