Album Review: Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas II You

Nobody was asking for a second Christmas album from Mariah Carey. I mean...why would they, when her first was in rotation every single year, it was recorded during her vocal prime and "All I Want For Christmas Is You" had long been on the track to becoming a traditional Christmas song?! But we ended up with one anyway, which surprised just about everyone; given all of the aforementioned, that it came 16 years after the first, and that it came so soon after Mariah's 12th studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Especially when Lambs were expecting a remix album, the now canned Angels Advocate.

But who are we to turn down or question a new album from Mariah Thee Carey. Because whilst she may have had lukewarm responses to albums over the years (Rainbow, Glitter, Charmbracelet), Mariah is yet to release an album that's bad. There is not a single Mariah Carey album in existence which does not have bops, bars and brilliance. And whilst it was all too easy to write Merry Christmas II You off because its lead single "Oh Santa!" wasn't "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and its album cover was absolutely horrendous - Mariah did as she always does and put out a solid body of work. One of which deserved far more commercial and critical praise than it had received at the time of its release, and is still owed now.

Mariah in no way sought to recreate her first Merry Christmas album. I was a fool for thinking that Mariah would be so basic as to do such a thing, but it was hard not to think that she would, given the album title, the same use of the font and a recreation of sorts of the original album cover. But nothing about the music on this album feels like an attempt to replicate or replace anything of Merry Christmas the First. Everything is brand spanking new. Well, except for the inclusion of "All I Want For Christmas Is You", which is one of the worst things about this album, but we'll get to that.

From the perspective of a fan, Merry Christmas II You is a clear display as to why Mariah is that bitch, will always be that bitch and that Christmas is her bitch.

Mariah's songwriting shines on each of the original songs on this album; showcasing her ability to completely adapt how she writes songs, and tailor everything to the theme and the context of where she envisions the song. With the exception of "Oh Santa!", none of the other songs feature what you might deem as typical Mariah-isms. Her use of vocab is different. Her melodic patterns are different. But the songs still feel like hers.

"Oh Santa!" was never going to catch on the way that "All I Want For Christmas Is You" did. It's a little too fast, a little too difficult to follow and maybe a bit too sassy. But the purpose of "Oh Santa!" was never to compete for her 1994 Christmas opus. It sounds like a song Mariah would have recorded for a regular studio album, but with a festive spin. It's bubbly. It's fun. It's very much a Christmas song for the Lambily; as is evidenced by the way we see Mariah's gear shifts throughout the album.

"When Christmas Comes" is a grown folks, Black ass, soul and R&B Christmas song. It's of the vibe of when the kids are off to bed, and mums, dads, aunts and uncles are just chilling in the living room with a glass in hand, talking grown folks shit in good spirits. It has a very Luther Vandross energy about it, which feels very deliberate, as Luther is more than likely what would be spinning during these Christmas evening moments. It's also very easy to imagine him singing this, and I imagine if he were still alive, he would have featured on this instead of John Legend.

"Christmas Time is in the Air Again" is an ode to the 50s and 60s. Slow, swoony, and doesn't follow your regular verse, chorus, verse structure. Think Bing Crosby's rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". It's a song that's simple enough and not too adult for kids, but of a sound and sentiment that will resonate with those who know music from the 50s, are old school Warner Bros. movie buffs or fans of musicals featuring the likes of Fred Astaire and Marilyn Munroe. It's absolutely stunning. And whilst it is a warm, comforting song, there is also a layer of melancholy for those who like that in their Christmas songs, as the lyrics could be interpreted as being from somebody who longs to be loved at Christmas, or simply enjoys watching it from afar and spending it alone. It's a crime that this song wasn't pushed as a promotional single, because it has as much history making potential as "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Not only is it a great Christmas song, but it ranks as one of Mariah's best.

"One Child" recounts the Nativity of Jesus and is clearly aimed at children. So it has really simple lyrics and an easy to follow melody for the verses and chorus. The pace and rhythm of it is also similar to "Little Drummer Boy", which also gives it a sense of rhythmic familiarity, and creates a mashup opportunity for music teachers scoring school nativities that wanna be extra. One can't help but wonder if Mariah knew that she was pregnant when she wrote this song; thinking of something her future children would sing. Some will write the song off as a little too simple, but Christmas is simple in concept, and it makes sense given the intended context.

The way in which Mariah approaches each of these songs is masterful and shows that she gets music on a whole other level and to an extent that she isn't given enough credit for. Nothing about how Mariah went about writing these songs was a fluke or accidental. Every note, every word, every melody was deliberate. Mariah gets what makes a Christmas song, and that it's more than just throwing bells on the bitch. She gets how they should be structured, the ways in which they should be sung, how the vocals should be arranged, what makes a song stick, and how important the context is. It's more than just putting Christmas buzzwords in a song. Mariah just gets it all.

It would be interesting to know what came first for Mariah, the original songs or the covers she wanted to include, because they both compliment each other so well. Some of the original songs sound like classics, and covers such as "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" have a flair to them that make them feel contemporary and original. So there's no clear distinguishing between what's original and what isn't.

The production on this album is gorgeous, and one of the most lush sounding albums in Mariah's discography. Despite having worked with great talents and musicians such as Walter Afanasieff and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who have given her big sounds, Mariah has seldom given us moments as big as what we get on this album. The closest we got was Glitter's "Never Too Far". Live instrumentation runs rife on this album. Drums, pianos, horn sections, orchestras, all the things. The whole album just sounds expensive. Merry Christmas II You features the talents of the Tony award winning Marc Shaiman, an American composer known for his work in movies (Sister Act 2), TV (Saturday Night Live) and Broadway (Hairspray). So his songs have a very cinematic feel which set the tone for the entire album.

When Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel had touched down, many had started to question Mariah's vocal state. She sounded far more reserved than she had done prior and was far more sparing with her whistles and belts. She didn't sound bad. Just noticeably less vocally fearless. On Merry Christmas II You it's a similar deal. Mariah isn't belting every single house in the North Pole down as she did in 1994, and instead adopts a soft croon for most of the more Jazz and Blues inspired numbers, which may be part of the reason its such a prominent sound on the album. When Mariah does start to belt, you can hear that she still has the range, but not the ease of being able to run around the scale how she used to. And because of this, there are odd moments where there is noticeable pitch correction, namely on her whistles. The dead giveaway being the one on "Oh Santa!" where the run-ups and run-downs on the whistle are just a little too perfect, even for Mariah and her five octave vocal range. Mariah still sounds good. She sounds great on the songs where she's not having to push herself, such as "Christmas Time Is In The Air Again". But there are instances where the new limits on her vocals are apparent.

The only low points of this album are "Auld Lang Syne (The New Year's Anthem)" and the inclusion of "All I Want For Christmas Is You". "Auld Lang Syne (The New Year's Anthem)" is fun and it's cute. But the production sounds like something you'd hear on a C-list Christmas compilation or an Ayumi Hamasaki album. It's festive, for sure. But it cheapens the rest of the album, which sounds so rich and expensive by comparison. Merry Christmas the First gave "Joy To The World" a similar House bounce, which may be why we got it for a song here. "Auld Lang Syne (The New Year's Anthem)" has become a bit of an Internet sensation because of the mess of a music video it received, so it's one of those 'so good it's bad' instances. But the album didn't need this song, and it would have been far nicer for the album to end as it started. "One Child" would have been just fine as an album closer.

And whilst I get the inclusion of Merry Christmas the First standouts "O Holy Night" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You", their presence under-sells the merits of the album on its own. Their inclusion feels like more of a label decision than a creative one. I get it. Especially with this being a sequel of sorts to the first album. But the material on Merry Christmas II You is more than good enough to hold on its own, without featuring old songs as fall-backs. Also, two songs cannot save an entire album, no matter how good they are.

Mariah choosing to release a second Christmas album was a risk, given that her first was so huge and continued to be years after its release. I have continually wondered whether it was her choice to release a second Christmas album or one put to her by her label in a bid to smoke screen the wreckage of Memoirs' disastrous release and lack of support. But Mariah has made a career of releasing music in the wake of huge successes, so following up a mega successful Christmas album with another Christmas album ain't shit to her. And the craziest thing is, that she actually released an album that I think is better. Merry Christmas the First had the behemoth that is "All I Want For Christmas Is You", the now iconic rendition of "O Holy Night" and the fan favourite that is "Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)". But the album as a whole, whilst perfect sung and perfectly festive, felt very by-numbers. Merry Christmas II You on the other hand is not only a great Christmas album, but an album that gives us things we've not heard Mariah do before; showing that even after 20 years, Mariah is not adverse to trying new things. Her work with Marc Shaiman gives us sounds we've never heard from Mariah before. And her work with James "Big Jim" Wright brings this Jazz and Blues inspired sound to her discography that we'd only heard sparingly on Charmbracelet and The Emancipation of Mimi, and recently heard again this year with The Rarities' "Lullaby of Birdland".

At a point when many thought Mariah may have been past it, or desperately clinging to the only song of hers that's relevant - Mariah dropped what is a genuinely great album of a quality, which shows once again, that Mariah Carey is in a league all of her own, and that she truly is the queen of Christmas.

VERDICT: QUEEN OF CHRISTMAS

Highlights:
■ Oh Santa!
■ O Little Town of Bethlehem / Little Drummer Boy
■ Christmas Time Is In The Air Again 🏆 J's fave
■ The First Noel
■ When Christmas Comes
■ Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)
■ Charlie Brown Christmas
■ O Come, All Ye Faithful / Hallelujah Chorus
■ One Child