Someone's Ugly Daughter

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Someone's Ugly Daughter
Chick - Someone's Ugly Daughter.jpg
Studio album by
Chick
ReleasedSeptember 5, 1995 (1995-09-05)
Recorded1995
Studio
GenreAlternative rock
Length36:18
Label
ProducerChick
Singles from Someone's Ugly Daughter
  1. "Malibu"
    Released: August 22, 1995
  2. "Demented"
    Released: 1995

Someone's Ugly Daughter is an alternative rock album by American band Chick. It was released on September 5, 1995, through Epic Records and 550 Music.

On September 27, 2020, American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey revealed in her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey that she secretly recorded and produced the album with her friend Clarissa Dane, under the moniker "Chick". The album was recorded at the time Carey was simultaneously recording her fifth studio album Daydream (1995).[1]

Background[]

I was exploring my musical range, but I was also filled with rage. It’s always been a challenge for me to acknowledge and express anger. My personal life was suffocating during Daydream, and I was in desperate need of release.

—Carey, in her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey.[2]

Mariah Carey worked on Someone's Ugly Daughter while recording her 1995 album Daydream. Carey originally provided lead vocals until she was told by record label executives that the album could not be released in that form, due to worries it could damage her image and thriving career. As a compromise, Carey enlisted friend Clarissa Dane to provide lead vocals whilst leaving her own background vocals on the tracks.[3]

Upon revealing her role in the album's recording, Mariah stated she was looking for the original recordings of the album with her lead vocals.[4] In December 2020, Carey confirmed in an Apple Music interview that she had found the version of the album with her vocals but was still looking for the original board mixes.[5] The album was recorded in The Hit Factory in New York and Carey stated in her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey that,

"I created an alter-ego artist and her Ziggy Stardust-like spoof band. My character was a dark-haired brooding Goth girl [a version of her, Bianca, showed up a few years later in the ‘Heartbreaker’ video] who wrote and sang ridiculous tortured songs.” Carey also expressed in her memoir that she "looked forward to doing her alter-ego sessions after recording Daydream each night".[6]

According to Walter Afanasieff, one of Carey's writing partners for the album, Carey originally titled the project Eel Tree.[7] He went on to say that with the project, "Carey had an idea built around Malibu Barbie".[7] He also stated that Carey was inspired by bands like Hole, Garbage, and Sleater-Kinney and "channeled frustrations about her marriage into the music".[7]

Label response[]

Carey's label at the time, Sony Music Entertainment, were not happy with her choice of music and "refused to release the record with Carey’s vocals as the lead".[7] Afanasieff stated that "Sony renamed the band from Eel Tree to Chick, and made Carey—who co-wrote every song except for the cover of Cheap Trick’s "Surrender" — sanitize many of the more explicit lyrics".[7] He also stated that this is what prompted them to bring Chick in to record the songs with her vocals.[7] Pitchfork writer, Rafael Canton, reiterated Afanasieff by agreeing that Sony "saw the album as too much of a deviation from [Carey's] carefully crafted pop image".[7] Carey herself noted on Sony's response to removing her vocals from the album stating in 2020 that,

"I got kind of in trouble for making this album — the alternative album — because back then, everything was super-controlled by the powers that be. I never really was like, 'Oh, we’re going to release it' but then I was like, I should release it. I should do it under an alias. Let people discover it and whatever, but that got squashed".[7]

Canton noted that the album was "a sign of what Carey could do without the interference of executives" and her then-husband and CEO of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola.[7] He went on to say that she would eventually "take more control of her creative direction, spearheading albums like her 2005 comeback, The Emancipation of Mimi".[7]

Cover[]

The cover artwork was created by Sony Music's art department, based on concept art from Carey. Carey wrote in her memoir that, "I wrote the title with pink lipstick over a Polaroid picture Tommy had taken of a giant dead cockroach in Italy".[7]

Release[]

In 2020, after Carey revealed information on the album, Pitchfork reported that copies "soon garnered up to $800 on Amazon and eBay".[7] Outside of physical copies, the album is not available on streaming services.[7]

Track listing[]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Joe"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
  • W. Chester
4:26
2."Love Is a Scam"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
3:04
3."Violent"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
3:03
4."Malibu"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
  • W. Chester
2:46
5."Demented"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
3:33
6."Freak"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
  • W. Chester
2:18
7."Agony"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
3:58
8."Surrender" (Cheap Trick cover)4:15
9."Hermit"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
2:43
10."Prom Queen"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
3:39
11."Stork: Orphan In My Room"
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson
  • D. Sue
  • W. Vlad
2:41
Total length:36:26

Personnel[]

Adapted from the Someone's Ugly Daughter liner notes.[8]

  • Chick - production, art direction
  • Clarissa Dane-Davidson – lead vocals, writing (tracks 1-7, 8-11)
  • D. Sue – background vocals, writing (tracks 1-7, 8-11)
  • W. Vlad – drums, writing (tracks 1-7, 8-11)
  • W. Chester – guitar, writing (tracks 1, 4, 6)
  • Mann - bass
  • M. Kim – background vocals
  • Dana Jon Chappelle - engineering
  • Jay Healy - engineering, mixing
  • Andy Smith - assistant engineering
  • Kurt Lundvall - assistant engineering
  • Glen Marchese - assistant engineering (track 2)
  • Bob Ludwig - mastering
  • Chris Austopchuk - art direction
  • Tracy Boychuk - design

Notes

  • Aside from Clarissa Dane and technical staff, those involved in the project used pseudonyms, meaning the identities of those credited are not known.
  • W. Vlad is Walter Afanasieff, who was Carey's main collaborator at the time of the project's recording. W. is the first initial of his professional name and Vladimir is his birth name.[7]
  • D. Sue is believed to be Carey, due to the name being credited as both a backing vocalist and as a writer on every original track, consistent with Carey's comments on the creation of the project. Carey is also believed to be credited on the project as Chick, the name listed as being responsible for the album's production and art direction, consistent with Carey's comments on the creation of the record.
  • The identity of W. Chester is Gary Cirimelli (guitars). The name is a pun on Westchester County, the location of Carey's home at the time.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Kreps, Daniel (September 27, 2020). "Mariah Carey Reveals Secret Alternative Album Recorded During 'Daydream' Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "Mariah Carey - Twitter". Twitter. September 27, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Blistein, Jon (September 29, 2020). "Mariah Carey Discusses Her Secret Nineties Alt-Rock Album on 'Colbert'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Twitter - "Fun fact 2..."". Twitter. September 28, 2020. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "Mariah Carey has found her unreleased alt-rock album". Retro Pop Magazine. December 8, 2020. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  6. ^ Spanos, Brittany (October 5, 2020). "Mariah Carey's Former Engineer Details Secret Alt-Rock Album Recording". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Canton, Rafael (2021-05-21). "The Story Behind Mariah Carey's Secret '90s Alt-Rock Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Someone's Ugly Daughter". Discogs. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
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