The Australian Rhyme & Reason Magazine attended a listening party and posted some details.
Mariah continues to write and record material alongside a collaborator who is understood to be a writer she worked with in the earlier part of her career. Along with the six cuts previewed by Rhyme & Reason, an additional five or six songs are expected to round out the album.
Mariah has entrusted much of the album’s production duties to Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, while long-time friend and collaborator Jermaine Dupri also makes a return for Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, along with hit-maker Carlos “Los DaMystro” McKinney [Usher, R. Kelly, Whitney Houston].
Mariah co-wrote all of the songs previewed, save for “I Want To Know What Love Is” – the remake of Foreigner’s chart-topping 1985 single. “I Want To Know What Love Is” is expected to be the album’s next single.
While we don’t want to give too much away, below is Rhyme & Reason Magazine’s brief breakdown of the six songs previewed from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel:
“CANDY BLING”
Credits: Written by Mariah Carey, Carlos McKinney and Terius Nash. Conducted and produced by Los DaMystro for DaMystro Music LLC/Music Line Entertainment, LLC and produced by Terius “The-Dream” Nash for Radio Killa Records.
Description: A laidback, mid-tempo track set to finger-snaps. At one point, Mariah makes mention of bringing “ODB back”.“OBSESSED”
Credits: Written and produced by Mariah Carey for Maroon Entertainment, Inc., C. “Tricky” Stewart for RedZone Entertainment and Terius “The-Dream” Nash for Radio Killa Records.
Description: You should all be familiar with this one…“H.A.T.E. U”
Credits: Written and produced by Mariah Carey for Maroon Entertainment, Inc., C. “Tricky” Stewart for RedZone Entertainment and Terius “The-Dream” Nash for Radio Killa Records.
Description: A slower-tempo song which has Mariah wanting to square off with a trifling partner; “I can’t wait to face you / I can’t wait to hate you”.“STANDING O”
Credits: Written and produced by Mariah Carey for Maroon Entertainment, Inc., C. “Tricky” Stewart for RedZone Entertainment and Terius “The-Dream” Nash for Radio Killa Records.
Description: The “O”, of course, stands for “Ovation”. This is an unmistakable Dream concoction laid over mid-tempo staccato piano chords and plush synths. The chorus includes Mariah mimicking Dream’s signature “oh, oh” vocal punctuations.“IMPOSSIBLE”
Credits: Written and produced by Mariah Carey for Maroon Entertainment, Inc., C. “Tricky” Stewart for RedZone Entertainment and Terius “The-Dream” Nash for Radio Killa Records.
Description: A woozy, somewhat minimalist slow jam.“I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS”
Credits: Written by Mick Jones. Produced by Mariah Carey for Maroon Entertainment, Inc., C. “Tricky” Stewart for RedZone Entertainment and Big Jim.
Description: Staying true to the original, this piano-lead remake is less an overhaul of the classic 80’s hit than it is a modest but impressive update.
