Alicia Keys - Songs In A Minor

Songs In A Minor is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, originally released in June 2001 via J Records.

Songs In A Minor, made a significant impact upon its release, catapulting the young singer/songwriter to the front of the neo-soul pack. Critics and audiences were captivated by a 19-year-old singer whose taste and influences ran back further than her years, encompassing everything from Prince to smooth '70s soul, even a little Billie Holiday.

In retrospect, it was the idea of Alicia Keys that was as attractive as the record, since soul fans were hungering for a singer/songwriter who seemed part of the tradition without being as spacy as Macy Gray or as hippie mystic as Erykah Badu while being more reliable than Lauryn Hill. 

Keys was all that, and she had style to spare. Elegant, sexy style accentuated by how she never over sang, giving the music a richer feel. Keys penned much of Songs In A Minor in high school, and the singing is more mature than the self-consciously retro arrangements and sometimes thin sonics. Still, there's no denying the serious early Aretha vibe permeating the current hit "Fallin'" or the authority with which Keys rips into Prince's beloved B-side ballad, "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore". Jermaine Dupri's typically slinky "Girlfriend" steers her into contemporary hip-hop mode, while elsewhere, complex jazz harmonies and organic instrumentation complement her commanding presence.

Keys is a discovery of pop impresario Clive Davis, and his orchestrating hand sometimes weighs heavily over this album; but Keys is never upstaged, and Songs In A Minor was only beginning to show the depth of her talent.

This double album 2LP record set is a 2016 reissue on black vinyl with printed inner sleeves, pressed in Germany via J Records.