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Dec 10, 2021There’s a range, ambition, confidence and accomplishment on display.
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Dec 13, 2021Literate and honest, it doesn’t always connect, yet with 90 minutes of music to explore it’s a project that demands time and patience to truly absorb.
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Dec 10, 2021While Keys’ sound is mildly refurbished, the overall sensibility isn’t all that new for her. Keys has been showing off her gift for bridging styles and eras since back when she was a breakout star combining classical piano chops with New York hip-hop and R&B. Unsurprisingly, Originals is the more self-assured of the two sets.
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Dec 10, 2021The best songs here are absolutely, sonically at least, the safest. ‘Is It Insane’ is Ella Fitzgerald cosplay, plain and simple, but my god does Keys play the part well. With some jazz-lounge piano, lightly tapped drums and some actual vinyl crackle, the depth and versatility of her voice is on vivid display.
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Dec 10, 2021The “Unlocked” songs sound like public performances, neat and armored and solidly 4/4, more locked than unlocked. The “Originals” hint at freer, messier, closer, unresolved feelings, daringly unguarded — and thoroughly, openly human.
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Dec 10, 2021A compilation of the most successful tracks from both halves of Keys would have made for a slightly stronger album. As is, though, it serves as a testament to both Keys’s strengths and weaknesses as a singer-songwriter—and her willingness to expand beyond the boundaries of genre constraints.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 27
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Mixed: 2 out of 27
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Negative: 4 out of 27
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Dec 10, 2021This album proves the master of a musician Alicia Keys is! The album mixes many genres together and creates a world of its own! Skydive is legendary
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Dec 10, 2021Wow. This is by far one her best records and it shows. Not one bad track on this album!
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Jul 9, 2022