Alicia Keys "Songs in A Minor" Album

	Title: Songs in A Minor Format: Album Label: J-Records Released: 2001-06-26
Buy Songs in A Minor!

Tracklisting & Lyrics

1. Piano & 1 (intro) lyrics »
2. Girlfriend lyrics »
3. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? lyrics »
4. Fallin' lyrics »
5. Troubles lyrics »
6. Rock Wit U lyrics »
7. A Woman's Worth lyrics »
8. Jane Doe lyrics »
9. Goodbye lyrics »
10. The Life lyrics »
11. Mr. Man (featuring Jimmy Cozier) lyrics »
12. Never Felt This Way (interlude) lyrics »
13. Butterflies lyrics »
14. Why Do I Feel So Sad lyrics »
15. Caged Bird (outro) lyrics »

Reviews

She may be beautiful, but Alicia Keys is a musician first and foremost. She plants herself firmly behind the piano keys on her debut, unlike many of the booty-waggin' junior divas who are crowding the R&B videoscape these days. Though many of the tracks on Songs in A Minor are embellished with adolescent angst, this 20-year-old's substantial, gorgeously soul-drenched alto putties the cracks between notes with astonishing ease. "Fallin'," the album's first single, showcases Keys at her best. She wails plaintively and passionately over rolling blues chords, in the tradition of the greats that this young talent clearly wants to align herself with--Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, and Aretha Franklin. She swoops and soars over the spicy, flamenco-fueled melody that opens "Mr. Mann," one of the many winning tracks gathered here. And she digs deep into a remake of the beloved Prince B-side, "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" packing more heat into her melismatic wails than most singers twice her age. ~Sylvia W. Chan, Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Alicia Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, made a significant impact upon its release in the summer of 2001, catapulting the young singer/songwriter to the front of the neo-soul pack. Critics and audiences were captivated by a 19-year-old singer whose taste and influences ran back further than her years, encompassing everything from Prince to smooth '70s soul, even a little Billie Holiday. In retrospect, it was the idea of Alicia Keys that was as attractive as the record, since soul fans were hungering for a singer/songwriter who seemed part of the tradition without being as spacy as Macy Gray or as hippie mystic as Erykah Badu while being more reliable than Lauryn Hill. Keys was all that, and she had style to spare - elegant, sexy style accentuated by how she never oversang, giving the music a richer feel. It was rich enough to compensate for some thinness in the writing - though it was a big hit, "Fallin'" doesn't have much body to it - which is a testament to Keys' skills as a musician. And, the fact is, even though there are some slips in the writing, there aren't many, and the whole thing remains a startling assured, successful debut that deserved its immediate acclaim and is already aging nicely. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

As only the most cloth-eared indie die-hard would fail to understand, these are extraordinary times for R&B music. Just when it appears the genre's talent has reached saturation point, another unignorable prodigy appears: usually young and female, almost invariably self-possessed to a terrifying degree. Welcome, then, Alicia Keys, this month's marvel off the celestial production line. Even by current standards, Keys is special: it's hard to remember a debutant making such a deserved impact since Erykah Badu emerged in the mid-'90s. 'Songs In A Minor' is, however, even better than 'Baduizm', a gorgeous and ambitious melding of classic soul structures and values to hyper-modern production technique.
Besides writing and producing most of the album herself (and sounding a little like Aretha Franklin in the process, especially on the killer finale of 'Lovin U'), Manhattan native Keys' particular twist to the formula is her piano-playing. It's her cascading theme that underpins the astonishingly cool 'Jane Doe', a collaboration with superstar songwriter Kandi Burruss (the woman behind TLC's benchmark 'No Scrubs') that's as infectious a tune bar 'Get Ur Freak On' you'll hear all year.
Then there's Keys' contact book. The presence of Kandi and producer Jermaine Dupri, who helms the punchiest track, 'Girlfriend', are predictable enough. But Prince, who writes the breathy 'How Come You Don't Call Me', and Isaac Hayes, who contributes superbly plush orchestral arrangements to 'Rock Wit U', are more surprising visitors. The old school music biz clout of J Records boss and executive producer Clive Davis undoubtedly helped pull some strings. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine anyone Shed Seven, perhaps not wanting to be drawn into this mighty new star's sphere of influence. Great record. ~John Mulvey, Dot Music