Alicia Keys

Songs in A Minor

Old-skool soul for fans of the good stuff

Review Score:

(6/10)
Alicia Keys is making refreshing music in these times where true soul music has almost died out to be replaced by up-tempo, more urban and slick RnB and bling-bling. Alicia Keys takes inspiration from the greats, playing piano well, writing her own songs and laying out beautiful blues foundations for her soulful, acrobatic vocals.

The two major highlights of this CD are of course the classic single 'Fallin' and less predictably the beautiful 'Why Do I Feel So Sad' which is tucked away as the penultimate of the album's 15 tracks. Unfortunately around the middle of the album there are some more identakit soul track that kind of fade into the album without individual trace. Also the opener 'Piano and I' which brilliantly uses a classic theme on the piano is regrettably short and some of the more up-tempo numbers like 'Jane Doe' sound a little tired musically and lyrically, not seeming to break much new ground.

There's a definite strong start and end to this album - tracks 1-5 are excellent and so are the last few, but in between some of the filler should have been edited out. However Alicia Keys is an undeniable music talent with a great voice and singing style and will come as a treat to fans of old-skool soul, and this is a good album.

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