Maps of Music

Rainbow (1999)

Where the lyrics of Rainbow take you, and where it was really made.

Rainbow debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, yet it was certified triple platinum within a month.

Key places

Recording at O'Henry Sound Studios (1999)

Recording site O'Henry Sound Studios — Listed as a place where part of the album was recorded, in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Premier Studios (1999)

Recording site Premier Studios — Listed as a place where part of the album was recorded, in New York. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Right Track Recording (1999)

Recording site MSR Studios — Listed as a place where part of the album was recorded, in New York. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Record Plant (1999)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Listed as a place where part of the album was recorded, in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Cello Studios (1999)

Recording site EastWest Studios — Listed as a place where part of the album was recorded, in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Power Station at BerkleeNYC (1999)

Recording site Power Station Studio — Listed as a place where part of the album was recorded, in New York. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording on the island of Capri (1999)

Recording site Capri — Carey recorded the album on the secluded island of Capri, Italy, so she could spend more time with her lover. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Rainbow: seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey
• Released October 27, 1999 by Columbia Records
• Followed Butterfly (1997), on which Carey adopted a new image and fully moved into the urban contemporary market
• Contains hip-hop-influenced R&B tracks and a variety of ballads
• Produced mainly by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who replaced Walter Afanasieff
• Five singles released; two became number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100

Background

• Carey's career had been heavily calculated and controlled by her husband and Sony Music CEO, Tommy Mottola
• Her earlier albums mostly consisted of slow, meaningful ballads with no guest appearances or hip hop-influenced melodies
• Her separation from Mottola during the making of Butterfly gave her more control over the unfinished album
• After her divorce from Mottola, she had more control over the musical style of Rainbow
• Collaborators included Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Master P, Mystikal, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Joe, Usher and 98 Degrees
• Lead single "Heartbreaker" featured Jay-Z, the first time another artist was featured on one of her lead singles

Recording

• Work began in spring 1999 on the final album of her record contract with Sony
• Her lover Luis Miguel was on a European tour, so she recorded the album on the island of Capri, Italy
• She completed the album in three months in summer 1999, quicker than any of her other albums
• Her strained relationship with Sony also affected her work with longtime writing partner Walter Afanasieff

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born March 27, 1969 in Huntington, New York, on Long Island.
• Youngest of three children of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer.
• Began singing at age three; graduated from Harborfields High School in 1987.
• Worked as a demo singer and backup singer, including for Brenda K. Starr.

Career

• Signed to Columbia Records after Tommy Mottola heard her demo tape in December 1988.
• Debut album Mariah Carey (1990) topped the US Billboard 200 and won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
• Became the first artist whose first five singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995) achieved major global sales.
• Later albums moved toward hip-hop and R&B, including Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999).
• Comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) was her fifth number-one album in the US.
• Known as the 'Songbird Supreme' and 'Queen of Christmas'; one of the best-selling artists in history with over 220 million records sold.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rainbow received generally positive reviews from music critics, who generally praised Carey's embrace of R&B and hip hop
• Entertainment Weekly: Danyel Smith wrote that what began on Butterfly as a departure becomes a progression on Rainbow
• Rolling Stone: Arion Berger viewed it as a genuine R&B and hip hop album and called it a sterling chronicle of accessible hip-hop balladeering
• Rolling Stone: Berger said Rainbow is at its best when urbane hip-hop stylings and faux R&B coexist
• Los Angeles Times: Elysa Gardner wrote that Carey gives a vision of love that is dynamic without being ostentatious
• USA Today: Steve Jones called the record colorful and some of her most compelling work
• Village Voice: Robert Christgau gave a two-star honorable mention and cited "Heartbreaker" and "Crybaby" as highlights
• Vibe: Amy Linden was less impressed and called the hip hop pairings a commonplace formula
• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the lyrics personal and deep but found the songs ballad-heavy and repetitious

Reappraisal

• For the 25th anniversary on June 14, 2024, Carey released an expanded version with a remaster and extra material
• Carey said listening to the record again brought her back to that time in an extremely overwhelming way
• She described Rainbow as a brighter and more playful era compared to Butterfly

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number two with 323,000 first-week sales
• Her highest first-week sales of her career up to that time
• France and Greece: number one
• Top five in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and Switzerland
• US: triple platinum from the RIAA, denoting three million shipped copies
• Canada: debuted at number two, double platinum from CRIA
• UK: debuted at number eight with 26,000 copies; BPI Gold
• Germany: peaked at number three; Platinum from BVMI
• Brazil: Platinum, 250,000 copies
• Estimated eight million copies sold worldwide

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Carey recorded the album on the secluded island of Capri, Italy, so she could spend more time with her lover Luis Miguel, who was on a European tour.
• The lead single's hook came from a loop based on Shirley Ellis's "The Name Game", used through Stacy Lattisaw's "Attack of the Name Game".
• The video for "Heartbreaker" is estimated to have cost $2.5 million, one of the most expensive music videos of all time.
• "After Tonight" was written about Carey's relationship with Miguel, and their duet attempt failed; the incident was later dramatized in Luis Miguel: The Series.
• Carey intended "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" as the third single, but Sony wanted a more upbeat urban track, which led to a public feud.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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