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 Alicia
Keys has been in the soul music kitchen cooking up grooves for her second
album The Diary of Alicia Keys. What she came up with was a blend
of funk, soul and hip hop that shows where her roots are. The music has
a little more edge than today’s blend, termed “neo-soul”;
and that razor-blade edge gives it it’s dose of funk - simple but
heavy drum grooves propel the tunes, violin licks ala “Saturday Night
Fever” soundtrack disco, and piano underneath it all. Instrumentally,
Keys shows her ability to really nail the soul genre- no contrived groove
here - Marvin Gaye would be proud. Alicia’s “diary” consists
of heartbreak and crush entries mostly, not too much introspective musing
to be found in her musical notebook. The catchy hooks that come with all
this emotional hoopla can be a lot of fun to sing along and relate to
but 14 tracks is a little much to be repeating the same scenario. Call
one a feminist but Miss Keys should be hip to the fact that a man is not
essential for breathing. The track that stands out on this disc of groove
and emotional instability is“Diary”, a slow jam with a simple
story line (keeping secrets between two lovers) that allows the piano,
drums and guitar to breathe and groove. Tony Toni Tone’ accompanies
Keys as the male love interest and it’s a simple soulful vocal match
with some “call and response” licks that make it all melt -
just what good soul music should do. Alicia is etching her name on the
wall in the soul music kitchen and joining the ranks of Erykah Badu and
Jill Scott quite nicely. Welcome her in.
2004 1-42 Online
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