Alicia Keys - The Element of Freedom

"The Element of Freedom" is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25th, 1981), better known by her stage name: Alicia Keys.

After a short intro, the album kicks off with the track “Love Is Blind”. You’ll be thinking: “this can’t possibly be Alicia”, this due to the fact that her voice is very hard to recognize, a strange experience, but one you'll eventually get used to. “Doesn’t Mean Anything” has been released as the lead single and sounds more like Alicia.

“Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” has some nice instrumentals that really complete it and “Wait Til They See My Smile” is lyrically a boost for your self-confidence. “That’s How Strong My Love Is” is a lovely song that starts off with an enchanting piano bar, followed by beautiful lyrics as: “I will be the one you need in a desert land. Just to let you know you will always have my hand. I will be the woman you need to be a better man, so you will always know”.

“Unthinkable (I’m Ready)” is the first track with a feature in the form of singer/rapper Drake, regretfully his background part doesn't add a lot to this track. Let's just say you wouldn’t have missed a thing if they had decided to drop his part. It’s a real pity though as Drake is a great artist, which he has proved with a song like “Brand New”.

“Love Is My Disease” is quite funny with lyrics as: “When you're gone it feels like, my whole world's gone with you. I thought love would be my cure, but now it’s my disease. I try to act mature, but I'm a baby when you leave. How can I ever get used to being without you”. “Like The Sea”, like "That's How Strong My Love Is", starts things off with an enchanting piano piece! It has some really nice vocals by Alicia and let's not forget about the creative lyrics which have been used to describe love, for example: “That’s when I saw a light, a glowing paradise, thought I stay a while, it’s been calling me underwater, everything that I ever dream”.

“Put It In A Love Song”, contains the second feature on "The Element of Freedom": Beyonce Knowles. The thing that really stands out on this track is that Beyonce’s performance is way better than Alicia’s as Beyonce’s voice is much stronger on here. Alicia’s voice just sounds better on slow jams. “This Bed” sounds very old school and is a nice addition to the album. “Distance And Time” is a peaceful song with beautiful lyrics like: “No matter how far you are, no matter how long it takes him, through distance and time, I’ll be waiting and if you have to walk a million miles, I'll wait a million days to see you smile, distance and time, I'll be waiting". The album ends with the songs “How It Feels To Fly” and “Empire State Of Mind (Part II)".

“The Element Of Freedom” is an innovative album with some strong and some delicate songs. Alicia has shown a new part of her and added a whole new sound to her repertoire, but however you may spin it, the fact is that Alicia and the piano are the best combination for her, something of which you can find the perfect example on a song like: “That’s How Strong My Love Is”. This album doesn’t exceed her previous ones, but it’s worth listening to. “Love” seems to be the initial idea here and, as I would say: pleasant music to start your day with. 

Alicia Keys' "The Element of Freedom" in stores December 11th 2009.

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