MARIAH CAREY – EMOTIONS LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 1991 SOUL R&B HIP HOP

Mariah Carey – Emotions
(Columbia Records  1991  4688511)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1

Sleeve & Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1969 or 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. In 1990, she rose to fame with the release of “Vision of Love” from her eponymous debut album. The album produced four chart-topping singles in the US and began what would become a string of commercially successful albums which solidified the singer as Columbia Records‘ highest selling act. Carey and Boyz II Men spent a record sixteen weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995–1996 with “One Sweet Day,” which remains the longest-running number-one song in US chart history. Following a contentious divorce from Sony Music head Tommy Mottola, Carey adopted a new image and traversed towards hip hop with the release of Butterfly (1997). In 1998, she was honored as the world’s best-selling recording artist of the 1990s at the World Music Awards and subsequently named the best-selling female artist of the millennium in 2000.

Carey parted with Columbia in 2000, and signed a record-breaking $100 million recording contract with Virgin Records America. In the weeks prior to the release of her film Glitter and its accompanying soundtrack in 2001, she suffered a physical and emotional breakdown and was hospitalized for severe exhaustion. The project was poorly received and led to a general decline in the singer’s career. Carey’s recording contract was bought out for $50 million by Virgin and she signed a multi-million dollar deal with Island Records the following year. After a relatively unsuccessful period, she returned to the top of music charts with The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). The album became the best-selling album in the US and the second-best-seller worldwide in 2005 and produced “We Belong Together,” which became her most successful single of the 2000s, and was later named “Song of the Decade” by Billboard. Carey once again ventured into film with a well-received supporting role in Precious (2009), and was awarded the “Breakthrough Performance Award” at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Throughout her career, Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. According to the RIAA, she is the third-best-selling female artist in the United States, with 63.5 million certified albums. With the release of “Touch My Body” (2008), Carey gained her 18th number-one single in the United States, more than any other solo artist. In 2012, the singer was ranked second on VH1’s list of the “100 Greatest Women in Music.” Aside from her commercial accomplishments, Carey has won 5 Grammy Awards, 19 World Music Awards, 11 American Music Awards, and 14 Billboard Music Awards and has been consistently credited with inspiring a generation of singers. Referred to as the “songbird supreme” by the Guinness World Records, she has a five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style and signature use of the whistle register.

Emotions is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter and producer Mariah Carey. It was released on September 17, 1991, by Columbia Records. The album deviated from the formula of Carey’s 1990 self-titled debut album, as she had more creative control over the material she produced and recorded. Additionally, Emotions features influences from a range of genres such as gospel, R&B, soul and 1950s, 1960s and 1970s balladry infusion. On the record, Carey worked with a variety of producers and writers, including Walter Afanasieff, the only holdover from her previous effort. Additionally, Carey wrote and produced the album’s material with Robert Clivillés and David Cole from C+C Music Factory and Carole King, with whom she wrote one song.

Upon its release, Emotions received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, surprising many critics following the success of Carey’s debut, which spent eleven weeks atop the chart. While selling far less than Mariah Carey, Emotions was eventually certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of four million copies throughout the country, with estimated sales standing at 3,595,000 copies. Emotions achieved moderate success outside the United States, peaking within the top ten in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. Its success in Japan was strong, shipping one million copies there. The album has sold 8 million copies worldwide. 

Three commercial singles were released from the album. The title track, the album’s lead single, became Carey’s fifth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the only artist in history to have their first five singles reach the chart’s summit. Additionally, it became Carey’s third chart topper in Canada, and reached the top-ten in Greece and New Zealand. “Can’t Let Go” was released as the second single from Emotions on October 23, 1991. Due to Columbia’s removal of the single from stores in an attempt to boost the album’s sales, “Can’t Let Go” failed to become her sixth chart topper in the US, peaking at number two. European and worldwide success was very limited, reaching the top 20 in only Canada and the UK. Similarly, “Make It Happen” peaked at number five in the US, and achieved relatively weak international charting, prompting Columbia to halt promotion of the album.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Mariah Carey.

Sample credits

• “Can’t Let Go” contains a sample of “Make It Last Forever” by Keith Sweat and Jacci McGhee (1987)
• “Make It Happen” contains a sample of “I Want to Thank You” by Alicia Myers (1981)
• “The Wind” contains a sample of “The Wind” by Chet Baker and Russell Freeman (1954)

Personnel

• Mariah Carey – arranger, mixing, producer, vocal arrangement, vocals, background vocals
• Walter Afanasieff – acoustic guitar, arranger, bass, drums, horn arrangements, grand piano, keyboards, organ, organ (Hammond), percussion, piano, producer, programming, strings, synclavier, synthesizer, synthesizer bass, tambourine, vibraphone, vocal arrangement
• Vernon “Ice” Black – guitar
• Bruce Calder – assistant engineer
• Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer, mixing
• Gary Cirimelli – programming, synclavier
• Robert Clivillés – arranger, drums, keyboard arrangements, mixing, producer
• David Cole – arranger, background vocals, keyboard arrangements, keyboards, mixing, producer
• Lew Del Gatto – baritone saxophone, horn arrangements
• Josephine DiDonato – art direction
• Phillip Dixon – photography
• Cornell Dupree – guitar
• Lawrence Feldman – tenor saxophone
• Alan Friedman – programming
• Earl Gardner – trumpet
• Lolly Grodner – assistant engineer
• Carl James – bass guitar
• Acar S. Key – engineer
• Ren Klyce – programming, synclavier, synthesizer
• Manny Lacarrubba – assistant engineer
• Michael Landau – guitar
• Will Lee – bass
• Trey Lorenz – background vocals
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Jon Mathias – engineer
• Patrique McMillian – background vocals
• Bruce Miller – engineer
• Cindy Mizelle – background vocals
• Tommy Mottola – executive producer
• Keith O’Quinn – trombone
• Paul Pesco – guitar
• Bob Rosa – mixing
• Craig Silvey – assistant engineer
• M.T. Silvia – assistant engineer
• Steve Smith – drums
• George Young – tenor saxophone