Butterfly gets off to a flying start (excuse the pun) with the album's lead single Honey (10/10). A UK No.3 and US No.1 in the summer of 1997, the song is one of Mariah's greatest compositions to date and has a superb James Bond-style video to accompany it. The lyrics are not always clear on Honey, but the beats definitely are. Mariah gets help on Honey (not just on this version) from an army of top class R'n'B producers, such as Sean "Puffy" Combs (P.Diddy now), Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat. The album's title track follows. Butterfly (9/10) is a wonderful ballad from Mariah with a slight hint of R'n'B. While lyrically superb, Mariah's vocals are not - she uses more breathy vocals on Butterfly rather than her soaring trademark voice...the one that made her the biggest selling female artist of the 1990's. My All (10/10) follows this and in spectacular style. Definitely one of Mariah's career highlights, My All was a UK No.4 and US No.1. This is a trademark ballad from Mariah in which she uses her stunning vocal range. The lyrics are very expressive and the emotion in Carey's voice is supreme. The Roof (10/10) and Fourth Of July (9/10) follow as tracks 4 and 5 respectively. The former is a highly-praised Mariah Carey classic. The beat is brilliant and is just pure "R'n'B Mariah" at her very best with a silky, velvety beat. The latter is a song that is hated by many people who review Butterfly. I can't see why - granted, the song isn't exactly the best on the album, but still has a great chorus. Breakdown (10/10) is another classic "R'n'B Mariah" song with soft vocals and a relaxing and chilled-out beat. Babydoll (10/10) is my favourite non-released song from Butterfly. Mariah's vocals on this superb R'n'B number are very light and the lyrics are hardly recognisable...but that's not the thing that makes this quite possibly one of Mariah Carey's greatest compositions of her entire career. I'm talking, of course, about that totally addictive and catchy bassline. The deep boom that follows in a certain arrangement is absolutely superb.
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