Alicia Keys: Unplugged

By Stephanie Szuda

his album isn’t your typical MTV Unplugged album. In the series’ earlier days, the album featured an artist and an acoustic guitar.

This album is not just Alicia Keys and her piano. There are violins, cellos, saxophones and background vocals, just to name a few. It’s good nonetheless. It just has a lot of production. She has such a great voice; everything else wasn’t necessary.

I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to cover a popular Rolling Stones song, such as “Wild Horses,” even though it features Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, who was a nice addition. A duet was a nice twist on a commonly-covered song and it turned out better than versions from other bands who have tried to cover the song. The album has several of her hits, from “Fallin'” to “Karma.” The stand-out track “Fallin'” soars above the original, although it is one of the most produced songs on the album. The chorus was drawn out and had several backup singers.

The album has a few new songs as well, all of which are pretty predictable. “Unbreakable” has a similar sound to her previous records.

The closing track was the most energetic of the tunes. The song featured a lot of production and a hip-hop feel because Mos Def and Common added vocals. The track starts with “Love It or Leave It Alone,” then transitions into “Welcome to Jam Rock.” The audience erupts into cheers when Keys’ sultry voice sang “Out in the streets, they call it murder.”

Overall, this album is better than any of her studio albums. It showcases more of her vocal talents and proves she is one of the few good R&B artists out there today.