#1 to Infinity [Bonus Track]

Photographers: JoAnn Toy; Kip Meyer; Michael Thompson ; Naomi Kaltman; Laurence Galoud; Frank Peinemann.
Coordinated with her May and July 2015 residency at Las Vegas' Caesar's Palace, #1 to Infinity features all 18 of Mariah Carey's number one pop hits, the basis of those celebratory performances. The anthology presents the songs in chronological order, from "Vision of Love" (1990) through "Touch My Body" (2008), and is therefore the first compilation to combine Carey's Columbia and Island material. Additionally, there's a new breakup song, the first three-and-a-half minutes of which are an elaborate and mystifying set-up for a display of Carey's whistle range. Given the timing, #1 to Infinity is undoubtedly opportunistic, but it updates and improves upon #1's, a 1998 anthology filled out with four previously unreleased songs that, obviously, were not number ones. Many of Carey's lower-performing but just as significant career highlights, such as "Make It Happen" and "I Still Believe," can be found on earlier anthologies like Greatest Hits and The Essential Mariah Carey. ~ Andy Kellman