The twelfth studio album from Mariah Carey, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is jammed packed with seventeen tracks featuring only Mariah Carey. The album has one or two tracks that are up-tempo, other than that, the album is full of love songs that cross the many phases of love.

Carey wrote or co-wrote most of the songs while collaborating with Tricky Stewart and the Dream. The production is decent but not any different than what the two producers have done with artists such as Rhianna and Beyonce.

Mariah Carey has established herself as a powerhouse in the music industry with multiple chart topping singles and albums. In 2005, The Emancipation of Mimi was a stellar performance, the album was well rounded and probably one of her best. E=MC2 did not follow suit and only produced the hit single "Touch My Body".

With this release Carey has proven she can not duplicate "Mimi". The songs are mediocre and through most of the album she is whispering, singing-talking [you know that $#!% Beyonce does - Ed.]. The album fails to fully display Carey's full range and the majority of the songs are slow and kind of run into each other. Although she is singing about love the lyrics are a bit immature, especially since she is approaching 40.

There are a few tracks such as "Betcha Gon 'Know", "Angels Cry" and "Inseparable" that sound like the Carey her millions of fans adore but the rest of the album include songs that should have been passed on to the likes of younger less talented singers. Carey's cover of Foreigner's hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" is decent but can not hold a candle to the original. Tracks such as "H.A.T.E.U." and "It's a Wrap" will be among the fan favorites.

Due to Mariah's huge fan base and the fact that she worked with a couple of the hottest producers today, the album should do well. My recommendation: download the highlighted tracks on the album.

a.c.e.

SonicAmp Rating: 6/10