The Diary Of Alicia Keys

Performer: Alicia Keys
Artist: Tony Toni Tone
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Alicia Keys (vocals, piano, synthesizer); Tony! Toni! Tone! (vocals); Rich Harrison, Andre Harris, Vidal Davis (various instruments); Sharif Hobley, Artie White, Ricky Quinones (guitar); Dwayne Wiggins (sitar, bass); Sanford Allen (violin); Richard Brice (viola); Eileen Folson (cello); Dave Watson (flute, saxophone); Joe Romano, Dave Watson (horns); Onree Gill (Fender Rhodes piano); Arckel Vickers (organ); Artie Reynolds, Steve Rodriguez (bass); Paul John, Steve Jordan (drums); Pablo Batista (percussion); Kerry "Crucial" Brothers, Easy Mo Bee (programming); Taneisha Smith, Erika Rose, L. Green, Cindy Mizelle, Katrese Barnes (background vocals). Producers include: Alicia Keys, Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, Rich Harrison, Kerry "Crucial" Brothers. On THE DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS, the classically trained vocalist/pianist follows up the success of her lauded debut by displaying an even more formidable knack for sophisticated soul. The elegant piano intro of "Harlem's Nocturne" quickly gives way to a driving beat and Keys' admission that "there are so many things that are on my mind." This sentiment proves true, as Keys proceeds to run through a wide range of musical styles, from string-laden R&B on "Karma" to Timbaland-produced funk on "Heartburn" to a potent soul-pop medley of "If I Was Your Woman/Walk On By." Keys' personal touch on DIARY extends to her role as producer on many of the album's tracks, including the sultry, show-stopping "If I Ain't Got You" and the haunting "Diary" (featuring Tony! Toni! Tone!). As this confident sophomore album reveals, SONGS IN A MINOR was no fluke. In fact, DIARY shows Keys just starting to hit her musical stride.

Rolling Stone (12/25/03-1/8/04, p.124) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...An assured, adult statement, steeped in the complicated love life and musical dreams of an ambitious young woman who has absorbed enough Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin records to live up to [her] soul promise..." Entertainment Weekly (12/5/03, pp.94-5) - "...[The album features] some of Keys' liveliest music..." - Rating: B Q (1/04, p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 - "It's a proper soul album which hooks you with the first pneumatic beat and draws you deeper with every heady atmosphere and vivid emotion."

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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