Songs in a Minor: & Ltd. Edition Remixed/Unplugged

Alicia Keys

In the crowded world of female R&B you need a unique selling point. Songs in A Minor's creator Alicia Keys is no different. She plays the piano. She's classically trained. She was a child prodigy. And at 20 years of age she's incredibly soulful, harking back to the old-skool R&B of Aretha Franklin and even further to that of Nina Simone, with a very strong dose of James Brown thrown in (the fantastic "Fallin'" is a dead ringer for "It's a Man's World"). This retro-ism is further reinforced in her collaboration with 70s soul legend Isaac Hayes on "Rock Wit U". However this reliance on strong historical figures is as much a problem as an asset. In truth this fine talent is being plucked too early. At 20 she's hardly lived enough life to find herself. While she's got a great voice and exquisite musical skills this album lacks the type of individuality that shines so strongly in artists such as Erykah Badu, Jill Scott or India.Aria. This is perhaps why Keys (surely an invented name) has been well hooked up. Jermaine Dupri, Prince and Brian McKnight are all involved in the songwriting process. There's a lot of classically trained artists out there, from R Kelly to MJ Cole, but as this shows it's no guarantee of quality. There are a few tracks on Songs in A Minor that hit the right chord but there's some bum notes too. --Jake Barnes