* Mariah Carey

BUTTERFLY

(Colombia)

Carey merits some praise for writing 11 of her new CD's 12 songs. But not much. The CD's generic new-jill arrangements ("Honey," for example) and run-of-the-mill quiet storms ("Babydoll," "Fourth of July") could be voiced without disappointment by an old budget-cost first-timer -- so why hire the very expensive Carey to sing them?

Other than the Portuguese-style fado harp that accompanies Carey in "My All" and the Europop chimes that introduce "The Roof" and break it down, there's not one single standout moment, not one song in which the musicians play directly to Carey's singing rather than to anybody's. Other than her towering aria in "Breakdown" there's hardly one moment at which Carey's singing demands attention. This is puzzling. Certainly Carey wants her lyrics about realizing love and not having it to matter (even if they read just about as ho-hum as the music that carries them). And certainly the singer who brilliantly quoted the Tom Tom Club's 1982 hit "Genius of Love" in her own 1995 hit knows the chemistry of a memorable pop moment. Perhaps she gave her chemistry set to Tommy Mottola as part of the divorce settlement?

-- Michael Freedberg