Mariah Carey's "secret grunge album": Chick - "Someones Ugly Daughter" (1995)
While promoting her new studio album Here For It All, pop legend Mariah Carey has been answering questions about a "secret grunge album" that she recorded way back in 1995, under the pseudonym Chick. This is not the first time Carey has mentioned this long-lost recording, but she largely avoided talking about it publicly for 25 years after the fact. In her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the singer finally began to share details about the alternative rock recording. More recently, Carey spoke with fellow r&b artist SZA on the debut episode of Apple Music's Flowers, during which SZA played snippets of two songs from the unreleased album and begged Carey to release it, saying, "We need it!". On The Tonight Show, Carey told Jimmy Fallon that she has "always regretted not putting it out", and Fallon played a snippet of the song "Prom Queen". Questlove went as far as to call it Carey's best record! Carey has teased a possible release of the album, but has mentioned uncertainty about the ownership rights, and problems with access to the original source recordings.
The Chick album, titled Someones Ugly Daughter, actually was released on CD and cassette in September of 1995, on Sony's 550 Music/Epic imprint. However, Carey's lead vocals were removed from the album, leaving only her backing vocals, and Carey's name is not mentioned anywhere in the packaging or credits. The lead vocals were rerecorded by Carey's friend Clarissa Dane, who was billed as C. Dane-Davidson, and credited with co-songwriting. Most of the other credited names are pseudonymous: D. Sue, credited with co-songwriting and backing vocals, is presumably Carey herself; drummer and co-songwriter W. Vlad was actually Walter Afanasieff, who was Carey's usual collaborator during the '90's; and W. Chester was actually guitarist Gary Cirimelli. The production was credited to Chick, which could refer to any or all of the people involved.
Someones Ugly Daughter died a quick commercial death, as the album (as well as its two accompanying singles and videos) received almost no promotional support from Sony. Carey's label was fearful that the defiant Chick album would damage -- if not destroy -- the singer's lucrative pop diva image, and refused to allow her to release the album under her own name, or even allow any indication of her involvement with the album. The people at Sony reportedly "just wanted the album to go away" -- and they got their wish for decades. After Carey's memoir was published in 2020 and her fans learned of the released album's existence, the long-unavailable Someones Ugly Daughter became an often pricey collector's item.
Someones Ugly Daughter was recorded concurrently with Carey's diamond-selling Daydream album from 1995. Although that mega-seller marked Carey's transition to a more modern and personal form of rhythm & blues than her previous releases, the far more "indie"-sounding dirty-rock of Chick seems a world away from it. The Chick album's tracks were recorded during late-night sessions following the Daydream recordings, during which Carey asked her band to play with a more grunge-y sound, in keeping with the alternative rock which was in vogue at the time. In her memoir, Carey explained that she was "filled with rage" at the time over her personal troubles, and "was in desperate need of release".
And it certainly sounds as if Carey did have plenty of rage to release through Someones Ugly Daughter, which is full of angry songs about sexual ambivalence, disillusionment, and isolation. However, on the released version of the album, it sounds more like Mariah's friend Clarissa was releasing her rage for her, while Mariah was standing behind her and wearing a disguise. If Clarissa Dane had the same vocal range as Carey, you wouldn't know it from her recorded vocals here, but Dane does convincingly play the part of an alt-rock riot grrrl from the '90's. Her vocals often resemble those of Courtney Love, or a particularly indignant Joan Jett. The instrumentation from Carey's band also sounds convincingly like that of other bands from that genre and era. On some songs, it sounds like there was an intention to mess with the minds of Carey's fans. The opening track "Joe" begins with what sounds like some kind of pop song intro, before it suddenly turns hard and vitriolic. "Love Is A Scam" and "Hermit" sneak up on the listener with sudden bursts of speed.
The best track in the bunch is "Demented", which resembles a song by Garbage, until Dane snarls "I crave you" in a Courtney Love-like voice for the chorus. "Agony" comes in second, thanks to its particularly cool guitar sound.
Some notable oddities: some tracks, especially "Violent" and "Malibu", are overloaded with glib pop-cultural references that mostly sound inept. The latter song is reminiscent of female-fronted bands like Letters To Cleo and Veruca Salt, and also seemed to predict Avril Lavigne's pop-punk sound from the '00's. The references to transgenderism found in "Freak" and "Prom Queen" sound strangely contemporary. The album's lightest moment comes in the form of a fairly straightforward alt-rock rendition of Cheap Trick's "Surrender".
The released version of Someones Ugly Daughter does make an impression, especially if you're a fan of '90's female post-punk. Still, it truly does sound like the main singer was just acting as a front to hide the identity of the real artist. If Mariah Carey's version sees the light of day, it will be interesting to hear the pop diva's voice dishing out the album's hostility.
Chick "Someones Ugly Daughter" (550 Music/Epic BK 67343) 1995
Track Listing:
1. Joe
2. Love Is A Scam
3. Violent
4. Malibu
5. Demented
6. Freak
7. Agony
8. Surrender
9. Hermit
10. Prom Queen
11. Stork: Orphan In My Room
The Chick album, titled Someones Ugly Daughter, actually was released on CD and cassette in September of 1995, on Sony's 550 Music/Epic imprint. However, Carey's lead vocals were removed from the album, leaving only her backing vocals, and Carey's name is not mentioned anywhere in the packaging or credits. The lead vocals were rerecorded by Carey's friend Clarissa Dane, who was billed as C. Dane-Davidson, and credited with co-songwriting. Most of the other credited names are pseudonymous: D. Sue, credited with co-songwriting and backing vocals, is presumably Carey herself; drummer and co-songwriter W. Vlad was actually Walter Afanasieff, who was Carey's usual collaborator during the '90's; and W. Chester was actually guitarist Gary Cirimelli. The production was credited to Chick, which could refer to any or all of the people involved.
Someones Ugly Daughter died a quick commercial death, as the album (as well as its two accompanying singles and videos) received almost no promotional support from Sony. Carey's label was fearful that the defiant Chick album would damage -- if not destroy -- the singer's lucrative pop diva image, and refused to allow her to release the album under her own name, or even allow any indication of her involvement with the album. The people at Sony reportedly "just wanted the album to go away" -- and they got their wish for decades. After Carey's memoir was published in 2020 and her fans learned of the released album's existence, the long-unavailable Someones Ugly Daughter became an often pricey collector's item.
Someones Ugly Daughter was recorded concurrently with Carey's diamond-selling Daydream album from 1995. Although that mega-seller marked Carey's transition to a more modern and personal form of rhythm & blues than her previous releases, the far more "indie"-sounding dirty-rock of Chick seems a world away from it. The Chick album's tracks were recorded during late-night sessions following the Daydream recordings, during which Carey asked her band to play with a more grunge-y sound, in keeping with the alternative rock which was in vogue at the time. In her memoir, Carey explained that she was "filled with rage" at the time over her personal troubles, and "was in desperate need of release".
And it certainly sounds as if Carey did have plenty of rage to release through Someones Ugly Daughter, which is full of angry songs about sexual ambivalence, disillusionment, and isolation. However, on the released version of the album, it sounds more like Mariah's friend Clarissa was releasing her rage for her, while Mariah was standing behind her and wearing a disguise. If Clarissa Dane had the same vocal range as Carey, you wouldn't know it from her recorded vocals here, but Dane does convincingly play the part of an alt-rock riot grrrl from the '90's. Her vocals often resemble those of Courtney Love, or a particularly indignant Joan Jett. The instrumentation from Carey's band also sounds convincingly like that of other bands from that genre and era. On some songs, it sounds like there was an intention to mess with the minds of Carey's fans. The opening track "Joe" begins with what sounds like some kind of pop song intro, before it suddenly turns hard and vitriolic. "Love Is A Scam" and "Hermit" sneak up on the listener with sudden bursts of speed.
The best track in the bunch is "Demented", which resembles a song by Garbage, until Dane snarls "I crave you" in a Courtney Love-like voice for the chorus. "Agony" comes in second, thanks to its particularly cool guitar sound.
Some notable oddities: some tracks, especially "Violent" and "Malibu", are overloaded with glib pop-cultural references that mostly sound inept. The latter song is reminiscent of female-fronted bands like Letters To Cleo and Veruca Salt, and also seemed to predict Avril Lavigne's pop-punk sound from the '00's. The references to transgenderism found in "Freak" and "Prom Queen" sound strangely contemporary. The album's lightest moment comes in the form of a fairly straightforward alt-rock rendition of Cheap Trick's "Surrender".
The released version of Someones Ugly Daughter does make an impression, especially if you're a fan of '90's female post-punk. Still, it truly does sound like the main singer was just acting as a front to hide the identity of the real artist. If Mariah Carey's version sees the light of day, it will be interesting to hear the pop diva's voice dishing out the album's hostility.
Chick "Someones Ugly Daughter" (550 Music/Epic BK 67343) 1995
Track Listing:
1. Joe
2. Love Is A Scam
3. Violent
4. Malibu
5. Demented
6. Freak
7. Agony
8. Surrender
9. Hermit
10. Prom Queen
11. Stork: Orphan In My Room
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