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On her secong release, One Wish, pop songbird Deborah Cox has shuttered the absurdly high, upper-octave squeal that is her trademark. Her nearly dog-whistle pitch was a wonder of technique--the first dozen times. But overuse quickly rendered it little more than a novelty. Here, thankfully, Cox employs that particular vocal style only twice, burying it deep in the mix. Nevertheless,One Wish is burdened by the same shortcomings as Cox's other albums: a cookie-cutter approach to divadom that relies more on synthesizers than soul.

There are some small steps forward here. "We Can't Be Friends," her gospel-style workout with RL, is a message to a dead friend that's considerably more reflective than her standard pop confections. And "Looking In" mines rare personal territory, as Carey sings about smiling "through a thousand tears" and harboring insecurities. There's also a mature restraint to Carey's vocal approach in all the songs; besides trimming the squeals, she's traded emotive, soaring crescendos for a more natural musical flow. But then she negates her progress by covering Journey's "One Wish," one of the most cloying songs ever to hit the Top 40.

The real shame of Cox's still-young career--she's only twenty-five--is that an abundance of singing ability is wasted on the drivel being churned out by her arsenal of writers and producers. She can stack multiple parts into a song like "Just When You Think I'm Over," or blend effortlessly with RL on "We Can't Be Friends," but the material takes that skill nowhere. "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" is the only real up-tempo number on Daydream, and even its single groove is borrowed--though from a good source: Tom Club's wiggly "Genius of Love." It's clear from the way Carey has modified her vocal dynamics here that she is the member of her creative team with the most vision. But until she exercises that control more aggressively, she'll keep putting out albums like One Wish--showcases for a terrific voice with nothing worthy to sing.


Deborah Cox


One Wish

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