Vanishing (song) explained

Vanishing
Type:song
A-Side:"Love Takes Time"
Artist:Mariah Carey
Album:Mariah Carey
Studio:Power Station
Length:4:11
Label:Columbia
Producer:Mariah Carey

"Vanishing" is a torch song recorded and produced by the American singer Mariah Carey for her debut studio album Mariah Carey (1990). She wrote the ballad with the drummer Ben Margulies before signing a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1988. In describing the demise of a romantic relationship, the lyrics detail how a lover is slowly disappearing from the other's life. Situated in the gospel and traditional pop music genres, "Vanishing" has a blues-inspired composition in which Carey's vocals are accompanied solely by an acoustic piano played by Richard Tee.

Upon the release of Mariah Carey, music critics compared "Vanishing" to other tracks on the album and several named it the record's best. Regarded as one of Carey's premier works throughout her career, the song has also received a positive reception in retrospective reviews. After performing "Vanishing" live at Club Tatou in New York City and on the American television program Saturday Night Live in 1990, she included it in the set list of her 1993 Music Box Tour. American singers Syesha Mercado and Kelly Clarkson later performed cover versions.

Background and release

As a teenager in the mid- to late 1980s, American singer Mariah Carey began a songwriting partnership with the drummer Ben Margulies. One of their songs, "Vanishing", was present on Carey's demo tape that prompted Columbia Records to offer her a recording contract in 1988. The pair wrote most of the songs on her debut studio album Mariah Carey, which Columbia released in 1990. Situated as the fifth song, following the production-heavy "Someday", "Vanishing" has a sparer sound compared to the other tracks. It was the first song Carey produced by herself and the only one she did so for the album.

Carey described "Vanishing" as her favorite track on the album: "I enjoyed doing that because it gave me more freedom to sing and it was the most personal song to me." Rather than release it as a single, Columbia issued "Vanishing" as the B-side to Carey's songs "Love Takes Time" (1990) and "Emotions" (1991). It was also present on the 1992 "I'll Be There" maxi single. In 2010, Columbia and Legacy Recordings included "Vanishing" on the compilation albums The Essential Mariah Carey and Playlist: The Very Best of Mariah Carey. Relatively unknown among the general public, the song is a deep cut favored by Carey's fans.

Composition

A blues-inspired gospel and traditional pop record, Vanishing" is a torch song in the form of a ballad. Its lyrics are about one's anguish amid the gradual end of a romantic relationship: "You're vanishing / Drifting away". According to Andrew Chan, author of Why Mariah Carey Matters (2023), the song "conveys romantic loss through metaphors of physical disappearance and occluded perception". The music, composed by Carey and Margulies, has a slow tempo and a melody that oscillates. Its straightforward composition lasts for four minutes and eleven seconds; an acoustic piano played by Richard Tee is the sole instrumentation. Carey considered bolstering it with other sounds such as drums to make it more commercially viable but opted to "preserve the integrity of the song – leave it really simple".

Patrick Dillett performed engineering and mixing for the track at Power Station and The Hit Factory studios in New York City. It was mastered by Bob Ludwig at New York's Masterdisk. In describing the song's effect on listeners, Chuck Campbell called it a "gripping tearjerker" in the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Jill Warren of The Indianapolis Star considered the composition haunting and Melissa A. Jacques of the St. Petersburg Times said it evoked "spine-tingling emotion and spirituality".

Carey's voice ranges from muted whispering to high-pitched whistle tones. She does not use her full vocal range during the first two verses; the styles of melisma and riffing appear in the song's latter half. Her first use of belting, a full-throated sound, occurs during the bridge. Carey concludes with a crescendo at the end of the song. Edward Hill of The Plain Dealer described her vocal performance as "complete with staccato phrasing, anguished wails and vibrant note extensions" and Princess Gabbara in Essence said she "unleashes that incredible range, with high and low notes and a sprinkle of ravishing, hard-to-duplicate runs". It received comparisons to the vocals of American singers Aretha Franklin, Tramaine Hawkins, and Suzanne Vega.

Critical reception

"Vanishing" received limited critical commentary upon the release of Mariah Carey. Music writers contrasted it with other songs on the album and several named it the best track. Hill considered it the record's only song which a "glimpse of the passionate singer Carey could be" was evident. Paul Willistein of The Morning Call thought it was Carey's best vocal showcase on the album; The Records Barbara Jaeger felt her voice sounded better on "Vanishing" because the arrangement avoided overproduction. Unlike "Vision of Love", Richard T. Ryan of the Staten Island Advance said "Vanishing" demonstrated Carey could limit the use of her vocal range. Rick Mason cited the song in the St. Paul Pioneer Press as one in which she exercised commendable discipline with her voice. It exhibited Carey's reverence for gospel music more than other tracks according to Stephen Holden of The New York Times.

Carey's vocal performance and artistry on the song have received a positive reception in retrospective album reviews. In 2015, Billboards Trevor Anderson said "Vanishing" served as "a reminder that Carey possesses a world-class voice". Writing for the same magazine in 2020, Glenn Rowley stated it was arguably the best showcase of her vocal abilities on Mariah Carey. Hugh Gregory gauged it as the album's "most artistically successful track" in the book Soul Music A–Z and Trent Jones of The Root thought the song helped her stand out as an individual artist on the album. For scholar Vasilios Harisis, it best "announces the voice as the main communicator of an artistic identity".

Critics have viewed "Vanishing" as a standout track in Carey's discography throughout her career. Courier-Post contributor Jeff Hall considered the song her best work in 1993. In 2000, Vincent Stephens named "Vanishing" one of Carey's finest album tracks in a review for Popular Music and Society. David T. Farr of the Sturgis Journal and Gabbara called it underrated in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Writing for Billboard in 2017, Everett Brothers named it her best recorded vocal performance. In the same magazine the following year, Chris Azzopardi called it a career highlight owing to Carey's "stunning display of vocal highs and lows". Billboard staff as a whole ranked it as the seventh-best song of her career in 2020. Writing for Attitude, Cliff Joannou considered it one of Carey's top twelve B-sides and live renditions up to 2023. According to Chan, "Vanishing" is the most beautiful ballad of Carey's early career and its lyrics are unusually advanced compared to others in this period such as "Can't Let Go" (1991).

Live performances

Carey performed "Vanishing" while promoting Mariah Carey in 1990. On October22 that year, she sang it at Club Tatou in New York City. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described her delivery as "casually jolting" and Ashley S. Battel of AllMusic said she showcased her vocal abilities effectively. Footage of the performance was included on the 1991 video album The First Vision and its audio was later released on The Live Debut – 1990, a 2020 digital extended play. Carey reprised the song on October29, 1990, at the American television program Saturday Night Live, following "Vision of Love". According to Vultures Craig Jenkins, she came across as a seasoned professional. Rolling Stone writer Christopher R. Weingarten ranked it at number 19 on a 2017 list of the best musical performances in the show's history.

Carey later sang "Vanishing" during the 1993 Music Box Tour as a dedication to Tee, who died before the shows began. Several critics described it as one of the concert's better performances. Miami Herald writer Leonard Pitts Jr. viewed the live version as one of "her moments when potential and ability stabbed through brilliantly, like lightning through the clouds". According to Wayne Robins of Newsday, Carey displayed authentic emotion during the rendition. The Boston Globes Steve Morse felt she "showed a softer, equally entrancing side" to her performance ability in comparison with other songs that showcased her full vocal range.

Other artists have performed live cover versions of "Vanishing". Several critics praised the vocal performance of American singer Syesha Mercado, who sang it as a contestant on the 2008 season of the television program American Idol. Rodney Ho of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution remarked the rendition was "controlled yet emotional, lovely". In 2020, American singer Kelly Clarkson sang "Vanishing" a cappella at her home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Entertainment Weekly writer Sydney Bucksbaum and Billboards Gil Kaufman considered the performance impressive.

Credits and personnel

References

Sources

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