Mariah Carey - Butterfly [album]

[Loverboy]

Sorry but I never felt a strong connection for this album although I try really hard

This is Mariah's favourite album and I can imagine its importance for her. After 7 years of career, Mariah finally took creative control for a project of her own and was the driving force behind all project. I just don't like the songs. Honey is her best, butterfly also, my all a great ballad but the rest... :-? Daydream is a masterpiece compared to this.

[firefly_86]

I've been listening to this again recently, trying to get into Babydoll, Outside and Beautiful Ones especially as they're my 3 least favoruites. I think I'm being converted to the latter though!

[Benjamin]

I still don't know if this is my favorite Mariah album. I can't really choose.
It's definitely one of her best though.

[sambo9]

I still don't know if this is my favorite Mariah album. I can't really choose.
It's definitely one of her best though.

I'm glad you're enjoying it, Ben!

[sambo9]

I've been listening to this again recently, trying to get into Babydoll, Outside and Beautiful Ones especially as they're my 3 least favoruites. I think I'm being converted to the latter though!

"Babydoll" and "Outside" are two of my favourites. The former is a sheer genius R&B tune with the most wonderfully relaxed vocal she has ever given, and the latter is a vocally flawless ballad with some of her most personal lyrics to date.

I may become bored of Mariah from time to time but I'll never become bored of this album. It's become too personal for me to just disregard. As soon as I hear her vocals in Butterfly I just melt.

[MrFreddyGhost]

I fully heard this album just a few days ago. It's beautiful, but I felt it dragged a bit when 'Breakdown' started, I'm not too keen on that track...

Anyway, my faves are: Butterfly, My All, Honey, Close My Eyes, Whenever You Call

I'd say it's not her best. I still prefer TEOM over this.

And it seems like people have equally divided opinions when it comes to deciding whether this album is her best. 29:29 in the poll.

[Eamon]

I'm listening to this right now, blasting it out. And it is such a wonderful, craftful, creative, innovative, cohensiev piece of work vocally, thematically and stylistically! While i always considered it her best album, i never felt a strong connection with it as a whole piece of work until recently! It just all clicked together! I love it! Wish she'd make something so perfect like this again. Its not like she needed to belt her ass off on this either. She just had the right combination of everything.

[Tom92]

I think its unusual how everyone calls this her best album. As a very casual listener, looking down the tracklist, the only song I know is 'Honey'.

[Merci]

^^ what about "My All"?!

and I agree for me it's definitely not her best album, I prefer her debut to this.

[Eamon]

I think its unusual how everyone calls this her best album. As a very casual listener, looking down the tracklist, the only song I know is 'Honey'.

Its because of the creativity and this was the first time mariah had totally control. Its technically flawless and so evocative. Its like being taken to a different place. Its like a dream. It picks you up and takes you on a journey. It just runs so smoothly and is lyrically beautiful aswell.

[HazelEyes]

Daydream was her best album. I think Breakdown might be the most overrated song of all time. I can never get into it and I find it grating.

[MCC4Life]

This is the most overrated album by Mariah, no doubt!
I can't get into the "perfection" most fans see in it and believe me I've tried for months.

The only songs I love are "Honey" and the title track. The rest are either decent (My All, Whenever You Call, The Roof) or totally boring/forgettable (The Beautiful Ones, Babydoll, Breakdown, Outside, Close My Eyes, Fourth Of July) IMHO.

This album marked Walter Afanasieff's absence from Mariah's discography onwards and her almost full turn to R&B/Hip Hop, hence the gradual loss of European fans/appeal/sales and the Adult Contemporary audience that was quite faithful to her until "Butterfly". More reasons for me not to like that album.

[TheRealest]

I really love this album. This is probably Mariah's most personal album beause some of the lyrics are so deep. "Honey" is probaby my favorite Mariah song of all-time. From the way she started singing until the end there was such a fierce attitude but a sweetness in her voice at the same time. From that to the end of the album there is so much consistency because every song has a story and is great. "Butterfly" is my favorute ballad by her also. The piano is great and I love how she starts off singing softly then by the end her vocals are amazing. The mellisma with the chior backing is just great. This album also shows how she can still shine over hip-hop beats with "The Roof" and Breakdown". This album feels so natural and I feel like it really showcased MARIAH CAREY as one greatest artists of all time.

[sambo9]

I'm surprised to see that a lot of people think of "Honey" as one of the better songs on the album. I love the original "Honey" but the David Morales and So So Def remixes are far better IMO! She really sang her ass off on those two tracks.

I still think this album is perfection and I still feel as close to it now as I ever have done. "Breakdown" is still my favourite R&B song she's ever released, "Butterfly" is still one of my favourite songs of all-time and "Outside" is still the song that represents myself and my life the most. The only Mariah album that comes close to "Butterfly" quality-wise is "Daydream".

[sambo9]

I think its unusual how everyone calls this her best album. As a very casual listener, looking down the tracklist, the only song I know is 'Honey'.

Yeah, there were only really two major single releases from this album. This was the first album where Mariah didn't see much single success overseas. "Honey" and "My All" both did well on the Billboard Hot 100 though and they are two of her best selling singles to date there.

[firefly_86]

This album marked Walter Afanasieff's absence from Mariah's discography onwards and her almost full turn to R&B/Hip Hop, hence the gradual loss of European fans/appeal/sales and the Adult Contemporary audience that was quite faithful to her until "Butterfly". More reasons for me not to like that album.

But this album was mainly produced with Walter A? The first was he was absent from was Rainbow, so if anything surely that album is the one not to like.

[sambo9]

This album marked Walter Afanasieff's absence from Mariah's discography onwards and her almost full turn to R&B/Hip Hop, hence the gradual loss of European fans/appeal/sales and the Adult Contemporary audience that was quite faithful to her until "Butterfly". More reasons for me not to like that album.

But this album was mainly produced with Walter A? The first was he was absent from was Rainbow, so if anything surely that album is the one not to like.

Yeah, that is true - and it was actually "Rainbow" where I began to see a noticeable decline in quality of Mariah's work, so there is most certainly a link there.

In fact, Walter co-wrote as many songs on this record as he did with any other 90s Mariah album.

[MCC4Life]

This album marked Walter Afanasieff's absence from Mariah's discography onwards and her almost full turn to R&B/Hip Hop, hence the gradual loss of European fans/appeal/sales and the Adult Contemporary audience that was quite faithful to her until "Butterfly". More reasons for me not to like that album.

But this album was mainly produced with Walter A? The first was he was absent from was Rainbow, so if anything surely that album is the one not to like.

I knew I had not expressed it right. My English is not the best
I meant that after Butterfly, basically there was no Walter Afanasieff and Mariah collaborations. I read that Mariah had actually fired him during the Butterfly recording sessions!

I know many fans wouldn't really like a reconciliation but I'd love this to happen soon or at some point anyway. No one can deny that these two had great chemistry in the studio. It's not random that after their falling out neither was able to successfully connect with another collaborator. Perhaps, Mariah did with Jermaine Dupri but still the Mariah-Walter gems outnumber the Mariah-JD ones.

[firefairyangel]

I'm not sure I'd necessarily call this her best, since I also think Daydream is extremely strong. I would definitely say it's one of her best though. I love this album, yet I find I'm not really compelled to listen to it very often either.

[Destoroyah]

This is the most overrated album by Mariah, no doubt!
I can't get into the "perfection" most fans see in it and believe me I've tried for months.

Seconded. The only highlights of the album are tracks 1-6. What I think fans don't understand is that Babydoll, Close My Eyes and Whenever You Call drag the album down, so this album is far from perfection.

If I could compare to Mariah Carey to Robert Palmer (Heck, I will, I'm a hardcore Palmer fan), Daydream is like Riptide, it's solid all the way through and it has its own Addicted to Love (Fantasy), I Didn't Mean To Turn You On (Always Be My Baby) and Discipline of Love (Long Ago) with some decent filler.

Butterfly is like Heavy Nova. It contains the same formula, but it suffers from the artist becoming way too overconfident in what they think works commercially and what the record company thinks will sell. Aside from Simply Irresistible (Honey) and More Than Ever (Breakdown), the whole album is this shifting mess with no real direction, tip-toeing back and fourth between the artists' old genre and their new genre.

I'm not even going to go off on a tangent as to how Rainbow and Don't Explain contrast because both albums suck rocks.

(This same theory can be applied to Emancipation of Mimi, E=MC2 and Memoirs. I can also compare Mariah Carey's career and fandom to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and fandom, but you don't want to hear that nerdy rant).

As for Mariah in the Late 1990s, I think that Daydream, Butterfly and Rainbow should really be looked at as a trilogy rather than standalone albums because they all follow the same track sequence pattern and all have similar artwork. Had she had control at the time, all three albums would be contained into one 3-disc album and it would be something similar to Smashing Pumpkins' 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'.

[HazelEyes]

I know how many times will she be emancipated:

1. Daydream - having R&B influences
2. Butterfly - new image after seperation
3. Rainbow - first album after being divorced

And then again

4. The Emancipation of Mimi - title pretty much
5. E+MC2 - mainly Side Effects.

[JSparksFan]

I like this album but I think Mimi has done better albums. e.g. Music Box, and Daydream.

[TheRealest]

How people can call this album boring but not Daydream is beyond me.

[GetBack]

I love this album, but I think Daydream is still THE Mariah album.

[Cinnamon83199]

This is my favorite Mimi album by a long shot. It has special meaning to me, as I was a showgirl back then and all the girls kept telling me I look like Mariah (which I do resemble her a lot!) and I should do her songs, so I went out and got her new one (which at the time was in fact "Butterfly") and began doing some of the songs on it, namely "Honey", "My All (Morales Remix Radio Edit)" and "The Roof" (which I rocked!)

All y'all who don't love "BabyDoll" are really missing out!!! That's one of my top 5 songs on the album...sooooooo sexy!!!! She mixed in a bit of those early Timbaland/Aalyiah-influenced beats!