"The Element Of Freedom"
Let me first begin by stating once again that Alicia Keys is a Queen. I'm going full throttle on this post because the cd is that important. It has had me up until early hours of the morning at my keyboard playing along with her to liberation. I read a few times that this album would be experimental and that the content would be daring, as it was to be like nothing she had put out before. The album is definitely like nothing I've heard. It's also like nothing I've seen from her because the photography inside is crazy. And the version I picked up a double disc edition, including a dvd with live performances.. :) Take a peak.
As patterned in previous records, most of the songs on the album are focused on the beauty and confusion of love. But her delivery was, as she promised, very different. Unlike her other releases, Alicia didn't begin the album with a remastered classical piece. Instead this started with a short poem written by the erotic diarist Anais Nin. Radio releases are somewhat misleading with regards to the tempo of the rest of the cd but they still maintain the same underlying love-fixated tone presented on the album that Keys is well known for.
The Element Of Freedom has unfailing co-production by her heavily praised Krucial Brothers, Linda Perry and even a little Plain Pat. Mr and Mrs Shawn Carter, Drake and Swizz Beats popped in for some work as well. She brilliantly conveys emotional chaos and focuses on love-hurt inconsistencies through hair-raising riffs, imploring vocals, amazing piano solos and simply heart-felt lyrics. Love ballads on this cd aren't extensively complex in terms of lyrics but the composition and vocal delivery in each of them allow for truly beautiful and passionate music.
I remember the summer of 2001 when "Fallin" first dropped and she sounded like nothing else on the mainstream scene. In eight years, she and her music has developed while still maintaining a genuine soulful sound. Her piano arrangements are nothing short of perfection and her music is brilliant.
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