Mariah Carey, Against All Odds | COVERS

In the 32nd edition of COVERS (2024), Mariah Carey delivers a compelling rendition of “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” originally performed by Phil Collins.

Ah, it’s time to get cozy and cover up! In COVERS, we highlight a musician or band covering songs by another musician (likely a popular musician). COVERS focuses solely on the musician who covers.  It is open to established musicians and musicians who may not be as well-known. In the 32^nd edition of COVERS (2024), Mariah Carey delivers a compelling rendition of “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” originally performed by Phil Collins.

“How can you just walk away from me / When all I can do is watch you leave?” Mariah Carey is one of the best vocalists ever.  Her instrument is truly elite.  Like her big-voiced female contemporaries, Carey has been an avid coverer. She can take someone else’s song and make it her own. On her 1999 album, Rainbow, she covered the Phil Collins classic, “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now”. Collins had massive success with the original, peaking at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning a Grammy (he was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song). The point is, tackling “Against All Odds,” Carey had ‘big shoes to fill.’ Fill them she does and then some.

“So, take a look at me now

‘Cause there’s just an empty space

And there’s nothing left here to remind me

Just the memory of your face.”

The sound of “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” gets an update from the original.  Even so, Carey and fellow producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis don’t have to do anything dramatic.  With stellar source material regarding sound, it’s merely reproducing and tweaking carefully. Carey delivers poised vocals in the first and second verse and chorus (you can argue it’s one big verse).  Carey doesn’t break a sweat, nor does she need to. She merely sings beautifully. The drum riff ups the ante before the third verse.  Carey lets loose more during the final verse, yet never loses control or dares over-sing. The final extended chorus finds her riffing more. She shows off the power of her voice and her impressive range. She still does so with control.  With a song as excellent in original form as “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)”, Mariah Carey superbly covers it.

Mariah Carey // Rainbow // Columbia // 1999

Mariah Carey, Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now): Covers No. 32 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner /The Musical Hype; Columbia; Alan Cordero, Ba Tik, Kampus Production, Matteo Milan, SHVETS production from Pexels; OpenClipart-Vectors, StockSnap, Vicki Hamilton from Pixabay]