It is her ability to reference the past, present and future that guarantees the record's success. Caution is a lesson in endurance through metamorphosis, and who better to take notes from than Mariah Carey?
Mariah does not go to the mountain; the mountain goes to Mariah. And on her 15th studio album, the breezy, pleasingly defiant Caution, she finds a freshness that’s been missing from her recent material.
A compact, Music Box-sized album, it's unelaborate in presentation and makeup, a measured and understated collection of slow and midtempo R&B ballads.
Caution is pure hip-hop-leaning pop bliss, on par with post-Glitter and Charmbracelet comeback tour-de-force Emancipation of Mimi in how it both sublimely nods to current trends while reaffirming the singer-songwriter as a formidable pop presence.
‘Caution’ puts her back in the driving seat, armed with that signature sultry Mariah sound and a ‘fuck you’ attitude.
Missteps aside, Caution still casts a wicked spell as a modern R&B record emboldened with intent.
She’ll employ of-the-moment producers to add current touches to her tracks, but the way she uses them on Caution results in her fine-tuning her aesthetic, not bending to current playlist-friendly trends; she’ll wink at her public persona during interviews, but approach her vocals on tracks like “The Distance” and “Portrait” with the same steely-eyed seriousness that fueled her meteoric rise nearly three decades ago.
Caution feels like the album Mariah has wanted to make all along: one that literally throws caution to the wind and sees her embracing her inner weirdo.
While this project doesn’t compare to Carey’s standout albums ... Caution proves she is still capable of assembling a decent collection of R&B–infused pop songs almost three decades into her career.
Let's face it: Mariah Carey isn't the commercial powerhouse she once was. In her 90s heyday she regularly tallied gargantuan multi-platinum sales and notched #1 hit after #1 hit, while her last album, the hilariously titled "Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse" hasn't gone Gold and couldn't place a single in the Top 10 (though the sublime, Miguel-assisted "#Beautiful" came close). And let me just say, I'm not normally the type to care about sales and certs and chart ... read more
Em "Caution" Mariah traz o seu melhor trabalho em tempos, tudo aqui é algo elegante e massivamente atraente.
Os seus auges artísticos foram definidos entre "Daydream" e "Butterfly". Dois discos que exploravam carregadamente seu potencial de voz e escrita, eram discos que ao mesmo tempo sendo notavelmente alternativos eram comerciais, pois a autenticidade que Mariah colocava em suas canções era um ímã para os olhos de ... read more
Among pop stans, Mariah is a meme queen. She's the source material for countless shady, extra, and fabulous GIFs. For instance, the GIF of her saying "I don't know her" in reference to poor Jennifer Lopez is absolutely legendary. When one wants to get their diva on, they just have to channel their inner Mimi. Even bad press can't sully her public image. It seems that mishaps only perpetuate her reputation as a loopy, butterfly-obsessed diva. This loopiness extends to her fans, the ... read more
A very good body of work. I think the reason Mariah has avoided being a "legacy act" is because of her willingness to embrace modern production styles and song structures without sacrificing what makes her, her. She's still doing vocal acrobatics and still singing about the highs and lows of being lovestruck (and still keeping her thesaurus close by), but she's a little more relaxed and completely in tune with contemporary trends without sounding desperate to fit in with what the kids ... read more
1 | GTFO 3:27 | 86 |
2 | With You 3:47 | 89 |
3 | Caution 3:15 | 87 |
4 | A No No 3:07 | 88 |
5 | The Distance 3:27 feat. Ty Dolla $ign | 87 |
6 | Giving Me Life 6:08 feat. Slick Rick, Blood Orange | 90 |
7 | One Mo' Gen 3:25 | 81 |
8 | 8th Grade 4:48 | 87 |
9 | Stay Long Love You 3:01 feat. Gunna | 79 |
10 | Portrait 4:01 | 83 |
#1 | / | Idolator |
#1 | / | PAPER |
#9 | / | NOW Magazine |
#10 | / | Okayplayer |
#10 | / | Vulture |
#12 | / | Slant Magazine |
#12 | / | SPIN |
#33 | / | Thrillist |
#39 | / | Billboard |
#48 | / | Complex |