The Diary Of Alicia Keys＜完全生産限定盤＞

2003年発売 全米1位を記録し全世界で800万枚を売り上げたアリシア・キーズの大ヒット2ndアルバム『The Diary Of Alicia Keys』(アナログ盤)

2003年にリリースされたアリシア・キーズ の2ndアルバム『The Diary Of Alicia Keys』。数々の賞を受賞し、10億ストリーミングを記録した彼女の代表曲といわれる名バラード「If I Ain't Got You」をはじめ、カニエ・ウェストがプロデュースした「You Don't Know My Name」や「Karma」等を収録。70年代ソウル・ミュージックとの融合を図り、2000年代のR&Bシーンを牽引した傑作。全米アルバムチャート1位を獲得。

Since Alicia Keys' 2001 debut album, Songs in A Minor, was ever so slightly overpraised, expectations for her second album, 2003's The Diary of Alicia Keys, were ever so slightly too high. Songs in A Minor not only kicked off a wave of ambitious new neo-soul songsters, it fit neatly into the movement of ambitious yet classicist new female singer/songwriters that ranged from the worldbeat-inflected pop of Nelly Furtado to the jazzy Norah Jones, whose success may not have been possible if Keys hadn't laid the groundwork with such soulful work as her hit "Fallin'." Such success at such a young age, even if deserved, can be too much too soon, since young songwriters showered with praise and riches may find it hard to see the world outside of their own cocoon. The very title of The Diary of Alicia Keys -- at once disarmingly simple and self-important -- suggests that Keys, like Furtado, took her stardom a little too seriously and felt compelled to present her worldview unfiltered, dispensing with artistic ambiguities and leaving each song as a portrait of Alicia Keys, the woman as a young artist. As she somewhat bafflingly says in her liner notes, "these songs are like my daily entrees," which likely means that these were indeed intended to play like unedited entries in a journal, a goal that she's fulfilled quite successfully, even if it does mean that the album often plays as a diary, leaving listeners in the role of observers instead of seeing themselves in the songs. This was a problem on Furtado's nearly simultaneously released Folklore, but Keys trumps her peer in one key way -- musically, this is a seamless piece of work, a sultry slow groove that emphasizes her breathy, seductive voice and lush soulfulness. Tonally, this is ideal late-night romantic music, even when the tempos are kicked up a notch as on the blaxploitation-fueled "Heartburn," yet beneath that sensuous surface there is some crafty, complex musicality, particularly in how Keys blurs lines between classic soul, modern rhythms, jazz, pop melodies, and singer/songwriter sensibility. It's an exceptionally well-constructed production, and as a sustained piece of sonic craft, it's not just seductive, it's a good testament to Keys' musical strengths (which can even withstand Andre Harris and Vidal Davis' irritating squeaky voice production signature on "So Simple"). What the album lacks are songs as immediate as "Fallin'" or as compelling as "A Woman's Worth," and that, combined with her insular outlook, is where Diary comes up short and reveals that it is indeed merely a second album. Such is the problem of arriving with a debut as fully formed as Songs in A Minor at such a young age -- listeners tend to expect more from the sequel, forgetting that this an artist still in her formative stages. So, those expecting another album where Keys sounds wise beyond her years will bound to be disappointed by The Diary of Alicia Keys, since her writing reveals her age in a way it never did on the debut. Yet that is a typical problem with sophomore efforts, and while this is a problem, it's one that is outweighed by her continually impressive musical achievements; they're enough to make The Diary worth repeated listens, and they're enough to suggest that Keys will continue to grow on her third album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

昨年リリースされた『Diary Of Alicia Keys』にボーナスCDを加えた2枚組の新装盤。ボーナスCDにはアリシアの声を早回しで使った“If Ain't Got You”のカニエ・ウェスト・リミックスや“You Don't Know My Name”のレゲエ・ミックスなど話題のヴァージョンばかりが収録されているが、目玉はアッシャーとのデュエット版“If Ain't Got You”。両者のあまりにも自然な絡みを聴くためだけにでも買い直すべきです。
bounce (C)佐藤 ともえ

即行的な感覚で作り上げる彼女のサウンドは何度聴いても、新鮮で心を揺さぶられる!!今作は、タイトルにもある通り、彼女の日記をもとにした楽曲ありで、より今の生きた声が聴こえてくるのだ!70年代ソウルをベースに、ヒップホップ、クラシックなど彼女に決められたワクなどない!彼女も大ファンであるトニー・トニー・トニーのドゥエイン・ウィギンス、国内盤のみに収録されたNAS＆ラキムとのコラボに注目!! (C)仲野千晶

ファースト・アルバム『Songs In A Minor』でチャートをあっさり制し、シングル“Fallin'”の〈Song Of The Year〉受賞を筆頭にグラミーの5部門を総ナメするという出来過ぎたデビュー劇から2年。来日公演時の凛とした姿もいまだ鮮烈なアリシア・キーズがセカンド・アルバムをリリースした。今作はそのタイトルどおり好きにペンを走らせた日記のごとく、前作以上にセルフ・プロデュースが行き届いた仕上がりで、例えば、ラキムとナズを迎えた名曲“NY State Of My Mind”のリメイクと、グラディス・ナイト&ピップス“If I Were Your Woman”のカヴァーといった両極端なトピックも違和感なく同居している。プリンスにも通じるヨーロピアン風味や、ディープ・ソウル、ヒップホップなど諸要素の自然な導入にはまたも舌を巻くが、そこから生じたものを高潔で生々しく、しかも華やかに聴かせるアリシアは……才気走っているとしか言えない。凄い。
bounce (C)轟 ひろみ