The Emancipation of Mimi (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Mariah Carey (vocals); Trey Lorenz (vocals); Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Twista (rap vocals); Chop Horns (horns); James "Big Jim" Wright (keyboards); Randy Jackson (bass instrument); Charles Drayton (drums); Fatman Scoop, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin (background vocals).

With the lofty title THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI, it's clear that Mariah Carey wants listeners to know she's releasing an important record. Here she aims to reveal an aspect of herself that has previously been held back by career missteps and tabloid-worthy drama. It's refreshing, then, that 2005's EMANCIPATION returns the focus to Carey's remarkable voice, as the singer makes her most accomplished record in over a decade.

Carey opens the album by exhibiting some of the most sincerely soulful vocals of her career on the one-two punch of the up-tempo "It's Like That" and the beautiful ballad "We Belong Together." Her able voice expertly complements both the hazy hip-hop of Snoop Dogg on "Say Somethin'" and the acrobatics of Twista on the dream-like "One and Only." In her early years, Carey would have adorned the latter track with vocal tricks to show off her five-octave voice, but she has wisely learned to rein in her frills. In fact, restraint is the key word on THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI, a straightforward and satisfying pop-R&B collection. minimize