The Element of Freedom

Alicia Keys - The Best
I love this CD, I play it every day!!! I got it on time, just before Christmas. I would reccomend this CD to anyone who is a true Alicia Keys fan!

"The Element Of Freedom" makes it 4 for 4 for Alicia Keys.
I have been a fan of Alicia Keys since I first heard the song "Fallin'". Songs in A Minor was Alicia's debut CD and it was released in 2001. My favorites included "Troubles", "Goodbye", "Butterflyz", "Girlfriend" and "How Come U Don't Call Me". Her 2nd CD, The Diary of Alicia Keys was released in 2003. As soon as I heard "You Don't Know My Name" and "If I Ain't Got You", I knew that Alicia had something special on her hands. My other favorites included "Diary", "Karma" and "So Simple". This CD was just as good as "Songs In A Minor". 4 years later Alicia released As I Am, which was too long of a delay to some of her fans. However, after they were treated to songs such as "Like You'll Never See Me Again", "I Need You", "Teenage Love Affair", "Superwoman" and "The Thing About Love", her fans weren't disappointed. With "The Element Of Freedom", Alicia picks up where she left off to nice results. Her first 2 singles "Doesn't Mean Anything" and "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart", fall along the same lines as Alicia speaks about heartbreak and missing the one that she loves. "Empire State Of Mind (Part 2) Broken Down" is Alicia's r&b version of "Empire State Of Mind" which feaures Alicia and Jay Z and is featured on his "Blueprint 3" CD. Alicia does an excellent job of capturing the energy of the original version and re-writing the song to talk about her town the same way Jay Z did in his lyrics. On "Wait Til You See My Smile", Alicia finds a way to make an anthem of inspiration just as she was able to do with "No One". This song has the ability to take you out of the darkest times and is very inspirational. This track is clearly my favorite from "The Element Of Freedom" and hopefully it gets released as a single. On "That's How Strong My Love Is", Alicia gets to explain to her significant other what she is willing to do to make sure that he believes in what they have and how much of an effect that could have on him. Just as she explained on "The Thing About Love", love can take you through many things, good and bad. On "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)", Alicia shows a sense of vulnerability as she explains how a man has taken her to places that she has never been and has her doing things that she rarely does. This is another great song on this album. "Put It In A Love Song" features Beyonce and is produced by Swizz Beatz. While it's not a bad track, it may not be as great as what some people may have thought when they saw that Alicia and Beyonce were on the same song. Obviously, with that combination, most people would have expected a collaboration to remember. "Love Is My Disease" talks about how Alicia is missing her love when there are times that she can't be with him. She appreciates the feeling when she is with him but it's hard to deal with the times that he has to leave for any reason. "Distance And Time" deals with relationships that may have failed because of the distance between the couple. Alicia sounds as if she is speaking from personal experience as she pours her heart into the song. "How It Feels To Fly" has Alicia talking about how being in love makes her feel how she wants to fly and stay in the sky and never come down. Overall, I definitely think that fans of Alicia's previous 3 albums will also be a fan of "The Element Of Freedom". There may be songs that are better than others in some cases, but you shouldn't have to skip too many tracks when you listen to this CD in its entirety. James' Top 5 1) Wait Til You See My Smile 2) Empire State Of Mind (Part 2) Broken Down 3) Unthinkable (I'm Ready) 4) How It Feels To Fly 5) That's How Strong My Love Is Honorable Mention: Doesn't Mean Anything Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart Distance And Time Through It All (Deluxe Edition) Pray For Forgiveness (Deluxe Edition)

Element of Freedom
I like the album very much and the seller was very good in the timing in which they sent it.

zzz..what?
the element of freedom..to release a subpar cd? its her right. and its ours to withhold our spending money. seriously alicia, come harder. your first three cds were killers. why stop now? where is your creativity? your inspiration? songs in a minor grew in quality the more you listened. the diary of alicia keys had its moments. as i am was her most consistent. this album has no standout track. the beyonce duet is suitably funky and does the trick, but you'd expect more of alicia. this type of track wouldn't stand out on an alicia album in the past; here it's the best of the best. most of the tracks here sound rather bland and melt together in an unpleasant manner...like a thanksgiving dinner at kfc. try sleeping with a broken was the second single and shows alicia actually trying to grow as an artist...and experimenting with a new sound. its another high point on an otherwise downtrodden experience, but it still sadly reeks of a gimmick. alicia...you have what it takes. you have relied on pure talent to make it..stick with that. next time...really hone your craft and remind us once again why you are famous. loose the gimmicks.

The Element of Freedom-A.K.=Just okay.
I am a huge Alicia Keys fan; I have all of her CDs. There are 5 out of 14 songs that actually sound decent. Love is Blind That's How Strong Love Is Un-thinkable Like the Sea Empire state of mind (Part II) The album is filled with ballads; ballads that sound very familiar. Overall, I am very disappointed with this CD ; I do not see how anyone could give this album four stars. I like Alicia Keys as an artist, but I need more originality. Some of the music sounds like it came from and old Prince album and from more recent releases from Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce. The album is very "poppy", commercial, lacks soulful tunes, and flat. I loved Unplugged, Songs in A Minor, and The Diary of Alicia Keys; the Element of Freedom simply does not measure up to her previous CDs. It is an album that will definitely have to grow on you.