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Album Review:Alicia Keys,The Element of Boredom

Written by loudpen
December 21st, 2009
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Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom

The Element of Boredom, that’s what Alicia Keys should have called her album. Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of Alicia Keys. I was always the type to buy her album and listen to it once and never listen to it again.  However, when I was given this assignment, I knew I needed to give Alicia another try and come at her album with an open mind. But unfortunately, this album is by far Alicia’s worst, so for now, she will not be gaining me as a fan.

My first issue with this album and Alicia in general, is that she tries so hard to paint herself as this “deep” “piano-playing poet” and it just comes off as extra to me.  It seems that Alicia tried even harder to build this image of herself with this album. First off, the album starts with…surprise, surprise Alicia reciting a poem and playing the piano.  This is the intro track called, “The Element of Freedom” which is actually the title of the album. Next, Alicia moves onto “Love is Blind” which is a decent track, but, it’s repetitive nature can become tiresome. The third song is, “Doesn’t Mean Anything” which was the first single from the album. That song was one of the better ones. It reminded me of the old Alicia which I halfway liked.

The next three tracks,  ”Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart”, “Wait Till You See My Smile”, “That’s How Strong My Love Is”, have not only ridiculously cheesy titles, but, they lack a central focal point. These songs simply all sound the same and if I never hear them again, I promise I will live to see another day.  Alicia then decides to further bore me with “Un-Thinkable”, “Love is My Disease” (again another silly title), and “Like the Sea”.  The next song, “Put It In A Love Song”, features my favorite artist, the Creole Goddess that is Beyonce` Knowles.  I love both Alicia & Beyonce on this track.  Alicia sounded excellent, because, she has a more alto/tenor voice so she sounds nice in the background. Beyonce` does somewhat takeover the song, but, that’s because she has a more powerful voice than Alicia (in my opinion).

I was hoping that the album would end soon, because, most albums are no more than twelve or thirteen tracks, but, Alicia insisted on droning on for another twelve songs. Where she got the energy to continue with this nonsense, I don’t know.  The last song I liked was, “Distance and Time”, this song had a nice mellow tempo & it actually featured some worthy lyrical content. “Empire State of Mind (Part II)” was useless. I loved the original track with her & Jay so I have no idea why she felt the need to re-do it. My problem with the fact that she re-did this song is that, she didn’t do anything different. I mean she literally re-sang Jay’s raps, it was pointless and adding nothing to anyone’s life.

Before I go, I would like to say this: I know that I have offended a lot of people with this review. I am well aware that Alicia has die-hard fans and I respect her as an artist, because, goodness knows I can’t sing or play the piano. However, this review was my opinion and nothing more. You don’t have to agree, but, please respect me and I promise to respect you. Also, don’t let my review be your sole reason for deciding not to purchase this album. Why do I say that? Because, you make like it, you may think it’s Alicia’s best album yet. I’m asking that you listen to the album for yourself and form your own opinion. Like my mumsy says, “Different strokes for different folks”.

Check out Alicia Keys Facebook Fan Page