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List Price: $15.97 | | Label: Sony/Columbia
Salesrank: 1202101
Released: September 16, 1997 |
| Our Price: $12.50 |
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| Media: Audio Cassette |
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Editorial Review:
The second single & title track of her 1997 album. Pt.1features 'Butterfly' (Album Version), 'Fly Away (ButterflyReprise)' (Album Version), 'Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)'(Fly Away Club Mix) and 'The Roof' (Remix With Mobb Deep).Slimline jewel case. 1997 Co
Description of Butterfly:
Carey's first post-divorce effort makes passing allusions to her ex-hubby (and label honcho) Tommy Mottola, but it doesn't dwell on them the way many similar projects do. Instead, Carey is right back to her old tricks; cooing trademark melismatic spirals through sexy, beat-heavy hits. Fans will dig the bedroom slink of "Baby Doll," the dripping "Honey" and the infectious title track (reprised, along with a bit of Elton John's "Skyline Pigeon," in "Fly Away"). The highlight is a duet with Dru Hill on Prince's "The Beautiful Ones," which just might be her most pointed commentary on Mottola. --Michael Ruby
Butterfly Reviews:
Mariah 
2009-11-21 - I have always loved Mariah Carey and her music is fantastic ,,,,,,,,, I will always buy her music and i do have her new one too and like it alot
Interesting Points To Be Made 
2009-11-15 - Okay even I have to ask:why am I reviewing a Mariah Carey album?And most of all whydid I give it four stars? Well not that I think she's the very worst thing in music by ANY MEANS but Mariah Carey is not one of my favorite artists to put it mildly. And it's sure not for any lack of trying. It seems that each time I tried to get into her I only enjoyed PART of something she did but,that it always came out realy flat and dull in the end. At the same time,there was a HUGE chunk of her album The Emancipation of Mimi that I really liked and so far that is THE only Mariah Carey album I reviewed. Now compared with a lot of other artists even Mariah's best albums probably don't really stack up. There are reasons for that I'll explain later in the review but this is not an overall review of Mariah herself;this is about her fifth album from 1997. I remember when this came out,I ignored it then and never gave it a second chance. Same went when I was purchasing CD's at a local discount place today when they said it was a buy 2 get 2 free deal. I was short one and kept passing this without a thought. Some rambuncious kid knocked it down and I noticed it had a cover of the Prince song "The Beautiful Ones".Out of curiousity I said "okay:I'll take a chance but I'm going to like it" to myself and listened to it,as I often do music as I painted. I was a bit surprised considering I heard (and do not own) her Music Box and didn't much care for that one at all. This album,considering the source is not halfway bad. The music is a fairly emotionally potent collection of lightly funk hip-hop/R&B tracks and somewhat big if reasonable ballads. "Honey" is'nt too bad a song at all;it is definately not hard core but the breezy groove with some nice Sade-like overtones (especially in the bass line) is actually genuinely sensual in a way. The title song is really good too and very much in the same league. Strangely enough there's also a reminder to me of why I find Mariah so irritating sometimes. It's not always her production or music-IT'S HER! She's made a career out of herself as one of those "she's a good singer" types,relying strongly on her multi octave range. But she also breathlessly stays in that same higher end of her voice pretty much all the time-only ever dipping into her pretty powerful deeper range on occasion. She probably believes she's making a lot of use of her vocal gifts but not only does it sound very gimmicky but,she actually gets horse from it on a number of tunes here. "My All","Babydoll" and "Outside" represent what the majority of this album consists of:stripped down (for Mariah) urban ballads that only occasionally escape her customary over produced fluttering with something that sounds like she has more confidence. The 90's disco styled "Fly Away" is a good change of pace as it relys more on the full spectrum of her voice and her handling something more uptempo and adult. "The Roof" and "Breakdown" both again go for something closer to funk again. It doesn't work entirely but,since at least producer Sean Combs knew what funk was he was able to squeeze as much as he could from the lightness of Mariah's overall sound. As for "The Beatiful Ones",the reason I went here it's musically more a re-make than a cover as it doesn't abtract at all from the sound of the original. But it's the duet format with Dru Hill,who takes most the leads here that really bring the song out. I don't usually say this but,by virtue of the producer and song choice this is one of those albums I rate higher from everything about it BUT the main artist involved. This might be a fairly weak album for some artists but it's good for Mariah and that isn't saying much. Many of us agree she has trouble living up to her potential and it puts her on so many peoples "least favorite artist" lists. But honestly this would not have been a bad place for Mariah to begin a more musically productive second career. Sadly as she seems to be seeking fame and fortune over integrity this and The Emancipation of Mimi will have to count for now as her two strongest albums and,again that just doesn't say enough for someone who has the ability and drive to reach beyond her comfort zone.
Blah. 
2009-10-01 - Honestly, I thought this album was boring. I liked the songs "Honey", "Butterfly" and "My All" but the rest of the album was pretty boring in my opinion. I would recommend just downloading the three songs i listed instead of buying the whole album.
Getting skankdafied never sounded so good
2009-08-17 - 1997 was a great year for R&B music. Mary J. Blige traded in her gritty and raw street sound for more glossy and glistening grooves on Share My World. Janet Jackson tackled her demons and fed her never satisfied libido on the masterpiece The Velvet Rope. Then there's Mariah Carey. From 1990 to 1996, she was the queen of the pop and adult contemporary charts with hits like Vision of Love, Hero, Dreamlover, and Emotions. She dabbled in Hip Hop with the ODB assisted remix of Fantasy with great success. By the time she recorded Butterfly, she dived right in and the result is amazing.
Honey - the first single and the video that introduced the music world to a freer and more scantily "ensembled" Mariah. Riding on a bouncy beat and a funky piano, it's no surprise that it went straight to number one. Puff Daddy (or is it Puffy or P. Diddy?) was a much better producer back in the day.
Butterfly - of course it's a reference to the ending of Mariah's marriage to former Sony head Tommy Mottola. According to her, she felt restricted by him and nearly allowed herself to be crushed by his iron fist. Rather than singing in her perspective, she sings from the view of a person who has tried to keep someone to themselves, but failed. The lyrics are slightly cheesy in some parts, but the music (mournful yet hopeful), Mariah's voice, and the gospel inspired background singers are the highlights.
My All - the 2nd and last number one hit from the album. Accompanied by a Spanish guitar and wistful violins, Mariah longs for her lover. "I'm thinking of you in my sleepless solitude tonight, if it's wrong to love you then my heart just won't let me be right, cuz I'm drowned in you and I won't pull through without you by my side." The song builds to a great climax that is dramatic without being drowned in too much melisma.
The Roof - My absolute favorite on the whole album! Mobb Deep's The Shook Ones is sampled with a dark, jazzy backdrop and it sounds amazing. The plot is similar to My All, but this one is even better. "Everytime I feel the need, I envision you caressing me and go back in time, to relive the splendor of you and I, on the rooftop that rainy night." Some of Mariah's best writing is found here (rhyming Moet and liberated is genius) and the video is perfect. Too bad it wasn't released as a single here in the States. I believe it would've been a hit with it's Quiet Storm feel.
Fourth of July - The theme is very similar to Underneath the Stars on Daydream, but FOJ sounds more adult. The music is dreamy and lush. Great song.
Breakdown - Who would have thought that Mariah would ever do a duet with Bone Thugs N Harmony and it would actually work? Certainly not me, but it does. You can hear birds chirping and some piano while Mariah sings about putting on a brave face in front of her ex, but then breaking down in tears in private. The guys have a great rap that flows with the song and it's even longer on the remix. The video for this song is amazing too.
Babydoll - Mimi gets her coo on with this mellow, late night jam produced by Missy Elliott(?!). She's waiting in her hotel room for her lover to show up, but he doesn't call or anything. She does get a lil' sensual with the lyrics ("Zoning out thinkin' bout you and me between the sheets"), but it's tame. Trey Lorenz helps out with background vocals.
Close My Eyes - A light, but slightly serious ballad about Mariah's childhood. She feels like she grew up too soon and is still in many ways "that wayward child as I look at the moon". The soft piano and equally soft background vocals make this a highlight.
Whenever You Call - I'm not really a fan of this one. It's far from bad, but it slows the album down imo and it would fit better on any of her past albums. Still worth a listen.
Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) - Sampling an Elton John song with a house beat, this was the original version of Butterfly Mariah meant to record. However, she recorded the title track and kept this one short. She sings in her own perspective as a woman who is freeing herself from all restraints. Two thumbs up.
The Beautiful Ones - Joined by Sisquo of Dru Hill, Mariah covers a Prince classic. I've never heard the original so I can't compare, but this song is amazing. Some people might complain about the slow pace, but I love it since it builds and builds to a great ending. I think Prince would be proud.
Outside - A great finish. Mariah alludes to being the outsider because of her biracial heritage, but the lyrics are relatable to anybody who has ever felt left out because of who they are. "You'll always be somewhere on the outside." Once again she builds up to a gospel like ending.
Although there's only one song I'm not that crazy about, the rest of the album is really amazing. At the time of it's release, Butterfly was seen as too much of a departure from Mariah's early work and she lost a good chunk of her original fanbase. On the plus side, she was able to hook new ones who would have never given her a second listening before and she managed to show her love for Hip Hop without sounding gimmicky. She'd stumble through her next few albums, but rise again with The Emancipation of Mimi. Let's not forget that this very album led her to that emancipation.
Great album!
2009-07-20 - My other review got deleted,so this ones going to be alittle shorter. Overall, I think this album is good, but I do think 3 of her other albums are alot better. Daydream, MusicBox, EMC2. I do think the record companies pressured her into being a bit more edgy.Because this was touted as Mariah's makeover. I agree with the reviewer from down below. It's very rememnsicent of janet jackson's velvet rope and Madonna's ray of light.I do think those two cds are alittle better. There's also an interesting youtube video on which she talks about Madonna's ray of light. It almost seems as if they were waiting to see how successful the competition would be. Which i think are the last time those two artists really hit their creative peaks. I do remember MTV always playing this album's videos all the time, and this cd just screams 1997. It brings back good memories. ok,ok! Enough chit chat, lets talk about the songs! The roof, excellent track/video! Really good song. I also loved the 4thof july. I also think that Butterfly has to be one of best ballads of all time. It's truly mariah at her best. My All is an excellent video/song. But doesn't compare to butterfly to me! Honey is a great jam track that has a good club/rap feel to it. and i think it will stand the test of time. Overall, if your thinking about puchasing this cd do it!
