EDITORS’ NOTES After blowing listeners away with her dizzying five octave range on her first two energetic albums, Music Box is a much mellower affair, more appropriate for a candle-lit evening than a night at the club. Carey does offer two chances to dance the blues away on the uptempo tunes “Now That I Know” and “I’ve Been Thinking About You,” but on the whole Music Box is Carey’s way of showing that she’s not all vocal pyrotechnics - she can pull off a slow burn just as well. Whether it’s the choir-backed elation of Joy to the World or the Motown-flavored soul of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Merry Christmas is the rare holiday record that feels uniquely American and everlasting. The songs, most of which were co-written by Carey, feature a lot of lyrics focused on love as a form of escape, as on the album’s two biggest hits, the tellingly-titled “Dreamlover” and “Hero.” Elsewhere she touches on the various stages of longing and heartbreak, including a cover of the tearjerker “Without You,” which was a huge hit for Harry Nilsson in 1971. But with her vocal acrobatics and range, Carey has a way of making even the classics sound shiny and new. This subdued approach allows Carey to squeeze every ounce of drama from the synth-soaked ballads that dominate the album.
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