In Brief

* * * Mariah Carey, “MTV Unplugged EP,” Columbia. Since she hasn’t toured and almost never appears live, this seven-song collection culled from her recent MTV concert is like gold to fans starved for live Carey material. Accompanied by a stirring vocal group and an acoustic band, she bursts out of her pop shackles and delivers a searing, gospel-style performance that’s several notches above anything she’s done in studio sessions. All the material is from her two albums except an impassioned remake of the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.”