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Vanishing (song)

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"Vanishing"
Song by Mariah Carey
from the album Mariah Carey
A-side"Love Takes Time"
StudioPower Station
Genre
Length4:11
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mariah Carey
Audio
"Vanishing" on YouTube

"Vanishing" is a torch song recorded and produced by the American singer Mariah Carey for her debut studio album Mariah Carey (1990). She wrote the ballad with the drummer Ben Margulies before signing a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1988. Its lyrics are about the demise of a romantic relationship and they describe how a lover is slowly disappearing from the other's life. Situated in the gospel and traditional pop music genres, "Vanishing" contains a blues-inspired composition in which Carey's vocals are accompanied solely by an acoustic piano played by Richard Tee.

Columbia did not release "Vanishing" as a single from Mariah Carey. Music critics compared it to other tracks upon the album's release; several named it the best song. "Vanishing" has received a positive reception in retrospective album reviews and has been considered one of Carey's best works throughout her career. She performed the song live at Club Tatou in New York City and on the American television program Saturday Night Live in 1990. In 1993, Carey included it in the set list of her Music Box Tour. American singers Syesha Mercado and Kelly Clarkson later performed cover versions.

Background and release

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Mariah Carey smiling wearing a green jacket
Mariah Carey (pictured in 1990) wrote "Vanishing" with Ben Margulies before she had signed with Columbia Records.[1]

American singer Mariah Carey began a songwriting partnership with the drummer Ben Margulies as a teenager in the mid- to late 1980s.[2] One of their songs, "Vanishing",[3] was present on Carey's demo tape that prompted Columbia Records to sign her to a recording contract in 1988.[4] The pair wrote most of the songs on her debut studio album Mariah Carey,[5] which Columbia released in 1990.[3] Situated as the fifth track, following the production-heavy "Someday", "Vanishing" has a sparer sound compared to the rest of the album.[6] It was the first song Carey produced by herself[7] and the only one she did so for the album.[8]

Carey described "Vanishing" as her favorite track on the album: "I enjoyed doing that because it gave me more freedom to sing and it was the most personal song to me."[9] Columbia did not release it as a single.[10] Issued as the B-side to 1991 releases of "Love Takes Time"[11] and "Emotions",[12] "Vanishing" was also present on the 1992 "I'll Be There" maxi single.[13] Columbia and Legacy Recordings later included it on the 2010 compilation albums The Essential Mariah Carey and Playlist: The Very Best of Mariah Carey.[14] Relatively unknown among the general public,[15] "Vanishing" is a deep cut favored by Carey's fans.[16]

Composition

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"Vanishing" is a torch song in the form of a ballad[17] that lasts for four minutes and eleven seconds.[3] It is a gospel[18] and traditional pop record[17] influenced by blues.[19] The music, composed by Carey and Margulies,[3] has a slow tempo[20] and a melody that oscillates.[7] "Vanishing" has a straightforward composition;[21] an acoustic piano played by Richard Tee is the sole instrumentation.[22] Carey considered bolstering it with other sounds such as drums to make it more commercially viable but opted to "preserve the integrity of the song – leave it really simple".[23] Patrick Dillett performed engineering and mixing for the track at Power Station and The Hit Factory studios in New York City. It was mastered by Bob Ludwig at New York's Masterdisk.[3] Chuck Campbell called it a "gripping tearjerker" in the Knoxville News-Sentinel.[24] Jill Warren of The Indianapolis Star considered the composition haunting.[25] It evoked "spine-tingling emotion and spirituality" according to Melissa A. Jacques of the St. Petersburg Times.[26]

The lyrics are about one's anguish amid the gradual end of a romantic relationship:[27] "You're vanishing / Drifting away".[3] According to Andrew Chan, author of Why Mariah Carey Matters (2023), the song "conveys romantic loss through metaphors of physical disappearance and occluded perception".[28] Carey evokes a sense of uncertainty through lines such as "If I could recapture all of the memories / and bring them to life surely I would".[29]

"Vanishing"
"Vanishing" features Carey's vocals accompanied by an acoustic piano.[30]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Carey's voice ranges from muted whispering[31] to high-pitched whistle tones.[17] She does not use her full vocal range in the first two verses; the vocal styles of melisma and riffing appear during the song's latter half. Her first use of belting, a full-throated sound, occurs during the bridge.[32] Carey concludes with a crescendo at the end of the song.[33] Edward Hill of The Plain Dealer described Carey's vocal performance as "complete with staccato phrasing, anguished wails and vibrant note extensions"[30] and Princess Gabbara in Essence said she "unleashes that incredible range, with high and low notes and a sprinkle of ravishing, hard-to-duplicate runs".[34] It received comparisons to those by the American singers Aretha Franklin,[35] Tramaine Hawkins,[20] and Suzanne Vega.[30]

Critical reception

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"Vanishing" received limited critical commentary upon the release of Mariah Carey.[8] Music writers contrasted it with other songs on the album. Several named it the best track.[36] Campbell likened "Vanishing" to a trump card in the Knoxville News-Sentinel.[24] Hill considered it the record's only song in which a "glimpse of the passionate singer Carey could be" was evident.[30] Paul Willistein of The Morning Call thought it was Carey's best vocal showcase on the album;[35] The Record's Barbara Jaeger felt her voice sounded better on "Vanishing" because the arrangement avoided overproduction.[37] Unlike "Vision of Love", Richard T. Ryan of the Staten Island Advance said "Vanishing" demonstrated Carey could limit the use of her vocal range.[19] Rick Mason cited the song in the St. Paul Pioneer Press as one in which she exercised commendable discipline with her voice.[38] Stephen Holden of The New York Times said it exhibited Carey's reverence for gospel music more than other tracks.[39]

Carey's vocal performance and artistry on the song have received a positive reception in retrospective album reviews. In 2015, Billboard's Trevor Anderson said "Vanishing" served as "a reminder that Carey possesses a world-class voice".[40] Writing for the same magazine in 2020, Glenn Rowley stated it was arguably the best showcase of her vocal abilities on Mariah Carey.[7] Hugh Gregory gauged it as the album's "most artistically successful track" in the book Soul Music A–Z.[41] Trent Jones of The Root thought the song helped her stand out as an individual artist on the album.[42] For scholar Vasilios Harisis, it best "announces the voice as the main communicator of an artistic identity".[31]

Critics have considered "Vanishing" a standout track in Carey's discography throughout her career. Courier-Post contributor Jeff Hall considered the song her best work in 1993.[43] Vincent Stephens named "Vanishing" one of Carey's finest album tracks in a 2000 Popular Music and Society review.[44] David T. Farr of the Sturgis Journal and Gabbara called it underrated in 2015 and 2017, respectively.[45] Writing for Billboard in 2017, Everett Brothers named it her best recorded vocal performance.[46] In the same magazine the following year, Chris Azzopardi called it a career highlight owing to Carey's "stunning display of vocal highs and lows".[47] Billboard staff ranked it as the seventh-best song of her career in 2020[7] and Cliff Joannau of Attitude considered it one of Carey's top twelve B-sides and live renditions up to 2023.[48] According to Chan, "Vanishing" is the most beautiful ballad of Carey's early career and its lyrics are unusually advanced compared to her other songs in this period such as "Can't Let Go" (1991).[17]

Live performances

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Carey performed "Vanishing" while promoting Mariah Carey in 1990. She sang it at Club Tatou in New York City on October 22 that year.[49] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described her delivery as "casually jolting"[50] and Ashley S. Battel of AllMusic said she showcased her vocal abilities effectively.[51] Footage of the performance was included on the 1991 video album The First Vision[52] and its audio was later released on The Live Debut – 1990, a 2020 digital extended play.[49] Carey reprised the song on October 29, 1990, at the American television program Saturday Night Live, following "Vision of Love".[53] She came across as a seasoned professional according to Vulture's Craig Jenkins.[54] Rolling Stone writer Christopher R. Weingarten ranked it at number 19 on a 2017 list of the best musical performances in the show's history.[53]

Carey later sang "Vanishing" during the 1993 Music Box Tour as a dedication to Tee, who died before the tour began.[55] Several critics described it as one of the concert's better performances.[56] Miami Herald writer Leonard Pitts Jr. viewed the live version as one of "her moments when potential and ability stabbed through brilliantly, like lightning through the clouds".[57] According to Wayne Robins of Newsday, Carey displayed authentic emotion during the rendition.[58] The Boston Globe's Steve Morse felt she "showed a softer, equally entrancing side" to her performance ability in comparison with other songs that showcased her full vocal range.[55]

Other artists have performed live cover versions of "Vanishing". American singer Syesha Mercado sang it as a contestant on the 2008 season of the television program American Idol. Several critics praised her vocal performance.[15] Rodney Ho of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution remarked the rendition was "controlled yet emotional, lovely".[59] In 2020, American singer Kelly Clarkson sang "Vanishing" a cappella at her home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Entertainment Weekly writer Sydney Bucksbaum and Billboard's Gil Kaufman considered the performance impressive.[60]

Credits and personnel

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Chan 2023, p. 26; Columbia Records 1990; Nickson 1998, p. 26.
  2. ^ Nickson 1998, p. 17–18; Shapiro 2001, p. 34.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Columbia Records 1990.
  4. ^ Chan 2023, p. 26; Nickson 1998, p. 26.
  5. ^ Shapiro 2001, p. 47.
  6. ^ Nickson 1998, pp. 37–38.
  7. ^ a b c d Rowley 2020.
  8. ^ a b Nickson 1998, p. 38.
  9. ^ Lepage 1990, p. D10.
  10. ^ Shapiro 2001, pp. 153–156.
  11. ^ Columbia Records 1991a.
  12. ^ Columbia Records 1991b.
  13. ^ Columbia Records 1992.
  14. ^ Columbia Records & Legacy Recordings 2010a; Columbia Records & Legacy Recordings 2010b.
  15. ^ a b Cormier 2008, p. D1; Shrier 2008, p. C2; Sluder 2008, p. D4.
  16. ^ Brothers 2016; Brothers 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d Chan 2023, p. 26.
  18. ^ DeKnock 1990, p. 7.
  19. ^ a b Ryan 1990, p. E2.
  20. ^ a b Freedberg 1990, p. 44.
  21. ^ Shapiro 2001, p. 53.
  22. ^ Columbia Records 1990; Hill 1990, p. 26.
  23. ^ Sholin 1991, p. 32.
  24. ^ a b Campbell 1990, p. B1.
  25. ^ Warren 1990, p. D6.
  26. ^ Jacques 1991, p. 17.
  27. ^ Chan 2023, pp. 28.
  28. ^ Chan 2023, pp. 26–28.
  29. ^ Chan 2023, p. 27.
  30. ^ a b c d Hill 1990, p. 26.
  31. ^ a b Harisis 2019, p. 9.
  32. ^ Chan 2023, pp. 26–27.
  33. ^ Price 1990, p. 1B.
  34. ^ Gabbara 2017.
  35. ^ a b Willistein 1990, p. A67.
  36. ^ DeKnock 1990, p. 7; Jackson 1990, p. 51; Price 1990, p. 1B.
  37. ^ Jaeger 1990, p. E6.
  38. ^ Mason 1990, p. 5D.
  39. ^ Holden 1990.
  40. ^ Anderson 2015.
  41. ^ Gregory 1991, p. 35.
  42. ^ Jones 2015.
  43. ^ Hall 1993, p. 8C.
  44. ^ Stephens 2000, p. 115.
  45. ^ Farr 2015; Gabbara 2017.
  46. ^ Brothers 2017.
  47. ^ Azzopardi 2018.
  48. ^ Joannou 2023.
  49. ^ a b Kaufman 2020b.
  50. ^ Caramanica 2020.
  51. ^ Battel.
  52. ^ Nickson 1998, p. 44.
  53. ^ a b Weingarten 2017.
  54. ^ Jenkins 2020.
  55. ^ a b Morse 1993, p. 58.
  56. ^ Kot 1993; Moon 1993, p. D9; Pitts Jr. 1993, p. 23A.
  57. ^ Pitts Jr. 1993, p. 23A.
  58. ^ Robins 1993, p. 58.
  59. ^ Ho 2008.
  60. ^ Bucksbaum 2020; Kaufman 2020a.

Sources

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