| Product Summary | | Label: Bmg/j Records | | UPC: 00808132000222 | | Release Date: 6/26/2001 | | Buy.com Sku: 60482160 | | Item#: MY2FJJ | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 2124 | Format:  CD |
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| Alicia Keys was an accomplished pianist by age 15. In late 1999, she followed Clive Davis to his J Records where she continues to chart her arrival to the music world. Songs In A Minor shows signs of both a critical and commercial monster - a deep, melodic, soulful gem of an album that showcases Alicia in all her universal glory. Though most of the album- including the luminous "Fallin'" and the moving "Troubles" - was written and produced by Alicia Keys, the artist collaborates with Jermaine Dupri on "Girlfriend" and with Isaac Hayes on "Rock Wit U" from the Shaft soundtrack.
"Many young female singers court the tweenie market by exaggerating their girlish charms, but twenty-year-old Alicia Keys sings for adults. ...we're only beginning to see the depth of her talent." Harry Thomas, Rolling Stone
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | 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. | | Personnel: Alicia Keys (vocals, piano, keyboards, background vocals); Arty White, Cato (guitar); Isaac Hayes (Fender Rhodes piano); John Peters (organ); Brian Cox (keyboards); Richie Goods (acoustic bass, electric bass); Norman Hedman (percussion); Kerry Brothers, Anthony Nance (drum programming); Cindy Mizelle, Kandi Burruss, Paul Green, Andricka Hall (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Manny Marroquin; Gerry "The Gov" Brown; Phil Tan; Russell Elevado; Tony Maserati. | | Audio Remixer: Alicia Keys. | | Recording information: Backroom Studios, Glendale, CA; Battery Sounds, New York, NY; Battery Studios, New York, NY; Doppler Studio, Atlanta, GA; Hit Factory, New York, NY; KrucialKeys Studios, New York, NY; SouthSide Studios, Atlanta, GA; The Hit Factory, New York, NY; Unique Recording Studios, New York, NY. | | Photographer: Tony Duran. | | Unknown Contributor Role: Tim Shider. | | Arrangers: Kandi; Kandi Burruss; Alicia Keys. | | 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." |
Musical Guests | | Isaac Hayes | | Jimmy Cozier |
| | Artist Overview | | Precocious R&B vocalist/pianist Alicia Keys was hand-picked by Clive Davis as one of the flagship artists for his post-Arista label, J Records. No doubt he was as impressed by her multitude of skills (Keys took a large role in the writing, arranging, and production of her debut album) as by her music, which mates contemporary hip-hop accoutrements to an old-school soul sensibility ? la Jill Scott or D'Angelo. Only 20 years old at the time of the album's release, Keys already seemed poised for a major career built upon her soulful voice and classically trained piano chops. While hip-hop played a much bigger role on her sophomore effort, 2003's THE DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS, it was a smash nonetheless, and subsequent recordings have further pushed the boundaries of R&B. |
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| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 06/26/2001 | | Original Release Date : 2001 | | Catalog ID : 20002 | | Label : J-Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 63m : 4s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00808132000222 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (1/03/02, p.118)
- Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's "Top 10 2001".Rolling Stone (7/19/01, p.53)
- 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..." Entertainment Weekly (6/29-7/6/01, p.144)
- "...A debut full of promise..." - Rating: B Q (1/03, p.56)
- Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" Q (9/01, p.110)
- 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..." Uncut (11/01, p.112)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...Frequently stunning....Keys soars like a young Aretha Franklin..." CMJ (4/30/01, p.21)
- "...The singer showcases her classical piano training atop slow and somber percussion...her deep soulful voice and heartfelt delivery carry the songs..." Mojo (Publisher)
(1/02, p.71)
- Ranked #27 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001". |
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| | Bio | | | The artistic light of Alicia Keys is so bright it could illuminate a pitch-black room. A true musical prodigy whose multi-dimensional gifts emerged at age five, the beautiful Alicia is taking modern R&B soul to a whole new level at the tender age of nineteen. Born aware of her old soul yet living in New York's inner city amidst the dominance of Biggie and Jay Z, Alicia's natural talents blossomed into a rare mix of hip-hop flavor and insightful, wise-beyond-her-years songwriting. Coupling this with the singer's spine-tingling vocal power, positively stirring live performances and expertise as a classically trained pianist, Alicia Keys could be this generation's Roberta Flack. Highly sought-after by record labels that held good, old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor, Alicia signed to Arista Records in 1998. There she continued the process of writing, producing and recording the debut she'd begun penning at age 14. In late 1999, Alicia followed Clive Davis to his new J Records where she continues to chart her arrival to the music world. Creations now rising out of the studio show signs of both a critical and commercial monster--a deep, melodic, soulful gem of an album that showcases Alicia in all her universal glory. Born and raised in Manhattan, the stunning, bi-racial Alicia Keys recognizes a number of influences including her ultra-supportive mother who told her "You can quit anything else but you can never give up on your piano lessons." Alicia also sites a teacher at the Professional Performance Arts School in Manhattan who, while she was majoring in Choir, gave her valuable instruction on her voice. "This teacher spent so much time with me, she became the closest thing to vocal training I received," Alicia recalls. At age 16, Alicia's outstanding grades allowed her to finish high school early. "I was so deeply involved in music, I had already outgrown all the pressure of high school cliques and gossip." Right out of high school, Columbia University accepted Alicia Keys and though she gave it a whirl, the desire to focus on music was the driving force over all else.
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