All that glitters is not gold.

Mariah Carey invalidated the age-old adage with 2001's tarnished attempt, Glitter, and continues to disprove it with new release Charmbracelet.

Charmbracelet does successfully mend some of Glitter's overblown funk flaws with sparkling success but still fails to fully utilize Carey's famous five-octave range.

Carey whispers, coos and sighs throughout the 15 tracks but leaves listeners yearning for the assertive and guttural wailings of earlier works. In refusing to flow with her phenomenal talent, Carey seems to deliberately guard herself from criticism.

Charmbracelet is a make-it or break-it album for Carey, who suffered an emotional breakdown last year and desperately needs to redeem her diva status. Lyrically, Charmbracelet showcases Carey's independent woman guise, but self-conscious vocals suggest that she's not yet ready to return to the spotlight.

Several melodramatic ballads, such as the Def Leppard cover "Bringin' on the Heartache," standout as lustrous keepers; the rest of Charmbracelet is a mucky mess of mid-tempo R&B numbers that suffer from an over-abundance of guest rappers.

Carey is a gem of a performer and a proper diva in every sense of the word. She is capable of better material than Charmbracelet's sludge.

Maybe with a smidgen of success, Carey will gain the confidence to glitter once again. Grade: D