your money's worth,there's no sign of this fantastic femme fallin'! (Songs In A Minor - Alicia Keys)

Member Name: popscycho

Product:	Songs In A Minor - Alicia Keys
Date:	22/10/03 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent vocals showing range of emotions, Excellent music & piano mixed in

Disadvantages: She could have made abit more effort for th cover(only joking!)

Wow!that's all I can say after listening to this collection of songs by the beautiful and talented alicia keys!

there are so many things to say about her outstanding debut 'songs in a minor'i might just forget some of it!

first,the artist herself.Alicia keys is a young,very very beautiful singer from new york.yet she is not just another rnb/pop diva.her main abstraction is that she is a classically trained pianist,the piano accompanying her and her voice throughout 'songs in a minor',sometimes on it's own,sometimes almost lost in beats and melodies.

her other instrument,her voice,is excellent,and she is able to sing the softest,sweetest melodies,velvety soulful vocals and scream with musical pain effortlessley.

than there's her music.'songs in a minor' is only a debut album,but keys has managed to produce a scope of music infusing pop,rnb,soul,gospel,jazz and blues.When i say produce i usually mean sing,maybe the odd bit of song writing here and there being a female
vocalist...

but no.

she is 22 years old,she plays the piano,and she writes(since 14 years of age)arranges,composes and produces the majority of her material.whatever she hasn't she convinces the listener she could have done anyway.

as soon as the intro of 'piano & i' starts you know this is something special.short it may be,but it's excellent,with alicia mixing gospel like harmonies and hums,a familiar classical piano melody and her talking over the top saying she is 'a little more ready for the world'and to 'feel her'.no problem ms.keys.

it then leads into the swirling 'a-a-a-a' of 'girlfriend',the first proper song on 'songs in a minor'.alicia sings about her lover being friends with a girl and being jealous,but there's no knifes out on this track,it is very soulful and has a guest appearance by jermaine dupri(one of a few collabora

tions on this album) playing the man in question.your in trouble mate!

'how come you don't call me?' starts with a piano and alicia singing louldy.she then wonders into a tale of how she 'keeps someone's picture beside her bed' and 'why he doesn't call her?'.silly boy.still,it's very good,with alicia showing her vocal skills by scream-singing at the top of her voice in certain parts when she is addressing the issue of why this scoundrel would want to 'break her heart' and why does he want to end the relationship?the music has a certain piano bar feel to it.anyone can realte to this song,especially women.

'Fallin' is the stand out track on 'songs in a minor'.mixing gospel and piano it is an excellent song showcasing alicia's voice while the lyrics are simple but very effective,alicia stating she keeps 'falling in and out of love'with her subject who makes her 'feel so confused' making her feel both good and bad,contradicting situations of how the person can cause her 'so much pain yet also pleasure'.the end part of the song is a demonstration of what keys does a lot on this album which is making vocals become like instruments and mixing them into the music,as she turns her gospel choir background into a cascading spectacle while she carries on stretching her vocals to their best.

this vocal/musical mix-up is more evident on the next track,'troubles'.with a 'street at night' feel to it it ambles along with alicia insisting that you 'gotta let your troubles go'.a great song to listen to when your feeling down as it mellows your mood.

'rock wit u' again mixes music with vocals more with it's somewhat lengthy intro.alicia's voice is on a lower note in this song giving it a sexier,moody edge.because she mixes her vocals with the music there is a danger of repition becoming a problem,and this does happe
n her
e,the listener by the end of the song feeling a little tired of 'i wanna rock wit u,no matter what we dooo...'.I find myself singing it whenever I fancy someone.

'A woman's worth',arguably the best known song off the album bar 'fallin' has a wonderful intro,with an oboe like instrument leading from a synth.but then it all switches into a more deluded frame of sound,and the significant lyrics making it stand out attacking her lover about treating a woman right as the most important thing,not buying her presents or 'taking her on a cruise around the world'(baby you know she's worth it,very tongue'n'cheek ms.keys)
it's definetly one of the more memorable tracks on the album and signals the 'middle' part of the record where no tracks stand out as much as previous ones(bar 'goodbye').

'Jane doe'is another rant at a friend this time for stirrin up her relationship with her man.but what if he is cheatin we all ask?didn't her friend say 'he's cheatin and she wants alicia to leave him?'.well don't listen,for alicia has spotted her freind 'checkin her man out'and she'll stay with him.poor jane doe,she probably never came out again,or maybe there's no such name.given the accusations and the rhyming of the name with another word for prostitute alicia maybe just trying to give her 'freind' a more obvious identity...

we have now passed the middle of the album and things are looking good.a piano leads the listener into the sad but beautiful(just like to a lesser extent the spice girls' version)'goodbye',a tale about alicia letting go of a loved one because he ain't treating her right.a calm,emotionally pure ballad,it's a highlight on the album.her voice is on the softer side(showing she can sing with a soft voice as well as a soulful one).
It outlines the finishing feelings of a relationship wonderf
ully and l
eaves you with a tear in your eye,particularly those who have been in the same situation(and will find this song very easy to relate to).

everybody feels like life isn't worth living once in a while,a constant struggle to survive,and keys highlights this in her 10th track,'the life'.when skimming through the song titles it is very easy to think 'the life'is going to be about living the high life.there is a hint of this in the melody's faintly exotic feel,yet no,it's to do with 'trying to survive'and being 'taken away because she can't live her life no more'.bloody hell ms.keys,your young ,beautiful and have an exceptional talent,why would you ever want to do that?

still,for anyone who relates to it(i do more then any other song on this album)it really gets the point across with keys'mournful wailing in the second chorus and poignant lyrics such as 'pillow case is wet from crying'making get it a great track.

after being dumbfounded by sadness a very sexy,arabic/latin climbing piece of music picks you up and throws you into the sultry vocals of jimmy cozier on which 'mr.man'collaborates with keys to produce a very cool track about alicia wanting to be faithful to her mr.man but feeling attracted to the character played by cozier who wants 'a meeting at the bar to take place'.poor alicia,she's in a dilemma,but there's no sign of the album fading...

the very best moment on 'songs in a minor'comes from the interlude to 'butterflyz'of 'never felt this way'.a song in itself,albeit quite short,it is the most beautiful song on the album.a tinkling,sad-toned piano leads you in,reminding me of that of the sad piece played in the carlos saura film 'cria cuervos'which higlights memories of being a child.this is equally apparent on alicia's interlude,although when she starts singing her subject matter is again
about her love
r...

'there will never come a day,you will never hear me say,that I want,or need to be without you...i wanna give my all...'

the song then begins to escalate,with keys singing with raw emotion in her voice 'baby just hold me...simply control me...'and 'when I look into your eyes,then I realize all I need is you in my life...'.up until this point is hard to believe how beautiful it really is,the emotion in her voice,the mood,a perfect song to play when next to your lover in bed having just woken up,gazing into eachother's eyes,until the escalation makes you both coil round eachother.after the line 'all i need is you in my life'the song picks up,having a more happy,positive feel,with alicia chirpily singing 'cos i never felt this way about lovin...'then sluring into the background saying 'it feels so,good'with a satisfaction in her voice that leads you to the main song 'butterflyz'.it really is just all one big song.'butterflyz'carries on the theme of feeling for someone with a lot of emotion(giving them butterflies),although music then blends with the piano to give it a really summery feel.the combination of tracks 12 & 13 is amazing and the defineate highlight of 'songs in a minor'.

for all those deeply in love listening to this it would probably be a good idea to skip 'why do i feel so sad?'and save it for later.rather then be about the love split mentioned in 'goodbye','why do i feel so sad?'deals with the end of a freindship.if there's one thing that stands out on this song,it's alicia's voice.the song is about how the relationship has changed and the end is inevitable,with alicia knowing she has to 'say goodbye' because 'in times things would change'yet not understanding 'why she feels so sad?'.by the time you reach the 2nd chorus you'll be crying your eyes out,especially if you
have been in a simi
lar situation(hear,hear).this isn't helped by keys'voice which by the last part of the song(chorus being repeated with backing vocals) is superb and her painful screams and a voice full of raw emotion and pain wipe the floor with the track's very sad feeling.not one for a day when your'e feeling good but nevertheless a brilliant song.

after such a torrent of musical excellence in the last 3 tracks keys still doesn't give up.'caged bird'is quite a simple song showcasing alicia's vocal potential because it only has a faint piano alongside.Alicia sings about feeling trapped,like a caged bird,and wanting to be set free.'everyone comes to stare at me with so much joy yet they don't know how i feel inside'.haven't we all felt like that before?

the album ends on a high with the aretha franlklin style hidden track 'lovin' you'.it sounds very like 'natural woman'(which could explain why i thought it was a cover version)yet it is keys' last blast of musical excellence,with a jolly good tune backed by gospel choir and keys singing 'lovin you is eazeaaaaaaay'with a big smile on her beautiful face.

the only thing i can say is BUY IT!
Oh,and when is the next one due ms.keys?

brilliant!

oh and thank u to whoever gave me the crown,i'm touched,I really love this album and wanted to write a review on it for ages but didn't know it was here!

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