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Songs in A Minor è il primo album dell'artista statunitense Alicia Keys, uno tra i primi ad essere pubblicati dalla J Records nel 2001.
L'album ha debuttato sul mercato vendendo più di 50.000 copie nel primo giorno, 235.000 nella prima settimana, e finora più di dieci milioni in tutto il mondo, il 60% delle quali negli Stati Uniti. Curiosamente, nonostante il titolo dell'album (tradotto Canzoni in La Minore), nessuna delle tracce è in questa tonalità, tranne Jane Doe. Ha segnato l'inizio della carriera discografica della cantante, generando un grande impatto nella discografia mondiale, in quanto in quegli anni l'industria musicale era segnata da boy-bands e da "prodotti commerciali" rivolti ai teen-agers. Lo stile soul, nuovo e musicalmente impegnativo della cantautrice ha riscosso un grande favore sia dal mercato che dalla critica, portando infatti Alicia nel 2002 a diventare la seconda donna dopo Lauryn Hill a vincere 5 Grammy Awards in una sola serata, inclusi due dei quattro più importanti: Best New Artist e Song of The Year. Nel 2013 Songs in A Minor viene inserito da Entertainment Weekly nella classifica dei 100 album più importanti della storia, alla posizione n°57.
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Three discs, one of which is a DVD; swish silver cut-out, fold-out packaging; sleevenotes by Quincy Jones; and track annotation by the singer herself. This is an extravagant package that works beautifully on two levels, either as the perfect complement to the original album ”“ included here, obviously ”“ or as the very best place to start. And this is because it digs fairly deep into who Alicia Keys is and what she was about when she made this stunning debut, now celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The extensive booklet opens with the singer’s simple but impassioned mission statement about New York ”“ very much part of the sleeve design ”“ and how the city’s streets fused with her classical training to allow the then-teenager to express herself so vividly. She then goes on to talk each track with an enthusiasm for every aspect of the process.
The specially-made documentary tells her story up to Songs in A Minor’s claiming of five trophies at the 2002 Grammy Awards, setting itself against dramatic New York footage and making room for entertaining comments from people who worked with her. Keys herself is funny, charming and remarkably candid. She talks forthrightly about the battles with her first label, Columbia ”“ they trashed this album, and wanted her to turn her into a standard RnB bunny; she refused, they wouldn’t let her leave, and it almost crushed her. She’s equally open in her delight and obvious surprise at the album’s success. Most of all, though, what is shown proves how dedicated Keys is to making music.
Disc two collects together alternate mixes of tunes like A Woman’s Worth (a tastefully inventive vintage hip hop version, featuring Nas) and the sparser Butterflyz as it was heard in the 2002 film Drumline; elsewhere, three live recordings from a Seattle show display her accomplished musicianship and easy way with an audience. What makes the disc really special, however, is the previously unreleased Ghettoman, a moody, edgy inner city lament made eerily beautiful by a jangling piano. It’s a blaxploitation theme looking for a film, and why it never made the album is anybody’s guess.
Oh yes, the original album ”“ it still stands strong 10 years later, as a masterpiece of contemporary soul songwriting and arrangement. It continued a bloodline from Etta James, Gladys Knight, Aretha, Esther Phillips and Roberta Flack into the hip hop age, and was ultimately made possible by Keys’ astonishing musical sensibilities.
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