Unplugged
by: Alicia Keys
Your Price: $18.97
Prices subject to change.Average Rating: 
Sales Rank: 6162
Sales Rank: 6162
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Music : Unplugged |
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Rating:  - * She's Great Live! ... Alicia Keys is one of those performers that comes off wonderfully on a CD as well as playing live. Her voice does not need to be altered for recording purposes. I have seen her in concert and she is a perfectionist. For anyone who has not had the pleasure of experiencing her in person this is as close as it gets. She is exceptional! Rating: - * A 4.5 Diamond. ... 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. Rating: - * She changed me ... This is my FIRST CD from her that I actually listened too. She great to look at, but shes a artsit that I was only into a few of her songs. BUT DAMMNNN, how much difference does a live band make though. I listened to this CD back to back to back. She actually sounds better and her band was on fire. I got a new apprieciation for her after listening to this cd. This is by far the best Live CD I heard (and thats including Mary J Blige in that last). Rating:  - * Alicia Keys Unplugged Review (2 1/2 stars) ... Alicia Keys hit the scene at a time when mindless crap seemed to be taking over (and that honestly only worsened over the last few years), and people were just thirsty for a voice that was untampered with, someone who could sing at least a little bit and actual instruments were being played on the songs. At least that's why I first appreciated Ms. Keys. But her over-hyped talent didn't make this album worth the money. The copy-right protection was unecessary and annoying as well. Double reasons not to buy this CD. Several of the songs that are popular were only a part of a medley, it seemed. I did however, enjoy four songs on the album. If I Was Your Woman - every song that I actually enjoy on a high scale by Alicia, I later discover is a cover of somebody else's song. This live version is way better than the album version from DOAK, though that version was good too. Every Little Bit Hurts - something else she didn't write. I loved hearing this though. Her voice is perfect for this song. She just flowed natural with this selection. Wild Horses - I've never known what this song was talking about. However, this is the first version that I've taken notice of. I never knew this song all the way though until this version came along. And believe me, there are MANY covers of this song out there. Unbreakable - Everyone hated it, but I thought this song was okay. The lyrics are a trip and the breakdown is interesting for a change. And yes, this song is also sampled. I bought this CD because I have her first two albums (actually I bootlegged the second one because her appeal was dying for me). The ridiculous hype around Alicia has nearly killed my interest in her as an artist. At the peak of her career, I preferred to look at her opposed to actually listening to her music. I find her to be a great person, but the music could be so much better. And to think I was so excited and happy for a black girl rocking the piano and getting attention from the world. Too bad Alicia just isn't the Messiah of black female singer-songwriter/musicians. Ms. Hill, Badu, Scott and Arie are. But you don't hear much about them though, do you? And even that's not good enough because all of those artists are grouped as neo-soul. Will an artist of color ever rock out, sing country or even yodel? Damn, somebody needs to prove that we can step outside of the box. But at least other black female artists aren't afraid to appeal to only one or two fanbases - Alicia wants to appeal to everyone and everything. Only a great artist/entertainer has the ability to do something like that with efficiency, and like I've said, Alicia is just "a'ight". Without that piano she would be EXTREMELY common. If an artist/entertainer doesn't affect you with their lyrics, voice, etc, then they should be able to at least entertain you with some dance moves or something. Alicia seems caught in the middle with just mediocre songs for the most part, and a voice that she tends to strain. This should be purchased if you have been an Alicia fan from the get-go. She is not the best, but she is brilliant compared to others. Rating: - * Another Solid Winner For Alicia Keys, Despite Her Faults! ... Although I've already seen Alicia Keys at an unforgettable 2004 music concert, I decided to buy her third album, "Alicia Keys: Unplugged", simply because I'm a big fan of hers. Hell, just to hear her vibrantly soulful vocals further enliven R&B/Soul classics like "Fallin'", "You Don't Know My Name" & "If I Ain't Got You" was well worth the money I forked out to purchase this album. "Alicia Keys: Unplugged", which temporarily revives MTV's long-gone "Unplugged" series, further testifies to Alicia Keys' immense talent as a singer, songwriter and musician. Unfortunately, this album does not live up to the greatness of its two predecessors ("Songs In A Minor" - 2001, "The Diary Of Alicia Keys" - 2004). That doesn't necessarily mean that this album is terrible because it's anything but. Alicia Keys consistently sounds as soulful, powerful, emotional and captivating as she's always been -especially on "Fallin'", "If I Ain't Got You" & "A Woman's Worth"- but I was hoping that she'd apply some more creativity and/or effort into the musical and/or instrumental arrangements. Apart from the "the stripped-down "You Don't Know My Name" and the insightful soul ballad "Diary", which chucks in a laid-back flute, the songs hardly sound any different from their original forms. I guess she preferred to stick to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory this time `round. Another thing that I disliked about this album was its lack of new material. Yes, lead single "Unbreakable" is a beautiful R&B/Soul tune, but with all the name-dropping going on in the lyrics, I find it hard to find out what she's really talking about. The only other solid new tune on this 16-track-long disc is "Stolen Moments", another beautiful R&B/Soul ballad where Alicia Keys ponders on the beginnings of her loving relationship and grandly urges to her lover "lets get away" over a beautiful assortment of horns, flute and percussion. Apart from hits and songs from her past, as well as a guest-festive celebration with Common, Mos Def, Damian Marley & others on the album-closing tracks "Love It Leave It Alone" & Damian Marley's "Welcome To Jamrock", the rest of the songs consist of covers (Branda Holloway's piano-driven "Every Little Bit Hurts" & "Prince's "You Don't Know My Name"). However, there's no denying the sheer sublimeness and brilliance of her piano-driven duet with Maroon 5's Adam Levine on their cover of the Rolling Stone's "Wild Horses", which beautifully converts a Rock song into a spiritually exploratory R&B/Soul classic. Ditto in terms of brilliance for "Streets If New York (City Life)", a stunning piece of deeply thought-provoking poetry over a beautifully arranged melange of moody instrumentals. The final problem I had with this album was with her lacklustre performances of "Heartburn" & "Karma". It's a shame that she started off a great show on the wrong foot by turning two beautiful songs into vocal trainwrecks, especially after beautifully opening the show with "Alicia's Prayer (Acapella Intro)". Nonetheless, this is a great CD and is well worth the purchase, despite its flaws. It's solid proof of Alicia Keys' raw talent to the haters and misinformed individuals who believe otherwise. 4 stars! |
Three of them date from the '20s and '30s and were produced by Samuel Goldwyn. The 1926 silent The Winning of Barbara Worth gave Western stunt man and bit player Cooper his first featured role (by accident--the actor originally cast didn't report for work!). A cowboy whose visionary surveyor father aims to "redeem the desert and make it one fine garden," Cooper's character is the third corner of a romantic triangle, ordained by the Hollywood caste system to lose lifelong sweetheart Vilma Banky to engineer Ronald Colman. Colman has lots more screen time than Cooper and bears the moral-ethical brunt of the eco-conscious drama; he's also surprisingly persuasive wearing a sweat-stained Stetson and trading gunshots with the bad guys (if this were a sound film, Colman could never have gotten away with it). But the camera and the audience are locked onto Cooper whenever he's on screen. In longshot or vulnerable closeup, he's already one of the gods of the cinema. As for the movie, the quality of the print is excellent, its clarity intensified by bronze, yellow, and moonlit-blue tinting that often seems on the verge of resolving into full color. Director Henry King shows a good eye for action and bold vistas, and a visual adventurousness mostly absent from his later work.
Next up chronologically is The Cowboy and the Lady (1938), and the best thing about this misbegotten movie is Garson Kanin's description, in one of his Hollywood memoirs, of how Leo McCarey sold the idea for it to Sam Goldwyn. McCarey was, of course, a comedic master (recently Oscared for directing The Awful Truth), and his exuberant pitch convinced Goldwyn and his staffers that audiences would "piss" themselves laughing at this romantic comedy about a daughter of privilege (Merle Oberon) who falls for a rodeo rider (Cooper) and learns homespun values. Goldwyn paid McCarey off, assigned some writers to the script, then realized there was no real story--"no there there," as Gertrude Stein might have put it. The resultant unfunny and unromantic endeavor oozes bad faith from every pore, with neck-snapping life changes foisted on the hapless Cooper and Oberon from reel to reel, and excruciating scenes (jitterbugging in a drawing room, playing house back on Cooper's ranch) that strain charmlessly for McCarey's patented brand of fey. H.C. Potter directed, understandably without conviction.
We and Cooper are back on track with The Real Glory (1939). The reliable Henry Hathaway helmed this second cousin to his and Cooper's The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, with Cooper as an Army doctor assigned to the Philippine Constabulary on Mindanao in 1906. The movie was well-received when it came out; encountered in the shadow of the Iraq War, its tale of U.S. occupiers trying to help the local populace "stand up" against a fanatical and murderous insurgency takes on new fascination. There are some amazing passages--two horrendous murders by bolo knife--and the final battle sequence puts the CGI-riddled action films of the present day to shame. But the most impressive element is Cooper, and we can't improve on the verdict of that astute film critic Graham Greene: "Mr. Cooper ... has never acted better.... Watch him inoculate [Andrea King] against cholera--the casual jab of the needle, and the dressing slapped on while he talks, as though a thousand arms had taught him where to stab and he doesn't have to think any more."
For the final film in the set we jump into the '50s--the century's and Cooper's. Vera Cruz (1954) casts him as a former Confederate officer who's ridden into Emperor Maximilian's Mexico, hoping to make a fortune in the new civil war south of the border so that he can rebuild his own devastated homeland. Costar Burt Lancaster (whose company Hecht-Lancaster was producing) plays another mercenary, a real sociopath, and it's fascinating to watch these two stellar icons of very different Hollywood eras make common cause--Lancaster at the height of his grinning-predator mode, Cooper an aging knight whose aim is still true. Director Robert Aldrich keeps finding dynamic uses for the SuperScope format and flavorfully fills it with sublime uglies like Ernest Borgnine, Jack Elam, Charles Horvath, Jack Lambert, and Charles Buchinsky-about-to-become-Bronson. Pieces of this movie found their way into the dreams of Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone. --Richard T. Jameson
