She is talked about as a female Stevie Wonder, but he is held in such high regard because he was a pioneer. You get a sense of her huge talent but it feels like in trying to make a modern classic that is in keeping with Keys' huge stature, they have played it too safe. It is a frustrating, mixed bag of an album. As if reading your mind she states "it's about time for me to shine" and obligingly does in a big and bold way. "The Thing About Love" a beautiful centre piece. Songs In A Minor (2001) At the age of twenty (a minor, get it), Keys nodded to neo-soul by incorporating a variety of retro stylings: 'Rock Wit U' is a nod to Isaac Hayess wah-wah and string-drenched love ballads, and Hayes himself co-arranged the track the single 'Fallin' is a 12/8 piano dirge which sounds suspiciously like James Browns 'Its A Mans Mans Mans World. "Wreckless Love" is Keys at her most funky and sexy her voice soaring above a crescendo of jazzy drums and horns. The Hammond and horns underpin a huge vocal performance that has more emotion squeezed into it than all the ballads together. The modern soul sound that they seem to be searching for suddenly comes right on the seriously classy "Where Do We Go From Here". "I Need You"'s off beat rhythms make you prick up your ears and listen. When Keys and the team throw caution to the wind the album begins to sound fresh. Lyrically soft rocker "Sure Looks Good To Me" presents the case against and is simply a stream of howling clichés. With that voice and her piano skills she really needs NOTHING else as witnessed on the only redeeming track 'Prelude to a Kiss' whoever thought that leaden drum beat was a good idea.
This is a good album that has a cool vibe to it. Similarly, "You'll See Me Again" could be from a book of Prince's bad ballads. Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2021. Numbers like this, "Tell You Somethin'", "Superwoman" and "Lesson Learned" are slick, safe, and uninspiring. Ann Mincieli, Engineer - Ann Mincieli, Recording Engineer - Steve Mostyn, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Vincent Creusot, 2nd Engineer - Kerry Brothers, Programmer.
No more so than on the monster single "No-One". Listen to this album and more than 70 million songs with your unlimited streaming plans. Sassy opener "Go Ahead" feels like a statement of intent but the attitude is sadly lacking elsewhere on the album which often feels more Whitney than Stevie. Her celebrated voice is pushed to the fore, often relegating the prodigious piano playing to the background, save on "Prelude To A Kiss" where they go hand in hand. With her third studio album, As I Am, Alicia Keys has dropped the urban flavours in the previous outing in favour of a more mature soul sound.
0 kommentar(er)
