Unplugged [ENHANCED]

Alicia Keys

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 11, 2005)
• Original Release Date: October 11, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: J-Records
• ASIN: B000B5IPLK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,059 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #81 in

  Music > R&B > Contemporary R&B

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
With MTV's decision to revive its much-missed "Unplugged" series came a certain obligation: Whoever was going to kick the shows off needed to have the means to deliver serious heat, Grammy-vote garnering heat. The "powers that be" couldn't have chosen better than Alicia Keys. Throughout this consistent set, marked by warmth, sincerity and a powerful lack of inhibition, Keys convinces that if she's not the new Aretha Franklin, she's a force of equal might and measure. All the favorites are here, the danceable "Karma" carries into the funky "Heartburn" and the give-it-up glory of "Unbreakable." "Fallin'," "If I Ain't Got You," and "You Don't Know My Name" come later, but interspersed are enough pleasant surprises to make even fanatical Keys followers forget the signature songs. Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me," for instance, gets a playful work-up, complete with audience-aimed banter and an unbroken promise to "take it to the bridge," and a duet that on paper seems misguided works surprisingly well, as Keys resists any instinct to clobber Maroon 5's Adam Levine vocally. Yowling, piano pounding, hip-hop tics (the ubiquitous, emphatic "unh"), and even a spot of theatrical poetry all have their places here, but Keys manages them with a master's sense of what's song-appropriate. Her band is spot-on, her arrangements soar, and her guests--count Mos Def and Common among them--complement the proceedings without even momentarily carrying them. The best "Unplugged" discs leave a listener wishing artists would kick the amps altogether; this is one of them. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description
First they went platinum...Now they're going green. Your best loved music in its simplest form. 20 best-selling "Greatest Hits" & "Best of" collections now available in a new eco-friendly package. 1CD in card wallet packaging - no plastic, no booklet - just great music! Booklets are available online through a unique URL on the package. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 4.5 Diamond., April 23, 2008

By	Steve Guardala "Support The ASPCA. Ignore All... (?????) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Alicia's album is a fine gem, here the slightly scaled back sound allows her vocals to shine. She occasionally goes from the Piano to Organ with equal dexterity. "Fallin," gets a semi-operatic treatment here. Her voice sounds more balanced than on her first album.

She gives a more seductive tone to "Diary & If I Ain't Got You." The former is one of my all time favorites. In "Streets Of New York," the first part with her recitation is ok, but the second part with it's jazzy tones blend well with her more controlled voice. "Stolen Moments," could have been a bit better since it was co-written by the king of R&B, Al Green. She belts out Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" with a near furious vocal. Some will not like her version of Gladys Knight's "If I Was Your Woman?" But, for me it was almost equal to the original. Then again, Alicia could sing the names in the phonebook & I would applaud. I feel she truly shined with Brenda Holloway's "Every Little bit Hurts." She seemed very in tune with the feel of this song as the emotion came through.

Her duet with Adam Levine doing the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" was ok. His nasal tone did not blend that well with Alicia's voice. When she sings "You Don't Know My Name," it is juiced up a bit with the organ. This may be my all time favorite of her songs? When I minus the Hip Hop tunes which just don't appeal much to me, "Unplugged" ends up being very good. Her vocals are more mature & the reduced arrangements play to the bands talents. A solid 4.5.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Protection Prevents you from playing, December 28, 2005

By	B. Castro (Redding, Ca United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm pissed off that I got this CD and can't load it to my iPod!!! The CD won't even play on RealPlayer, Windows Media Player or anything else, except the software that the CD has on it that you must install onto your computer. You can only play this CD with the CD's software!!! BAD! I paid for it, I want to do what I want with it!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great music, but..., November 30, 2005

By	John Smith - See all my reviews

The music is great. The copy protection is not. J-Records is a subsidiary of Sony BMG. If you trust that the copy protection program on this CD is safe, then by all means buy the CD. You might want to do a web search for "Sony BMG rootkit" first though.