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Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel - Mariah Carey
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. The Guardian
    80
    Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is a sprawling, 17-track epic with few obvious singles--but it is loaded with creativity.
  2. Boston Globe
    80
    The album reminds you that those budding superstars can't beat Carey at her own game.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    It's puzzling to hear one of music's most powerful voices continually corralled into a feathery R&B midrange; imperfections are nowhere to be found on Memoirs, but neither are many true revelations.
  4. Billboard.com
    71
    Overall, Carey's throwback vibe on Memoirs is refreshing and much welcomed.
  5. Dot Music
    70
    A return to core principles, which has produced a handful of pretty love songs and a solid overall, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel certainly isn't the disaster we were promised, but then nor is it a triumph.
  6. All Music Guide
    70
    The album was composed by R&B's best songwriters of the late 2000s, Terius Nash (The-Dream) and Christopher Stewart (Tricky); they give each song the intelligent mid-tempo bump-and-grind they've made into a specialty.
  7. Rolling Stone
    70
    The result is Carey's most sonically and tonally coherent release, a mix of love ballads ('Inseparable') and sassy breakup anthems ('Standing O') that might have been her best album had it been several songs shorter.
  8. The A.V. Club
    67
    Memoirs is Carey's least pyrotechnic album, its flow is as important as its tunes, and while Carey is still given to acrobatic vocal displays, her lattice of subtler vocal overdubs softens and strengthens those flights.
  9. Los Angeles Times
    63
    Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel will stand out in Carey's catalog as an experiment that illuminates her place in the pantheon without either boosting it or damaging it.
  10. Slant Magazine
    60
    Mariah is in fine voice throughout the album, and there are plenty of inspired moments to be found....Which makes it all the more disappointing that the album's final stretch devolves into a mess of old-school Mariah rehashes that should have been left in the past.
  11. New Musical Express (NME)
    50
    The album itself reveals she's also got a penchant for exhuming the sickly-sweet memory of Minnie Riperton's 'Loving You' and setting it to 17 different slow jamz drenched in studio gloss.
  12. musicOMH.com
    50
    Though it's commendable to stick with one set of producers to give a sense of cohesion, Memoirs could have done with some variation.
  13. The New York Times
    50
    That nuance is mostly gone on Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, Ms. Carey's 12th studio album, which manages simplicity and clutter all at once.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 120 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 47
  3. Negative: 8 out of 47
  1. TarekM.
    10
    MC's latest doesn't disappoint but in fact proves to be a very refreshing R&B experience.
  2. ScooterC.
    6
    This album is ALL over the place! The lyrics are fascinating, yet a bit forced. Mariah's voice is a whisper or high whistle notes. Arrangements are intensely over produced or very simple, like my favorite LANGUISHING. H.A.T.E.U. is good, so is OBSESSED, but enough with the remixes BORING!… Full Review »
  3. Turine
    10
    Boring after a few listens, but gets better and better each time you listen to it. Notable songs are ''Angel's Cry'', ''Obsessed'', ''I Want to Know What Love Is'' and ''H.A.T.E.U.''. Angel (Prelude) is amazingly amazing.… Full Review »
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