Track Listing
1. Piano & I
2. Girlfriend
3. How Come You Don't Call Me
4. Fallin'
5. Troubles
6. Rock Wit U - (with Isaac Hayes)
7. Woman's Worth, A
8. Jane Doe
9. Goodbye
10. Life, The
11. Mr. Man - (with Jimmy Cozier)
12. Never Felt This Way
13. Butterflyz
14. Why Do I Feel So Sad
15. Caged Bird
16. Loving U
| Details | | Playing Time: | 63 min. | | Contributing Artists: | Isaac Hayes, Jimmy Cozier | | Distributor: | BMG (distributor) | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel: Alicia Keys (vocals, various instruments, piano, keyboards); Jimmy Cozier (vocals): Gerald "G" Flowers, Arty White (guitar); Miri (violin); Isaac Hayes (Fender Rhodes piano); Brian Cox (keyboards); Richie Good (upright bass); Tim Shider, Vic Flowers, Rufus Jackson (electric bass); Norman Hedman (percussion); Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Anthony Nance (programming); Cindy Mizelle, Tammy Saunders, Andricka Hall, Paul L. Green, Kandi B (background vocals).
Producers: Jermaine Dupri, Brian McKnight, Alicia Keys, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.
Alicia Keys won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. SONGS IN A MINOR won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. "Fallin'" won the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and for Best R&B Song.
Picture Roberta Flack with hip-hop trimmings or D'Angelo coming at the world from a female perspective and you get an idea of the immense talent welling up from musical prodigy Alicia Keys. Blessed with a soulful voice, mature-beyond-her-years songwriting, and a classically trained command of piano, it's no wonder music mogul Clive Davis brought the 20-year old performer over from Arista as one of the flagship artists for his new label J Records. Keys displays impressive range on this primarily self-penned debut that finds her taking part in arranging and/or production on every cut, once again redeeming Davis's instincts.
Besides the well-earned buzz for the gripping love-and-loathe single "Fallin'," Keys earns high marks for fusing rap beats and vintage Aretha on a confidently delivered cover of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me." Elsewhere, the native New Yorker's flow finds her traversing the same ground as early-'70s Stevie Wonder on the thought-provoking "The Life," while "Goodbye" proves to be the quintessential Quiet Storm kiss-off. Keys wraps up SONGS with a sanctified mix of stride piano, lush strings, and gospel-flavored back-up singers on "Lovin' U."
Editorial Reviews
Included in Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums Ever
Q (01/01/2003)
...The singer showcases her classical piano training atop slow and somber percussion...her deep soulful voice and heartfelt delivery carry the songs...
CMJ (04/30/2001)
4 stars out of 5 - ...Frequently stunning....Keys soars like a young Aretha Franklin...
Uncut (11/01/2001)
...A debut full of promise... - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly
4 stars out of 5 - ...A prime candidate to head up the nu-soul revolution...with a voice that challenges Mary J. Blige's....Key's R&B trips to a fundamentally more old-skool set of values....Her sincerity is another plus...
Q (09/01/2001)
3 stars out of 5 - ...Keys shows a maturity beyond her years...suggesting down-home R&B contemporaries like Jill Scott as well as yesteryear's soul sophisticates...
Rolling Stone (07/19/2001)
Ranked #27 in Mojo's Best [40] Albums of 2001.
Mojo (01/01/2002)
Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 2001.
Rolling Stone (01/03/2002)
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