On her seventh album, 'Alicia,' Alicia Keys delivers uplifting messages with a common touch and a generous spirit
Keys balances personal pleas with larger aspirational notes: On “I’m Done” she duets with Khalid, singing, “I’m done fighting myself, going through hell/I’m living the way that I want,” matching his mumble-croon as if awakening from a long slumber to get out there and seize life. “Gramercy Park” combines folk, soul, and gospel as she meditates on her efforts to meet the expectations of others.
The songs that connect with larger issues are predictably down-to-earth. She pays tribute to artistic bonds on “Jill Scott,” honoring the neo-soul singer as well as featuring her on the track. On the uplifting “Underdog,” she praises teachers and “student doctors,” but also “linking the struggles of the too-often-unseen poor to a broader coalition of common folk and calling on all of us, over a lifting melody, to “rise up.
Not many artists could make a song called “Authors of Forever” come off as unpretentious as Keys does, singing “we’re all in this boat together and we’re sailing towards the future” over a light R&B glisten. The powerfully sung “Perfect Way To Die” offers a Black Lives Matter protest ballad in vividly personal terms.
Keys’ grounding piano anthems remain her calling card, and she ends the album with a strong one. “Good Job” is a pick-me-up to heroes in disguise, keeping their spirit intact during hard times: “…“All day on your feet/Keep that energy, I know.” It’s an extremely moving moment, an everyday-people anthem delivered with a genuine sense of concern, especially when she adds wisely, “I don’t know if this helps.” Generosity tempered with humility is a rare and welcome look.
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