Date: May 23, 1998
Weeks: 1
I just realized the other day that for someone with as many No. 1 songs as Mariah Carey, it was surprising that I hadn't encountered her yet. Only the Beatles have more, and I've already done two of theirs.
Mariah Carey's voice is, as always, excellent. Here's a singer with a great sense of how to embellish her singing without straying so far from the melody that it takes away from the song itself. In this case, her vocals are the featured component and the music is secondary, so she has to carry the song and make it interesting. And she does a great job of that.
The music is pretty dull. Obviously this was intended as a sexy slow song, and the music is doing what it's supposed to do. It lays down a sexy slow beat for Mariah Carey to sing over. So it's pretty quiet. There are a lot of instruments involved in making so little music, including a wide variety of percussion, a lightly strummed guitar, and a string section, but it does create the sexy environment it's going for. The music is well-crafted, to be sure. It achieves its goal.
With lyrics like "I'd give my all to have just one more night with you," the message is one of regret and longing. It kind of sums up nostalgia for a relationship that didn't work out, a desire to revisit the past, an urge to reconcile and get back together, or just a desire to hook up with an ex for the short-term benefit of a one-night stand. The lyrics manage to touch on all that.
My verdict: Like it. I'm not sure I would seek this out to listen to for fun, but I can't deny that it's well-constructed and meets its goal.
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