Alicia Keys

[phillysoulman]

I just want to say that I love Alicia Key's new cd,"The Element Of Freedom"
Very creative,imho.Anybody else feel the same way?

[Alxi]

I really have mixed emotions about her last CD. Sonicly some songs are very interesting but at the same time she went heavy on sequenced drums and 808 wich, to me, sucks big time. The hole album feels like a continuity of "No One" Wich i liked as a single but not as an album concept.

Maybe i'll warm up to it but right now i'm kind of disapointed

-Alxi

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Alxi

I really have mixed emotions about her last CD. Sonicly some songs are very interesting but at the same time she went heavy on sequenced drums and 808 wich, to me, sucks big time. The hole album feels like a continuity of "No One" Wich i liked as a single but not as an album concept.

Maybe i'll warm up to it but right now i'm kind of disapointed

-Alxi

Compared to all of the crap thats flooding the market these days,I think that her songwriting skills have improved tremendously.
Im not really concerned about the sequenced tracks of use of the 808 in this case.

[voicegenius]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

I just want to say that I love Alicia Key's new cd,"The Element Of Freedom"
Very creative,imho.Anybody else feel the same way?

Wow, Alicia has a new album? Forget the songwriting because she's always had good songs... Has her singing improved?

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by voicegenius

Wow, Alicia has a new album? Forget the songwriting because she's always had good songs... Has her singing improved?

Well...she still sings flat as Kelsey's nuts but the songwriting and production is good.

[Lrmusic]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

Well...she still sings flat as Kelsey's nuts but the songwriting and production is good.

Yeah she sings as flat as a soda that was used as a makeshift football but I really like her music..."unthinkable" is my favorite song on this one. And she's purdy.

[Rumpel]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

Well...she still sings flat as Kelsey's nuts but the songwriting and production is good.

This sub forum cracks me up! Are any of you guys singers?

Please point out the song/s that Alicia keys is singing flat on.

[Lrmusic]

Originally Posted by Rumpel

This sub forum cracks me up! Are any of you guys singers?

Please point out the song/s that Alicia keys is singing flat on.

Her entire discography lol. But that doesn't mean she sounds bad (she sounds better than nearly all autotuned songs that are always perfectly on pitch). And saying we have to be singers in order to discern that someone is singing flat is very ad hominem.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by Rumpel

This sub forum cracks me up! Are any of you guys singers?

Yeah I am. She does sing flat.

[superiorsound]

She does but it works.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by superiorsound

She does but it works.

I have 2 of her albums, no complaints here

[voicegenius]

Originally Posted by Rumpel

This sub forum cracks me up! Are any of you guys singers?

Please point out the song/s that Alicia keys is singing flat on.

Surely you jest... Not pick a song, pick an album

[Lrmusic]

I like off-pitch singing when it's done well.

[phillysoulman]

Having worked with CliveDavis and knowing how discerning he is,I am very surprised that he lets her get away with all of that flat singing.
But most folks these days are tone deaf so it really doesnt matter anyway.

[Rumpel]

Originally Posted by Lrmusic

Her entire discography lol. But that doesn't mean she sounds bad (she sounds better than nearly all autotuned songs that are always perfectly on pitch). And saying we have to be singers in order to discern that someone is singing flat is very ad hominem.

Are you comparing her vocals to robotically tuned vocals?
There is definitely a degree of variance allowable within which one is considered to be in tune, and she is well within that margin for the overwhelming majority of her recorded output.

Robotic tuning, although currently stylistic, is not natural or necessarily desirable.

Even vibrato involves a regularly timed fluctuation of pitch, which when done correctly is considered desirable to human ears.

Setting aside subjective opinions, and working within the realm of professional objectivity, leads me to suspect that some of you may be confusing tonality with tuning.



A dislike of a singers tonal qualities is open to a lot more subjectivity, although it goes without saying that a great many record buyers obviously feel that Alicia Keys has a very pleasing tone, and have no problem at all with her tuning.

[Synthy08]

Entire Break down of recording process For the new album from Producers to engineers



Alicia Keys & Dream Team On The Element of Freedom : SonicScoop – Creative, Technical & Business Connections For NYC’s Music & Sound Community

[Lrmusic]

Originally Posted by Lrmusic

Her entire discography lol. But that doesn't mean she sounds bad (she sounds better than nearly all autotuned songs that are always perfectly on pitch). And saying we have to be singers in order to discern that someone is singing flat is very ad hominem.

Originally Posted by Rumpel

Are you comparing her vocals to robotically tuned vocals?

Nope, it's merely 1 example, an example that's a very small % of my argument, as I'd consider an opinion that I also have "she sounds better than nearly all singers that sing more on pitch than her" to serve an equal purpose in my argument, (with the words in blue replacing each other)

which is:

"regardless of her tuning I like her voice"

and not

"{anything related to autotune, autotuned vocals} vs. {Alicia Key's vocals}"

Originally Posted by Rumpel

There is definitely a degree of variance allowable within which one is considered to be in tune, and she is well within that margin for the overwhelming majority of her recorded output.

I agree

Originally Posted by Rumpel

Robotic tuning, although currently stylistic, is not natural or necessarily desirable.

Refers to a part of my "argument" (saying that in quotes because I don't actually argue lol) that I've established was not intended to be significant at all.

Originally Posted by Rumpel

Even vibrato involves a regularly timed fluctuation of pitch, which when done correctly is considered desirable to human ears.

I agree

Originally Posted by Rumpel

Setting aside subjective opinions, and working within the realm of professional objectivity, leads me to suspect that some of you may be confusing tonality with tuning.

Not me; her tonal characteristics are what makes her voice so appealing to me. I could careless about her tuning as long as it sounds good, which leads to:

Originally Posted by Rumpel

A dislike of a singers tonal qualities is open to a lot more subjectivity, although it goes without saying that a great many record buyers obviously feel that Alicia Keys has a very pleasing tone, and have no problem at all with her tuning.

Agree!

If you feel like disagreeing anymore, then I'm afraid you'll have misinterpreted me again...

[SirNose]

i like the album, its better than all the other poppy rnb albums out there.
i dont like the song with beyonce tho.
also love the 80s popfeel on some of the tracks.

[Alxi]

Originally Posted by Synthy08

Entire Break down of recording process For the new album from Producers to engineers



Alicia Keys & Dream Team On The Element of Freedom : SonicScoop – Creative, Technical & Business Connections For NYC’s Music & Sound Community

Thanks for the link.. interesting

-Alxi

[jeremyglover]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

Compared to all of the crap thats flooding the market these days,I think that her songwriting skills have improved tremendously.
Im not really concerned about the sequenced tracks of use of the 808 in this case.

i disagree. i think with each album she gets more commercial and more formulaic.
i find it dissapointing because in interviews she talks about running moogs through guitar amps and other cool stuff but at the end of the day it just sounds like she is writing what she thinks will sell, not what she thinks is good.

[HazeBros]

She has always been pitchy to me, but at least they dont autotune it to death like most people.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by passivepeter

i disagree. i think with each album she gets more commercial and more formulaic.
i find it dissapointing because in interviews she talks about running moogs through guitar amps and other cool stuff but at the end of the day it just sounds like she is writing what she thinks will sell, not what she thinks is good.

Yeah, so whats wrong with being commercial..in a musical way,that is.

[jeremyglover]

of course there's nothing wrong with being commercial.
it's just in interviews she gives props to prince and stevie then comes out sounding like richard marx .. it's just too starbucks for me ..

it's all good though, i'll just listen to anne peebles.

YouTube - Ann Peebles--I Can't Stand The Rain (1974)

what's this got to do with alicia keys? not much ...

[Synonym Music]

Originally Posted by Lrmusic

I like off-pitch singing when it's done well.

Excluding the chorus, that's pretty tuned-sounding to be honest. Actually I think some of the producers Cole's worked with have ruined a few of her songs with overzealous tuning. Case in point: Heaven Sent.

I listened to the new Alicia Keys album on Lala; couldn't find a single keeper on the whole thing. I'm cheap and skip through after about a minute and half for each song so I can re-stream from the beginning ( ). Nothing grew on me after 3 partial listens.

I feel like Alxi. The whole sequenced aspect comes off like the production trying too hard, really jamming her into a cubby-hole just to get a hit.

Un-thinkable had potential because it's one of the few tracks that has memorable composition, but those lyrics, flat vocals.. Eh. Out and out ruined it. You've really gotta be grasping at straws lyrically to trash hooks like that.

[Lrmusic]

Originally Posted by Synonym Music

Excluding the chorus, that's pretty tuned-sounding to be honest.

Yeah I was was referring to the chorus. Hah unthinkable is actually my favorite song on Alicia's album and I agree, great composition. The swapping out of the main drums for the acoustic reverbed drums really made me go "ahh"

[nomadlife]

her screaming eats my brain. the whole scream and shout thing she has going on sounds terrible to me. "try sleeping with a broke heart" is an amazing track though. why? let's start by saying she doesn't scream on it.

i do have huge amounts of respect for her though. as a singer, songwriter, a business woman, and a human being.

[jrdot]

i never really like alicia keys but her new cd is good thats how strong my love is sound amazing to me

[Dino]

Alecia Keys' current music = weak

[Denus]

I was really into the first 2 albums until I realized she was just sampling old soul tunes...

I wouldn't be able to claim to have written a song if I sampled someone else's work... but maybe integrity is just as dead as chivalry.

....... and the bridge to New York needs to repeat before the "Let me here you say Yeahhhhhh" part... really bugs me every time. Needs symmetry.