The Remixes (Mariah Carey album) explained

The Remixes
Type:remix
Artist:Mariah Carey
Cover:The Remixes Mariah Carey.png
Border:yes
Released:June 25, 2003
Length:140:15
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:Charmbracelet
Prev Year:2002
Next Title:The Emancipation of Mimi
Next Year:2005

The Remixes is the first remix album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, released on June 25, 2003, by Columbia Records. It is primarily a collection of remixes of some of Carey's songs: disc one is compiled of club mixes, while disc two contains Carey's hip hop collaborations and remixes.

Background and release

Following the demise of her marriage with Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola after the release of her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997), American singer Mariah Carey negotiated her exit from record label Columbia in exchange for the release of four albums:

  1. 1's
(1998; her first greatest hits album), Rainbow (1999; her seventh studio album), Greatest Hits (2001; her second greatest hits album), and The Remixes (2003; her first remix album).[1] By the time of the latter's release, Mottola had resigned from Sony Music and Carey was consequently more creatively involved in the album than Greatest Hits,[2] for which she admitted not knowing of its impending release in 2001.[3] In a 2003 interview with the Scripps Howard News Service, Carey summed up The Remixes release as "a contractual Sony thing".[4] However, Carey told The Hollywood Reporter she had always wanted to put out a remix album and reflected positively about its tracklist.[5]

The Remixes received a staggered release worldwide as a cassette and compact disc. Sony Music Japan International released the album in Japan on June 25, 2003, to correspond with Carey's Charmbracelet World Tour dates in that country.[6] While a United States release was scheduled for the previous day,[7] Columbia Records delayed the album multiple times to July 1,[8] August 5,[9] and September 2,[10] before releasing it on October 14.[11] Elsewhere, The Remixes was released on October 6 in the United Kingdom,[12] October 14 in Taiwan,[13] October 21 in Canada,[14] October 24 in South Korea, and November 3 in Australia.[15]

Music

Five of the tracks on disc two - "Breakdown" (1997), "Sweetheart" (1998), "Crybaby" (1999), "Miss You" and "I Know What You Want" - are not remixes at all. All three of Carey's record labels - Columbia Records, Virgin Records and Island Records - agreed to license tracks for the album, while "I Know What You Want" was licensed from J Records.

Critical reception

Music critics opined on the release of a remix album and the remixes themselves. Kevin C. Johnson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch considered a remix album better than another greatest hits compilation,[16] the Malay Mails Yushaimi Yahaya said it was "a commercial strategy to sell old songs",[17] and R. S. Murthi of the New Straits Times felt it indicated Carey was "desperate to boost flagging sales". Reviewing for Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani thought Carey's enthusiasm for the project disproved the latter's notions. He viewed the album as suited to dedicated fans rather than general audiences, as did Yahaya and Billboards Michael Paoletta.[17] [11] Apart from "Emotions", Scott Iwasaki of the Deseret News considered the remixes "just as boring as the originals". In contrast, Johnson felt the remixes enhanced Carey's songs as they "lacked flavor" in their original forms.[16] Tom Harrison of The Province said some songs make "radical departures" from the originals. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann agreed, stating, "in many cases, the songs as initially heard are virtually unrecognizable".

Reviewers wrote about both the dance and hip-hop discs. Derek Ali of the Dayton Daily News described the first as monotonous and The Denver Posts Elana Ashanti Jefferson questioned whether "the remix process entailed adding stale house beats and club sirens."[18] Cinquemani thought some songs sound dated but praised Carey for re-recording her vocals. In contrast, Paoletta felt David Morales's production on disc one "remains fresh and alive"[11] and New York Times music critic Kelefa Sanneh considered it complementary of Carey's voice. Sanneh thought disc two songs remixed by Jermaine Dupri were of lesser quality and chose "Breakdown" and "Miss You" as highlights for the dynamic between Carey and rappers.[19] Jefferson thought the "vast pool of talent and influence" that went into producing tracks on disc two made the album worth more than one listen.[18] Referencing the samples and rappers present, Ali chose "Fantasy", "Thank God I Found You", and "Loverboy" as highlights from disc two while Johnson selected "Loverboy", "My All/Stay Awhile", "Breakdown", and "Always Be My Baby".[16] Murthi disagreed, writing that the rappers failed to enhance the songs.

Commercial performance

The Remixes sold 40,687 copies in its first week of release in the United States.[20] It debuted and peaked at number twenty-six on the Billboard 200 albums chart, lower than the number three peak of her previous album Charmbracelet but higher than her prior compilation album Greatest Hits, which peaked at number fifty-two. The album spent a total of five weeks on the chart, the lowest of Carey's career at the time.[21] It experienced greater success on the genre-specific Top Electronic Albums chart, where it spent two months at number one.[22] By April 2005, The Remixes had sold 205,000 units in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.[23] In November 2018, the album reached 289,000 sales. The Recording Industry Association of America certified it gold in October 2019.[24] As a double album over 100 minutes long, it achieved Gold status after it sold 250,000 equivalent units instead of the standard 500,000 because its discs are counted separately for certification purposes.[25]

Elsewhere, The Remixes peaked within the top forty of national album charts in New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.[26] [27]

Track listing

Tracks and composition details adapted from the album's liner notes.[28] Track lengths adapted from Sony Music Entertainment via Jaxsta.[29]

Notes

Charts and certifications

Weekly chart performance
Chart (2003–2004)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] 78
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[32] 16
French Compilations (SNEP)[33] 30
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] 95
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)36
UK Albums (OCC)35
US Billboard 20026
US Top Electronic Albums (Billboard)1

Notes and References

  1. Book: Carey . Mariah . Mariah Carey . Davis . Michaela Angela . Michaela Angela Davis . 2020 . The Meaning of Mariah Carey . . 215–218 . 978-1-2501-6468-1.
  2. Carey and Davis, p. 222.
  3. Carey . Mariah . Mariah Carey . MariahCarey . 1482419669671809027 . January 15, 2022 . Knowing dates has never really been my thing... . January 28, 2022 . live . https://archive.today/20220129014007/https://twitter.com/MariahCarey/status/1482419669671809027 . January 29, 2022.
  4. News: Brown. Mark. Mariah Carey Back in the Light After Roll in the Dark. Star–Link. The News–Star. Scripps Howard News Service. 5. August 13, 2003. January 27, 2022. Newspapers.com.
  5. Gardner. Chris. Carey-ing On. Reporter at Large. The Hollywood Reporter. August 25, 2003. 17. .
  6. Web site: The Remixes. Japanese. Sony Music Shop. Sony Music Japan. January 22, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220122045357/https://www.sonymusicshop.jp/m/item/itemShw.php?site=S&ima=4458&cd=SICP000000400. January 22, 2022.
  7. News: Kaven. Scott. Munson. Kyle. Next Week's Releases. Des Moines Register. 3E. June 17, 2003. January 22, 2022. Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Coming Music. Star-Gazette. 8D. June 26, 2003. January 22, 2022. Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Update Your CD Collection. Dayton Daily News. E2. August 1, 2003. January 22, 2022. Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Travers. Tom. New Tunes. Fall Arts Preview. The News Journal. 3. August 31, 2003. January 22, 2022. Newspapers.com.
  11. Essential Reviews. Paoletta. Michael. Billboard. 60. January 22, 2022. November 1, 2003. Google Books.
  12. New Releases: Albums. Music Week. 26. October 4, 2003.
  13. Web site: Mariah Carey / The Remixes. Sony Music Taiwan. Chinese. June 26, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220626041913/https://www.sonymusic.com.tw/album/%E8%B6%85%E7%B4%9A%E6%B7%B7%E9%9F%B3%E7%B2%BE%E9%81%B8-2cd-%E7%91%AA%E9%BA%97%E4%BA%9E%E5%87%B1%E8%8E%89-mariah-carey-5107542/. June 26, 2022.
  14. Web site: Mariah Carey. Shop Sony Music. Sony Music Canada. February 11, 2022. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20051130025341/http://www.shopsonymusic.ca/artist_main.asp?artistid=203003. November 30, 2005.
  15. ARIA New Releases Albums - Week Commencing 3rd November 2003. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080222222435/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20031107-0000/Issue715.pdf. dead. 2008-02-22. The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association. 27. November 3, 2003. 715. January 22, 2022 . Trove.
  16. News: Johnson. Kevin C.. Carey's Remixes Are Better Than Some Hits. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. F3. October 23, 2003. January 22, 2022. Newspapers.com.
  17. News: Yahaya. Yushaimi. Reliable Coverage. Malay Mail. December 16, 2003. 29. .
  18. News: Jefferson. Elana Ashanti. CD Reviews. The Denver Post. F8. November 23, 2003.
  19. News: Sanneh. Kelefa. Kelefa Sanneh. Disco, Alive and Dancing. limited. The New York Times. October 20, 2003. January 22, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220122081644/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/20/arts/critic-s-choice-new-cd-s-disco-alive-and-dancing.html. January 22, 2022.
  20. News: Farber. Jim. Aiken Is the Man: His CD Bows at No. 1. New York Daily News. 40. June 17, 2003. January 22, 2022. Newspapers.com.
  21. Mariah Carey Chart History – The Billboard 200. Billboard. January 22, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211117165059/https://www.billboard.com/artist/mariah-carey/chart-history/tlp/. November 17, 2021.
  22. Mariah Carey Chart History – Top Dance/Electronic Albums. Billboard. January 22, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211117163846/https://www.billboard.com/artist/mariah-carey/chart-history/elp/. November 17, 2021.
  23. News: April 11, 2005. By the Numbers. Los Angeles Times. E3. Newspapers.com.
  24. Web site: Gold & Platinum – The Remixes. Recording Industry Association of America. January 22, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210801003346/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Mariah+Carey&ti=Remixes&format=Album&type=. August 1, 2021.
  25. Web site: About the Awards. Recording Industry Association of America. February 17, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220207101542/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/about-awards/. February 7, 2022.
  26. Web site: Official Top 40 Albums – 16 November 2003. Recorded Music NZ. January 27, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211129042354/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=1250. November 29, 2021.
  27. Web site: Official Albums Chart Top 100 12 October 2003 – 18 October 2003 . Official Charts Company. January 27, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210508032619/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/20031012/7502/. May 8, 2021.
  28. 2003 . The Remixes . CD liner notes . . . .
  29. Web site: The Remixes - Album by Mariah Carey. Jaxsta. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20230409213748/https://jaxsta.com/release/7be1c9f7-f888-5520-97c7-3fdaecd815b1/3eb5d300-708e-5601-9d92-80db0e0e6430/overview. April 9, 2023.
  30. "My All/Stay Awhile" (CD liner notes) Mariah Carey. Columbia Records. 1998. UPC 098707898129
  31. Web site: The ARIA Report: Top 100 Albums - Week Commencing 10th November 2003. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20031206130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20031207-0000/Issue716.pdf. dead. December 6, 2003. ARIA. October 14, 2015.
  32. Web site: The ARIA Report, Week Commencing 17 November 2003, Chart #1297. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20031206130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20031207-0000/Issue718.pdf. dead. December 6, 2003. March 6, 2021. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
  33. Web site: Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste. French. InfoDisc. October 14, 2015.
  34. Web site: マライア・キャリーのアルバム売り上げランキング . Mariah Carey's Album Sales Ranking. Japanese. Oricon. January 22, 2022. unfit. https://web.archive.org/web/20121112112800/http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/163336/ranking/cd_album/p/2/ . November 12, 2012.
  35. Top Electronic Albums. Year In Music. Billboard. YE66. December 27, 2003. February 4, 2022. Google Books.
  36. Top Electronic Albums. Year In Music & Touring. Billboard. YE61. December 25, 2004. February 4, 2022. Google Books.

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