"Hold On to the Memories" — A Mariah Carey Review Series: Music Box

Music Box, 1993

We've come to this moment. A moment to wish for a dream lover to come and save us, to cherish our heroes if we can find them within us, and to be immersed in, strangely, sorrow. Huh.

Opening song, "Dreamlover," is a lovely lowkey dance number with lyrics that are far fluffier than anything Carey has ever written up to that point. Her songwriting has grown to be softer and milder; lines like "I want a lover who knows me, who understands how I'm feeling inside" and "baby, come on, take me away" are a bit surprising from the same woman who has delivered the likes of "Someday," "You're So Cold," and even similarly sweet love song like "So Blessed."

The next song, "Hero," is a ballad about self-esteem. You heard it right. The composition is very ordinary but mages to be effective in conveying the message that the lyrics contain. At one point, you can literally hear the sky turns bright after a cold dark night. Her voice also goes along very well with the tune. A truly stellar vocal performance.

"Anytime You Need a Friend" continues her gospel-inspired soul ballads tradition. Each album must have one! Although, it was a bop an album ago, not a ballad. Anyway, this song is very extraordinary in its melodic choices. The bridge sounds like a hand that reaches out of nowhere and actually lifts you up, not merely offering it. It lifts the song up as well, topped off with Carey's trademarked whistle note. Heavens!

One thing about this album that many people back then also immediately took notice of is the fact that she sings softly on nearly every track. Soft as in very. Compared to her performances on previous albums, this one's filled with so few whistle notes and less showcase of belted high notes. Personally, I feel like the choice was made to make it easier for the tunes to present themselves to the listeners without getting overpowered by the singing...which has its own weaknesses. For one, a song like "Music Box," the title track, sounds meticulously gorgeous with her legatos and all, but "Just to Hold You Once Again" ends up sounding strangely anemic.

There's a couple more songs that are upbeat (read: midtempo really) on this album. "Now That I Know," a house cut with powerful vocals that are rarely present on other songs, and "I've Been Thinking About You," which boasts lines such as "Baby, I can't hold back anymore...you're the one I really adore," and "I've been thinking about you in the most peculiar way." And that's it. Those are the only other two songs aside from "Dreamlover" that are like that. The rest of the album is filled with even more ballads that are, suffice to say, melodramatic.

Can you live without them? Are you able to forget tomorrow when you think of all your sorrow? "Without You," arguably her biggest hit off of this album globally poses those questions and answers them instantly. No, of course I can't live without you. Of course I can't forget about tomorrow, my sorrows are painful! To know that it's only a remake of a song by Harry Nilsson–which, in a fascinating twist, itself is a remake of the original from UK's own Badfinger–does give me a bit of relief, but not enough as we continue with final moments such as "All I've Ever Wanted" and "Everything Fades Away." Heartbreak has always been the hottest topic to write in a song, but a series of them? And this melancholic? I thought "Emotions" was already overwrought with them, but this album definitely takes the cake!

Perhaps the best composition found here is the song "Never Forget You" which was co-written by Carey and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. A truly heart wrenching song about loss that neither forces you to bawl your eyes out nor lulls you into sad hiccups about a failed meeting with your favorite orthodontist. Instead, Carey manages to actually deliver a song that recapture the magic of her first ever single. The lyrics are well written and the melodies are so well composed. It never wavers into meandering drama; its message encourages listener to remember that memories are forever, so long as you hold them, they're always present and they're always yours. It's okay to feel hurt now but, promise you, it'll get better even if it won't be over soon. So, of course the song never became a number one record. Sigh.

The album catapulted Carey into the highest stratosphere of pop superstardom. Its collection of universally adored ballads full of competently sung vocals seemed to get ahold of listeners worldwide, while curiously putting Carey's voice, arguably her biggest asset, not on the forefront anymore. As the music got milder and yet dramatically overblown, Carey's star burned brighter and brighter.

- Daud Rotama, Dec 2024