Vinyl reissue: Compared to R&B singers who have made choreography their ultimate artistic achievement, Alicia Keys is a special case. Rather than repeating dance steps, this young singer has been learning piano since childhood. A virtuoso, she managed to keep her first album, Songs In A Minor, at the top of the American charts for over two months. It's a clear album where R&B reconnects with the tradition of soul and blues. "Girlfriend" opens the album with a very catchy uptempo rhythm, and with "Falling" and its haunting piano riff, one understands that they hold a little marvel in their hands. While the ghost of Curtis Mayfield sometimes appears (the very Blaxploitation "Troubles"), Songs In A Minor avoids the pitfall of retro-hippie nu-soul to sound completely modern and clear. Alicia Keys is undoubtedly the greatest hope for soul since Lauryn Hill. Songs In A Minor is perhaps the best soul/R&B album of 2001, a classic not to be missed under any circumstances.
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