Rainbow

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Carey is a musical earth angel. Claimed by two worlds--pure pop and urban soul--she chose, a few albums ago, to integrate hip-hop into her sound. Her mostly entertaining new CD features cameos from a host of rappers, including Snoop Dogg and the gruff-voiced Mystikal. Some of Carey's lyrics are revealing: "I gravitated towards a patriarch," the now divorced diva sings in Petals. Some of her music, however, is less pointed and could use more grit. Carey longs for the hard black soul of the street, but she hovers a bit above it, heat shimmering off the asphalt.

--By Christopher John Farley