can't nobody do what you do

I'LL BE LOVIN' U LONG TIME
Mariah Carey
E=MC²

Rating: A+

It has been twelve years since Daydream became the launching pad of that era's magnificent pop such as Fantasy. And for the better part of this decade, fans, closeted or otherwise, has been clamoring for that old-school Mariah sound. With the recently announced third single off E=MC², I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time, they'll be getting what they wanted and a few hundred old-school Mariahs more.

Definitely an interesting choice for a commercial release, I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time harkens a pop-meets-soul sound. The production of DJ Toomp (Kanye West, T.I., Jay-Z, Bone Thugs 'N Harmony) managed to fuse the disco bounce with a sizzling soul vibe ala The Supremes. The harmony is all Mariah, several Mariahs that is, which just makes its texture golden - that's what you get when you put layers over layers of that Voice. And the Voice never sounded this magnificent and energetic post-Butterfly era, not even with We Belong Together.

It's the Mariah sound we've all wanted pre-Emancipation and yet, it's also the Mariah we've never heard before. SKim through her entire discography and you won't find a single that closely resembles the sound of this single.

The release of this unlikely single shows that Camp Mariah may no longer be rooting for that coveted number one spot which may prove beneficial. Mariah should keep in mind what she had sung elsewhere - them other regularities, can't compete with MC. And with a song like I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time, it is hard not to agree.

*******

Scoop me up and we can go to that little spot where no one knows, spend a little time just us alone. You can caress my body and never let go.